Taras Shtonda (born 1 December 1966, Kyiv) - Ukrainian opera singer (bass), People's Artist of Ukraine (2008).
Biography.
He spent his childhood in Rusanivka. In 1993, he graduated from the Tchaikovsky Kyiv State Conservatory. Since 1992 he has been a soloist at the Taras Shevchenko National Opera of Ukraine. In 2002 he made his debut at the Bolshoi Theatre. He has participated in recording opera performances on CD. He performs extensively in the cantata-oratorio and chamber repertoire; he also performs Ukrainian classical and contemporary music. He has toured France, Spain, Hungary, Switzerland, Holland, Denmark, Brazil, Yugoslavia, Italy, Poland, and Germany.
During the Russian-Ukrainian war, he continued his touring activities in the Russian Federation, including singing at the Bolshoi Theatre in the opera Katerina Izmailova (2016), and performing at the Moscow Conservatory Concert Hall on 26 February 2019.
Honours and awards
Winner of international competitions: named after M.I. Glinka (Alma-Ata), J. Gayarre (Pamplona), Francisco Viñas (Barcelona), Maria Callas (Athens), Ivan Patorzhynsky (Luhansk), Ivan Alchevsky (Kharkiv), Bulbul (Baku), Georgy Sviridov (Kursk).
Order of Merit III class - for significant personal contribution to state building, socio-economic, scientific, technical, cultural and educational development of the Ukrainian state, significant labour achievements, many years of conscientious work.
Discography
Symphony No. 13 by D. Shostakovich, conducted by Roman Kofman, 2005.
Symphony No. 14 by D. Shostakovich, conducted by Roman Kofman, 2006.
He starred in the film-opera "A Cossack Beyond the Danube" (based on the opera by S. Hulak-Artemovsky, directed by Mykola Zaseev-Rudenko and Oksana Kovaleva, 2007).
