Sergei Leiferkus (born 4 April 1946) is anoperaticbaritone from Russia, known for his dramatic technique and powerful voice particularly in Russian and Italian language repertoire. He is most notable for his roles as Scarpia inTosca, Iago inOtello, Grand-prétre de Dagon inSamson et Dalila andSimon Boccanegra as the title role. Leiferkus was born inLeningrad (now known asSt Petersburg), Russia. He studied music at the St. Petersburg conservatory.
In 1972, he made his debut withMaly Theatre of Leningrad and received recognition forEugene Onegin,Iolanta,Barber of Seville andDon Giovanni. He joined Kirov Opera Company in 1977 performing inProkofiev'sWar and Peace as Andrei. While at theKirov Opera, Leiferkus's talent began to receive international reputation as a powerful singer and imaginative actor.[1]
Leiferkus has toured mostopera houses in the world includingRoyal Opera House,Vienna State Opera,Opéra Bastille in Paris,Teatro alla Scala,San Francisco Opera,Metropolitan Opera,Netherlands Opera,Teatro Colón, at theEdinburgh Festival,Bregenzer Festspiele,Glyndebourne andSalzburg Easter Festival. He has also worked with many notable conductors and orchestras includingGeorg Solti,James Levine,Claudio Abbado,Valery Gergiev,Bernard Haitink,Zubin Mehta,Riccardo Muti andSeiji Ozawa withLondon Symphony Orchestra,Boston Symphony,New York Philharmonic,Philadelphia Orchestra andBerlin Philharmonic.[2]
