Yevgeny Nesterenko is a renowned Russian opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

tic bass.

Nesterenko's first profession was architecture, graduating from the Engineering and Construction Institute in Leningrad

Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

. But he was called to music, and he studied under Vasily Lukanin at the Leningrad Conservatory

Saint Petersburg Conservatory

The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory is a music school in Saint Petersburg. In 2004, the conservatory had around 275 faculty members and 1,400 students.-History:...

. At his last year at the conservatory (1965) Nesterenko was invited to sing at Leningrad's Maly Opera Theatre and after graduation joined the famous Mariinsky Opera and Ballet Theatre

Mariinsky Theatre

The Mariinsky Theatre is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov received their premieres. The...

. He won the gold medal at the 4th Moscow International Tchaikovsky Competition

International Tchaikovsky Competition

The International Tchaikovsky Competition is a classical music competition held every four years in Moscow, Russia for pianists, violinists, and cellists between 16 and 30 years of age, and singers between 19 and 32 years of age...

, which won him an invitation to Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre

Bolshoi Theatre

The Bolshoi Theatre is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds performances of ballet and opera. The Bolshoi Ballet and Bolshoi Opera are amongst the oldest and most renowned ballet and opera companies in the world...

.

Nesterenko has sung over 80 leading bass parts and performed 21 operas in their original languages. He performed the main parts in operas by Glinka

Mikhail Glinka

Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka , was the first Russian composer to gain wide recognition within his own country, and is often regarded as the father of Russian classical music...

, Mussorgsky

Modest Mussorgsky

Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky was a Russian composer, one of the group known as 'The Five'. He was an innovator of Russian music in the romantic period...

, Tchaikovsky

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...

 and Borodin

Alexander Borodin

Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin was a Russian Romantic composer and chemist of Georgian–Russian parentage. He was a member of the group of composers called The Five , who were dedicated to producing a specifically Russian kind of art music...

, and was the first to perform many works by Shostakovich

Dmitri Shostakovich

Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....

, Sviridov

Georgy Sviridov

Georgy Vasilyevich Sviridov was a Soviet Russian neoromantic composer....

 and Taktakishvili

Otar Taktakishvili

Otar Taktakishvili was a Georgian composer, teacher, conductor, and writer of music.Otar Taktakishvili graduated from the Tbilisi State Conservatory, while still been a student he composed the official anthem of the Georgian SSR. By 1949 he became a Professor of the Tbilisi Conservatory and the ...

.

Nesterenko's enormous repertoire ranges from deep bass to baritone parts in operas by classical Russian and West-European composers. His finest role is considered to be Tsar Boris in Mussorgsky's opera Boris Godunov

Boris Godunov (opera)

Boris Godunov is an opera by Modest Mussorgsky . The work was composed between 1868 and 1873 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is Mussorgsky's only completed opera and is considered his masterpiece. Its subjects are the Russian ruler Boris Godunov, who reigned as Tsar during the Time of Troubles,...

, which won him the "Golden Viotti" medal in Italy in 1981.

Nesterenko has performed on the world's best and most prestigious stages, such as the Metropolitan Opera

Metropolitan Opera

The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...

, Covent Garden

Royal Opera House

The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...

, the Vienna State Opera

Vienna State Opera

The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...

 and La Scala

La Scala

La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...

. He has been awarded the highest Austrian, Italian, German and Russian awards for his singing. He is the winner of the Giovanni Zenatello

Giovanni Zenatello

Giovanni Zenatello was an Italian opera singer. Born in Verona, he enjoyed an international career as a dramatic tenor of the first rank. Otello became his most famous operatic role but he sang a wide repertoire. In 1904, he created the part of Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly.-Career:Zenatello...

 Prize "For an outstanding embodiment of the central character in the opera Attila

Attila (opera)

Attila is an opera in a prologue and three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera, based on the play Attila, König der Hunnen by Friedrich Ludwig Zacharias Werner. Initially, Verdi had enlisted Francesco Maria Piave to prepare the libretto, after Verdi's own scenario...

by Verdi

Giuseppe Verdi

Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...

". He is the winner of the Chaliapin Prize of the Creativity Academy and the holder of many other titles and awards.

Nesterenko has recorded about 70 records and discs, including 20 operas in full. He is also an outstanding chamber singer with a subtle taste, expressiveness and sense of style.

He is also known as an outstanding teacher. He teaches at the Moscow Conservatory

Moscow Conservatory

The Moscow Conservatory is a higher musical education institution in Moscow, and the second oldest conservatory in Russia after St. Petersburg Conservatory. Along with the St...

and the Higher Music School in Vienna. Nesterenko is the author of two books - "My Way of Working with Singers" and "Reflections on My Profession" - and is the author of over 200 printed works.

He is one of the most experienced music competition jurors in the world.