SERGEJ LARIN
March 09, 1956, Odzene, Latvia - January 13, 2008, Bratislava,
Slovakia
Sergej
Larin, a Russian tenor who found praise in European and American
houses singing
lirico-spinto roles as well as Russian
repertory that included
Boris Godunov's Grigory and
Onegin's Lensky, has died following a long illness. Larin,
who would have been 52 in March, died on January 13 in
Bratislava.
Born in Latvia to Russian parents, Larin began studying voice at
the Lithuanian State Conservatory following his graduation from the
Gorky Institute of Foreign Languages. His professional opera debut
came in 1981 as Alfredo in a Lithuanian National Opera
Traviata. Over the next decade, the tenor went on to sing a
number of Russian, Italian and German roles in Soviet houses.
In May 1990, Larin made an unexpected debut at the Vienna
Staatsoper singing Lensky in the company's production of
Eugene
Onegin. Naturally persuasive in Russian repertory, Larin
nonetheless largely focused on Italian, French and German repertory
throughout his career. The tenor made his London debut in 1991 as
Don José. The following year, he became a permanent member of
the Slovak National Theater, but frequently traveled abroad: the
1992 Kirov tour to the Metropolitan Opera, found him singing the
Pretender, Grigory, in performances of
Boris Godunov.
Larin's official debut with the New York company came in 1994 when
he sang Cavaradossi to Maria Guleghina's Tosca. Puccini's painter
would also provide the vehicle for his debut at the Paris Opera.
The following season, Larin returned to the Met to sing
Carmen's Don José and Don Alvaro in
Forza del
Destino. He reprised the role of Grigory at the New York house
in 1997 and again in 2004.
Larin was also a notable presence at a number of European festivals
and houses, including the Salzburg Festival, Berlin's Deutsche
Staatsoper, La Scala, Firenze's Teatro Comunale, Rome Opera, and
the Bayerische Staatsoper.
Other North American performances by the tenor included Samson at
Houston Grand Opera and Samson, Pinkerton and Don Carlo at San
Francisco Opera. Larin also notably took part in 1998
Turandot performances staged at Beijing's Forbidden City;
his performance as Calaf, conducted by Zubin Mehta, was filmed and
released on DVD.
Larin's catalogue of recordings also includes a number of recital
discs on the Chandos Label, featuring the songs of Rachmaninov,
Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Alexander Borodin, Mily Balakirev and
Mussorgsky. The tenor can also be heard on DG recordings of
Lady
Macbeth Of Mtsensk and
Mazeppa, as well as a Sony
recording of
Boris Godunov.
More information can be found at SergejLarin.com
and the Associated Press.
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