Yevgeny Igorevich Nikitin

Evgeni Igorewitsch Nikitin ( Russian Евгений Игоревич Никитин , first and patronymic are written in English transcription Evgeny Igorevich ; *  1973 in Murmansk ) is a Russian opera singer ( bass baritone ).

life and work

Nikitin's parents were both musicians. In his youth and later until at least 2008 Nikitin played as a drummer in a black metal band. Various tattoos on his body date from this period .

In 1992 Nikitin began his studies at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory . During his studies he worked as a soloist at the Mariinsky Theater . Invitations to major opera houses in Europe, North America and Asia soon followed.

In 2002 Nikitin made his debut at the New York Metropolitan Opera as Dolokhov in War and Peace , and has since appeared there in many other roles. He made his debut at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris in the title role of Rubinstein's Demon , and in the French capital he also appeared in the National Opera . Further stations in his career led him to a. to Valencia (Amfortas), Baden-Baden , Toronto , Leipzig , the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Bavarian State Opera in Munich . In October 2007 he sang the title role in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin as part of a guest performance at the Mariinsky Theater under the direction of Valery Gergiev at the Theater an der Wien .

After 2008 to about 2010 he was also a member of a rock band .

Cancellation of the Bayreuth Festival 2012

In 2012, Nikitin was to become the first Russian singer to take on the role of Dutchman at the Bayreuth Festival . This was decided jointly by the artistic director of the festival, Katharina Wagner , and the conductor Christian Thielemann .

A few days before the premiere, however, the singer canceled his appearance after ZDF showed older recordings of Nikitin as a metal drummer in a film portrait of the cultural program aspekte , which was broadcast on July 20, 2012 , as a result of which he was asked questions in the following days . The pictures show a chest tattoo that could be identified as a swastika . In the meantime this tattoo has been expanded so that an eight-pointed star with a coat of arms can be seen in it.

In a first official statement, Nikitin said:

“I was not aware of the extent of the irritations and injuries that these signs and symbols cause, especially in Bayreuth and in the context of the history of the festival. That's why I decided not to appear at the Bayreuth Festival. "

The singer later even denied having ever consciously wore a swastika tattoo by stating that getting a tattoo was a tedious process and that the contours of the tattoo in question only resembled a swastika in the early stages. However, he did not attach any importance to this fact.

The Korean bass-baritone Samuel Youn stepped in for Nikitin .

Web links

• Short biography of Yevgeny Nikitin on the page of the Marinsky Theater

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Lucas Wiegelmann: Nazi symbolism: "Dutch" singer cancels appearance in Bayreuth. In: The world . July 21, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2012 . 
2. ↑ Evgeny Nikitin. IMG Artists, accessed on August 11, 2012 . 
3. ↑ Tim Neshitov: singer Evgeny Nikitin. "I was a hideous child". In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . July 23, 2012, accessed August 11, 2012 . 
4. ↑ The bass-baritone Evgeny Nikitin. From rocker to opera star. In: aspects . July 19, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2012 . 
5. ↑ Singer Nikitin denies swastika tattoo. (No longer available online.) In: Zeit Online . August 5, 2012, archived from the original on September 2, 2016 ; Retrieved August 11, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
6. ^ After a scandal at the Bayreuth Festival. Nikitin denies having a swastika tattoo. In: stern.de . August 5, 2012, accessed August 11, 2012 . 
7. ↑ Florian Zinnecker: Nazi tattoo on the chest. In: Nordbayerischer Kurier . July 21, 2012, accessed October 10, 2017 .