On March 5, Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Aida will be presented on the stage of the Hvorostovsky Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theatre we within the 15th International Festival Stars Parade at the Opera. Slovtsov. The role of Amonasro, father of the heroine, will be performed by guest soloist Igor Golovatenko, principal baritone singer of the Bolshoi Theatre and Honoured Artist of the Russian Federation.

Born in Saratov into a family of musicians, Golovatenko received an exceptional musical education. He graduated from the Central Music School with three specializations (piano, cello, and composition), went on to complete his studies in cello at the Saratov Conservatory, and later earned a degree in opera and symphonic conducting from the Moscow Conservatory. He refined his vocal technique at the Academy of Choral Arts under Professor Dmitri Vdovin, head of the Bolshoi Theatre’s Young Artists Programme.

From 2007 to 2014, the singer was a soloist with the Novaya Opera Theatre, and since 2014 he has been a member of the Bolshoi Theatre company, where he performs leading baritone roles. His repertoire includes the title roles in Eugene Onegin and Rigoletto, Prince Yeletsky in The Queen of Spades, Robert in Iolanta, Renato in Un Ballo in Maschera, Giorgio Germont in La Traviata, Rodrigo in Don Carlo, Count di Luna in Il Trovatore, Baron Scarpia in Tosca, Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, and many others.

Golovatenko appears regularly on the world’s foremost stages including the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, Royal Opera House, Opéra National de Paris, Bavarian State Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Teatro di San Carlo, as well as at major festivals in Salzburg, Glyndebourne, and Aix-en-Provence. He has collaborated with distinguished conductors including Vladimir Spivakov, Mikhail Pletnev, Valery Gergiev, and Kent Nagano.

The role of Amonasro is well established in his repertoire: in 2024, Igor Golovatenko performed it at the legendary Arena di Verona, as well as at other major opera houses around the world.