Evgeny Nikitin hails from Murmansk, in the very north of Russia.  His first love was to compose, sing, play drums and guitar in heavy metal bands, but his vocal gift took him in a different direction. He was accepted at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in 1992 and was soon combining his studies with his first solo engagements at the famed Mariinsky Theatre under Valery Gergiev’s direction. It wasn’t long before he was invited to major theatres and festivals throughout Europe, the Americas and Asia.  

Recent highlights include his debut at the Liceu Barcelona as Scarpia (Tosca); return to the Metropolitan Opera as Telramund (Lohengrin); Khovanshchina at the Paris Opera, Der Fliegede Holländer at the Metropolitan Opera, Madrid, Toronto, Leipzig and Tokyo, Kurwenal (Tristan und Isolde) at the Metropolitan Opera, Amfortas (Parsifal) in Berlin and Valencia (under Maazel), Don Pizzaro (Fidelio) in Valencia, Jochanaan (Salomé) in Zurich and Amsterdam, Don Pizzaro and Telramund (Lohengrin) at the Wiener Staatsoper, Scarpia in Chicago.

Major festival appearances include Scarpia (Tosca) and Filipo (Don Carlo) at the Baden-Baden Festspiele, Ibn Hakia (Iolanta) in Salzburg, Jochanaan and Pizzaro at the Verbier Festival.

Concert performances include Mussorgsky’s Songs and Dances of Death at the Schleswig Holstein Festival and with the Berlin Philharmonic, scenes from Boris Godunov with the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Mahler’s 8th Symphony, Rubinstein’s The Demon and Siegfried with the London Symphony Orchestra, Oedipus Rex with the Münchner Philharmoniker, Verdi’s Requiem with the National Symphony Orchestra Washington, Jochannen with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Telramund at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam.

Mr. Nikitin sings regularly at the Mariinsky theatre and at the ‘Stars of the White Nights Festival’ performing his favourite roles : Boris Godunov, Filipo, the Holländer, Amfortas, Wotan (Das Rheingold), The Wanderer (Siegfried), Don Giovanni.

His recordings include Amfortas with the Mariinsky Theatre/Gergiev and with the Berlin Radio Symphony/Janowski; Rangoni (Boris Godunov) and Remeniuk (Semyon Kotko) for Philips Classics. He has also recorded a solo recital of Wagner arias for Naïve. Cinema and DVD appearances include Parisfal and Boris Godunov from the MET, Boris Godunov at the Mariinsky and the Bayerische Staatsoper.