Experienced Russian operatic bass Vladimir Ognev has a wide-ranging repertoire that includes more than 50 roles. Born in Toguchin in the Novosibirsk province, he first studied piano and choral conducting, before pursuing vocal studies at the Glinka State Conservatory in Novosibirsk. Immediately after graduation, he was engaged as a soloist at the Novosibirsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater in 1992, where he has sung numerous roles to date. The same year he received the Grand Prix at the “Great Bear” theater festival in Novosibirsk for his acting performance in the role of the bear, in the vaudeville The Bear based on Anton Chekhov’s play of the same name, Medved (‘The Bear’). Vladimir Ognev embarked early on on a versatile activity as opera singer, music hall singer, theater and cinema actor, he hosted a comedy show on television, and was bass guitarist in a band.
In 1993 he moved from Novosibirsk to the Chamber Opera in St. Petersburg, and in 1996 he became a member of the soloist ensemble of the Moscow Helikon Opera, where he sang numerous leading roles for his range. Since 2001 he performs regularly with the Tatar Academic Opera and Ballet Theater “Musa Dzhalil” in Kazan. In April 2004, a year before his debut at the famous Moscow Bolshoi Theater, Vladimir Ognev was awarded the title of “Meritorious Artist of Russia” by the President of the Russian Federation. At the Moscow Bolshoi Theater, he has performed in Prokofiev’s War and Peace, Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov and Bizet’s Carmen, among others. From 2009 to 2012 he was a soloist at the St. Petersburg Children’s Theater “Zazerkalie” (‘Looking Glass’).
Vladimir Ognev has also made guest appearances at music festivals in Japan (Pacific Music Festival), Ireland (Wexford Opera Festival), Italy (Spoleto Festival) and Lebanon (Al Bustan Festival). He has sung at opera houses in Germany, Austria, South Korea, Spain, France, England, Denmark, and the Netherlands, under the baton of conductors such as Arnold Katz, Yuri Temirkanov, Richard Hickox, Teodor Currentzis, Christoph Eschenbach and Vladimir Jurowski.
