Russian-American tenor Viktor Antipenko, praised for his effortless, expansive sound, and excellent technique, continues to sing leading roles to great acclaim and has become a singer to watch in the dramatic repertoire. In the 2023-24 season, he makes debuts at Pacific Opera Victoria performing the signature role of Siegmund in Die Walküre, a role he repeats in the spring for his Atlanta Opera debut conducted by Arthur Fagen and directed by Tomer Zvulun, and the New National Theatre Tokyo of Japan to perform Lensky in Eugene Onegin. Mr. Antipenko is added to the roster of Lyric Opera of Chicago where he covers the role of Radames in Aida with music director Enrique Mazzola at the helm. In concert, he joins conductor Franz Krager for performances of Rachmaninoff’s The Bells with Moores School Symphony Orchestra alongside baritone Sergei Leiferkus.
Last season Mr. Antipenko made house debuts at Seattle Opera in Tristan und Isolde conducted by Jordan de Souza and directed by Marcelo Lombardero where he later returned for Das Rheingold under the baton of Ludovic Morlot; Scottish Opera for performances in Glasgow and Edinburgh as Luigi in Il Tabarro in a production by Sir David McVicar; and Lyric Opera of Kansas City debut as a Don José in Carmen with Roberto Kalb on the podium. Mr. Antipenko returned to Staatstheater Kassel for Hermann in Pique Dame and Israeli Opera for his role debut as Manrico in Il Trovatore. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Pinkerton in the famous Anthony Minghella production of Madama Butterfly. Mr. Antipenko also made his role and house debut performing Radamès in Aida at the Israeli Opera conducted by Giuliano Carella and directed by Stathis Livathinos and debuted at Arizona Opera as Don José in Carmen under the baton of Christopher Allen. He rounded out the season by performing Scriabin’s Symphony #1 and Rachmaninoff’s The Bells under Leon Botstein as part of Bard’s SummerScape series.
He finished the 2020-21 season singing Siegmund in an Act 1 concert of Die Walküre at the Frischluft und Musick Festival Ortenau in Germany alongside Günther Groissböck and Cornelia Beskow under the baton of Michael Güttler. Previously that season he was scheduled to sing the title role in Wagner’s Parsifal with Canadian Opera Company; Prince Vsevolod Yuryevich in Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh with Chicago Opera Theater; a return to Theater Dortmund to sing Siegmund in Wagner’s Die Walküre; and Comte Vaudémont in Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta at the New National Theatre Tokyo of Japan before the pandemic forced their cancellations. In the 2019-20 season, he sang Prince Guidon in Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Golden Cockerel at Dallas Opera; the title role in Samson et Dalila at Tiroler Landestheater in Innsbruck; Florestan in Beethoven’s Fidelio with Theater Chemnitz; Gabriele Adorno in Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra with Tiroler Landestheater; Siegmund in Wagner’s Die Walküre for Theater Chemnitz; and a Don José in Carmen for a semi-staged concert version at Lotte Concert Hall in South Korea.
Previous roles also include Lensky (Eugene Onegin), Hermann (Pique Dame), Andrey (Mazeppa), Enzo Grimaldo (La Gioconda), Luigi (Il Tabarro), Grigori (Boris Godunov), Riccardo (Oberto), Erik (Der fliegende Holländer), and the title roles in Wagner’s Parsifal and Lohengrin. Mr. Antipenko has sung at the Bolshoi Theatre, Ópera de Oviedo, Opéra de Rouen, Theatro Municipal de São Paulo, Opéra de Lyon, Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, and Hawaii Opera Theater. On the concert stage, he has appeared as the tenor soloist in Rachmaninoff’s The Bells with The Philadelphia Orchestra; Shostakovich’s Jewish Folk Poetry at the Staatstheater Kassel; Kodály’s Psalmus Hungaricus with the New York Metamorphoses Orchestra; Stravinsky’s Les Noces at the Grand Philharmonie Hall in St. Petersburg, Russia; and at the Heidelberger Schlossfestspiele Musikfestival in an “Hommage a Sevilla” gala performance. Mr. Antipenko has worked with esteemed conductors Mikhail Pletnev, Vladimir Jurowski, Yuri Bashmet, John Neschling, Yuri Temirkanov, as well as with stage directors Peter Konwitschny and Tomer Zvulun.
Mr. Antipenko studied voice and choral conducting at the Glinka Choral College in St. Petersburg. After graduation he joined the Mariinsky Theatre, performing as a choral and solo artist. In 2007 he graduated from the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. From 2009-2012 he studied at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia with Bill Schuman.