Yakov Strizhak

Russian-Israeli bass Yakov Strizhak has established himself as one of the leading basses of his generation, equally admired for the breadth of his repertoire, the authority of his stage presence and the richness of his vocal timbre. A distinguished interpreter of both the Russian and Italian repertoires, he has built an impressive career across Europe’s major opera houses before joining the Mariinsky Theatre, where he is now a principal ensemble member.

Born in Petropavlovsk in 1982, Yakov Strizhak studied at the Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory of St Petersburg, graduating in 2010. During his studies he gained early recognition through several prestigious competitions, notably winning the St Petersburg Spring Competition in 2010 and receiving a prize at the Sergei Rachmaninoff International Music Competition in 2008.

His early professional career included engagements with the St Petersburg Chamber Opera, the Opera and Ballet Theatre of the St Petersburg Conservatory, the Israeli Opera, the Komische Oper Berlin, and the St Petersburg State Musical Theatre, where he built an exceptionally broad repertoire. His roles there included Vasily Sobakin (The Tsar’s Bride), King René (Iolanta), Prince Gremin (Eugene Onegin), the Four Villains (Les Contes d’Hoffmann), Don Alfonso (Così fan tutte), Bartolo (Le nozze di Figaro), Colline (La bohème), Mustafà (L’Italiana in Algeri), Dulcamara (L’elisir d’amore) and Geronimo (Il matrimonio segreto).

Since joining the Mariinsky Theatre in 2022, Yakov Strizhak has rapidly become one of the company’s most versatile basses, appearing in a remarkable variety of repertoire. His roles include Celio in Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges; Tikhon Shcherbaty, the Bolkonskys’ Butler and Gavrila in Prokofiev’s War and Peace; the Bearded Peasant in Shchedrin’s Dead Souls; the Old Man in Smelkov’s The Brothers Karamazov; Mustafà in Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algeri; Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola; Sir Giorgio in Bellini’s I puritani; the title role in Don Pasquale; Zaccaria in Verdi’s Nabucco; Marcel in Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots; Nilakantha in Delibes’ Lakmé; Pandolfe in Massenet’s Cendrillon; and Bluebeard in Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle.

His extensive repertoire also includes the Archbishop in Tchaikovsky’s The Maid of Orleans, Malyuta Skuratov in Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Tsar’s Bride, the Commendatore in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Don Basilio in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia, Sparafucile in Verdi’s Rigoletto, Plutone in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, and the Old Servant in Rubinstein’s The Demon, illustrating both his stylistic versatility and his affinity for dramatic bass repertoire.

His guest appearances have taken him throughout Europe, Israel and the United States. He created the title role in the world premiere of Shostakovich’s unfinished opera The Tale of the Priest and his Workman Balda in performances in Norway and Ireland, has appeared with the Israeli Opera, at the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College in New York, and at the Gergiev Festival in Rotterdam.

Throughout his career, Yakov Strizhak has collaborated with many of today’s most distinguished conductors, including Valery Gergiev, Mariss Jansons, Frédéric Chaslin, Dan Ettinger, Leon Botstein, Sergei Stadler, Andrei Petrenko, Pavel Bubelnikov, Anatoly Rybalko and Arkady Steinlucht.

Combining the depth and authority associated with the great Russian bass tradition with remarkable versatility across Russian, French, Italian and German repertoire, Yakov Strizhak has established himself as a commanding presence on today’s international operatic stage.

Representation : World