Taras Shtonda

Ukrainian bass Taras Shtonda makes his Royal Opera debut in the 2022/23 Season as the Grand Inquisitor (Don Carlo). 

Shtonda studied at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Kiev. He is a principal soloist at the National Opera of Kiev, and a Merited Artist of Ukraine. He also performs at Europe’s leading opera houses. He has sung many leading roles in the Russian repertory, with appearances including Dosifey (Khovanshchina) for Polish National Opera and the Bolshoi, Pimen (Boris Godunov) for Savonlinna Opera Festival, Boris Godunov and Boris Ismailov (Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk) at the Bolshoi Opera, Prince Gremin (Eugene Onegin) for Glyndebourne Festival, Malmö Opera and Norwegian National Opera, Mamyrov (The Enchantress) for Opera Vlaanderen and Faust (The Fiery Angel) for Opéra de Lyon. Other notable appearances include Grand Inquisitor (Don Carlo) for Bavarian State Opera, Sparafucile (Rigoletto) for Savonlinna Opera Festival, Gurnemanz (Parsifal) and Nikalantha (Lakmé) for Malmö Opera, Crespel (Les Contes d’Hoffmann) for Royal Danish Opera, Fafner (Der Ring des Nibelungen) for Grand Théâtre de Genève, Hagen (Götterdämmerung) in Kiel and Hunding (Die Walküre) for Frankfurt Opera. 

Shtonda has won first prize in the international Maria Callas and Georgy Sviridov competitions. He has sung Verdi’s Requiem throughout Europe; other concert appearances include a Verdi gala with the National Philharmonic of Ukraine and Shostakovich’s Symphony no.13 in Moscow, Warsaw and Bonn.