Nikolay Victorovich Baskov ( rus, Николай Викторович Басков, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj ˈvʲiktərəvʲɪdʑ ˈbaskəf, - bɐsˈkof; born 15 October 1976) is a Russian

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

who performs in both

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

tic and popular-music styles. His honors include commendations as Meritorious Artist and People's Artist of the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. In addition to his career as a vocalist, Baskov appears regularly on the Russian game-show '' What? Where? When?''.

Biography

Baskov studied at the

Gnessin Russian Academy of Music The Gnessin State College of Music () and Gnessin Russian Academy of Music () comprise a music school in Moscow.Moisenko, Rena. (1949) ''Realist Music: 25 Soviet Composers,'' London: Meridian Book, Ltd. History Originally known as the Gnessi ...

and

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory () is a higher musical educational institution located in Moscow, Russia. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in musical performance and musical research. Th ...

. In 1998, he placed first in the All-Russian Young Singers Competition and placed second in the 1999 Grande Voce competition in Spain. Released in 2011, the ''Nikolai Baskov: Romantic Journey'' concert performance CD/DVD took place at Moscow's Hall of the

Luzhniki Stadium The Grand Sports Arena of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex, commonly known as Luzhniki Stadium, is the national stadium of Russia, located in its capital city, Moscow. Its total seating capacity of 78,011 makes it the List of football stadiums in R ...

. Baskov was accompanied by a full orchestra and played to a crowd of nearly 10,000 people. Taped with 24 HD cameras, this is Russia's most elaborate and expensive performance ever recorded for international television. He performed classic pieces from ''

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1 ...

'', ''

La bohème ''La bohème'' ( , ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...

'', ''

Werther ''Werther'' is an opera (''drame lyrique'') in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann (who used the pseudonym Henri Grémont). It is loosely based on Goethe's epistolary novel ''The S ...

'', ''

Turandot ''Turandot'' ( ; see #Origin and pronunciation of the name, below) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. Puccini left the opera unfinished at the time of his death in 1924; it ...

'' and other popular songs from his catalogue such as ''

Be My Love "Be My Love" is a song written by Sammy Cahn and music by Nicholas Brodszky. Published in 1950, it was written for Mario Lanza, who sang it with Kathryn Grayson in the 1950 movie '' The Toast of New Orleans''. The song was nominated for the Aca ...

'', ''

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

'' and '' Back to Sorrento''. Baskov is joined by world-renowned soprano,

Montserrat Caballé María de Montserrat Bibiana Concepción Caballé i Folch or Folc (12 April 1933 – 6 October 2018), also known as Montserrat Caballé (i Folch), was a Spanish operatic soprano from Catalonia. Widely considered to be one of the best sopranos ...

, and her daughter Marti, for several duets. In early 2012, Baskov embarked on his first American tour. In December 2012, he signed an open letter against a

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

bill banning "homosexual propaganda," along with pop stars like

Philipp Kirkorov Philipp Bedros Kirkorov (, ; ; born 30 April 1967) is a Bulgarian-born Russian pop singer. Kirkorov's career began in 1985 with participation in the Soviet musical TV show "Wider Circle". Since 2000, he has maintained public interest in his pe ...

and

Dima Bilan Dima Nikolayevich Bilan (, ; born Viktor Nikolayevich Belan [] on 24 December 1981) is a Russian singer. In 2002, Bilan participated in the first edition of New Wave. At the end of the contest, he finished in fourth place. He represented Russ ...

. In March 2022, Baskov openly supported Russia's military aggression and invasion in Ukraine. On 7 March, the

Prosecutor General of Ukraine The Prosecutor General of Ukraine (also ''Procurator General''; , ) heads the system of official prosecution in courts known as the Office of the Prosecutor General (, or, before 2020, ). The prosecutor general is appointed and dismissed by th ...

informed Baskov of suspicion of propagandizing war on the territory of Ukraine. The court arrested him in absentia. He claimed "thirty years of unprincipled deception of Russia by the West", accused the United States of trying to "destroy Russia" and said that "claims that

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

is peaceful are a lie". After these statements, the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on 24 March that Baskov would be banned from entering

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

indefinitely.

Discography

* ''Dedication '' (Посвящение, 2000) * ''Dedication Encore'' (Посвящение на бис, 2000) * ''Masterpieces of the Passing Century'' (Шедевры уходящего века, 2001) * ''I'm 25'' (Мне 25, 2001) * ''Never Say Goodbye'' (Никогда не говори прощай, 2004) * ''Let Me Go'' (ОтпуЖсти меня, 2005) * ''Best Songs'' (Лучшие песни, 2005) * ''Only For You'' (Тебе одной, 2007) * ''Romantic Journey'', 2011 * ''Game'' (Игра, 2016)

Extended plays

* ''Karaoke EP'' (2020)

Pesnya goda ''Pesnya goda'' (), meaning ''Song of the Year'', is an annual televised music festival and gala in Russia, honoring standout songs from the previous year. The event began in the Soviet Union, Soviet period, and prior to the dissolution of the S ...

Honours and awards

* Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland," 2nd class (9 December 2006) - for achievements in the field of culture and art, and many years of fruitful work * Honoured Artist of the Russian Federation (6 September 2001) - for services to the arts *

People's Artist of Ukraine People's Artist of Ukraine () is an honorary title awarded by the government of Ukraine. It is the highest title awarded to outstanding performing artists whose merits are exceptional in the sphere of the development of the performing arts, inc ...

(November 2004) In June 2023 Nikolay Baskov directly involved in Ukraine war. Publicly announced he will give a 1,000,000 RUB to a Russian soldier who destroys a Leopard tank in Ukraine. In November 2024, Baskov was revoked of the title of People’s Artist of Ukraine, as part of a decree that stripped 34 people labelled as traitors to Ukraine.

Sanctions

In February 2023

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

sanctioned Nikolay Baskov for being involved in Russian propaganda and spreading misinformation relating to the 2022 war in Ukraine.

Notes

References

External links

* http://www.baskov.ru/ – official site * http://nvbaskov.ucoz.com/
Nikolay Baskov at the Forbes
*
Concert of Nikolay Baskov in Vitebsk, BelarusConcert of Nikolay Baskov in Olympic Stadium, Moscow
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baskov, Nikolay 1976 births Living people Singers from Moscow People's Artists of Russia Recipients of the Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Francysk Skaryna Recipients of the title of People's Artists of Ukraine Russian operatic tenors Russian pop singers Anti-Ukrainian sentiment in Russia 21st-century Russian male singers Winners of the Golden Gramophone Award Moscow Conservatory alumni

Biography

Discography

Extended plays

Pesnya goda ''Pesnya goda'' (), meaning ''Song of the Year'', is an annual televised music festival and gala in Russia, honoring standout songs from the previous year. The event began in the Soviet Union, Soviet period, and prior to the dissolution of the S ...

Honours and awards

Sanctions

See also

Notes

References

External links