Igor Golovatenko returns!

Baritone Igor Golovatenko demonstrated extraordinary musical versatility early on, graduating first as a cellist from the Saratov Conservatory, then as a conductor from Moscow's Tchaikovsky Conservatory before turning to vocal studies at the Moscow Academy of Choral Arts. He first wowed Chicago audiences in 2022, with his Lyric debut as Rodrigue in Don Carlos. Stage and Cinema noted his "soaring and sinuous voice" and "gorgeously sonorous tone."

Now a mainstay at his hometown Bolshoi Theater, Golovatenko has made an indelible mark at top houses around the world in a wide variety of repertoire, including classic Russian lyric-baritone roles such as Yeletsky in Queen of Spades (his Metropolitan Opera debut role in 2019) and the title role in Eugene Onegin. Laura Servidei of Bachtrack, reviewing his Zurich Onegin, called him "elegant and aristocratic, but capable of outbursts which managed to cut through [the] thick orchestral texture," adding that, "in the finale, his transformation was impressive, his desperation palpable."

Golovatenko's Italianate tone, natural slancio, and grand-scale theatrical presence seem made to order for the meaty dramatic roles of Giuseppe Verdi, which form the heart of his repertoire. His Verdi credentials include all the staples — Germont in La Traviata, Rodrigo in Don Carlos, Renato in Un ballo in maschera, Iago in Otello, Di Luna in Il Trovatore and, of course, his current Lyric role, Rigoletto — as well as some less often heard but equally intense characters such as Montfort in Les Vêpres Siciliennes, Seid in Il Corsaro, and Don Carlo in La Forza del Destino, which he unveiled in a riveting performance at the Met last season.

What makes Verdi's towering figures such a perfect fit for Golovatenko? "I love his mode of writing for the voice," the baritone said during a Met intermission interview. "This is very wise, you know — he doesn't do the full energy in the first aria or first scene. He builds the role like a very good dramaturg." In his current assignment, Golovatenko will have an opportunity to take full advantage of Verdi's careful pacing and dramatic range.

A YouTube video of the embittered jester's showpiece, "Cortigiani! vil razza dannata," makes it clear that Chicago audiences are in for a treat. Golovatenko throws himself into Verdi's roiling opening phrases like a fury, figurative fists flying, then encases those angry fists in a glove of vocal velvet for the aria's pleading second half, the warmth of his tone and his smooth legato expressing the full depth of his paternal affection. After his first outing in the role, in Savona, La Repubblica called him "an admirable Rigoletto . . . a splendid voice, beautiful portamento, ductile phrasing, and perfect diction" — clearly a worthy successor to the great Lyric Rigolettos of the past.