Kostas Smoriginas

Lithuanian bass-baritone Kostas Smoriginas is one of the most sought-after singers of today. Known for his “smouldering, god’s-gift” voice as well as his “complete performance” Kostas can “command the stage with a single phrase” and “sings as well as he acts.”

Kostas Smoriginas is one of the most sought after bass-baritones of today. He made his debut at the Deutsche Staatsoper, Berlin as Escamillo Carmen and has since performed the role with the Berlin Philharmonic and Sir Simon Rattle (recorded for EMI Classics), the Salzburg Easter Festival, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Santa Fe Music Festival, Dresden Semperoper, and with Beijing’s National Centre for Performing Arts.

Last season Smoriginas sang Jochanaan Salome with the houses of Hannover, Antwerp and Malmö, and in his return to the Zurich Opera House, performed Verdi Requiem with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, and made his Bayerische Staatsoper debut as Heerrufer des Königs Lohengrin, alongside René Pape and Piotr Beczała.

In high demand on the concert platform, engagements have included Szymanowski’s Stabat Mater with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (Edward Gardner) and London Symphony Orchestra (Valery Gergiev), Stravinsky Les Noces and Beethoven Symphony No. 9 at the BBC Proms, Dvorak Te Deum with the Orchestre de Paris, Beethoven Symphony No. 9 with the Frankfurt Radio Orchestra, Rachmaninov The Bells with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (Andris Nelsons) and Shostakovich Symphony No. 13 with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. He recorded the role of Pietro Simon Boccanegra alongside Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Ildar Abdrazakov and Barbara Frittoli.

Smoriginas studied at the Lithuanian Music and Theatre Academy before representing his country at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition. He graduated from the Royal College of Music and was a member of the Jette Parker Young Artist Programme at the Royal Opera House.