Stefan Astakhov

German baritone Stefan Astakhov, born in Russia, comes from a family deeply rooted in the musical world. The son of an opera singer and a conductor, he was immersed in music from an early age. His musical training began with violin and voice studies. While studying with Bogdan Makal at the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music, he made his operatic debut at the age of 19 as Figaro in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro at the Wrocław Opera in Poland.

Astakhov’s exceptional artistry has been recognized with numerous international competition successes. In 2018, he won the 2nd prize at the Ton & Erklärung Competition, whose jury was chaired by KS Brigitte Fassbaender. He subsequently reached the final of the 52nd International Vocal Competition ’s-Hertogenbosch, where he was awarded the Young Talent Prize by a jury chaired by Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. In 2019, he was awarded 2nd Prize as well as the Prize for Best Lied Interpretation at the Queen Sonja Music Competition in Oslo. That same year, he won 1st Prize at the prestigious Mirjam Helin Competition in Helsinki, establishing himself among the most distinguished young singers of his generation.

In 2022, Astakhov participated in the Accademia Rossiniana, where he sang the roles of Barone di Trombonok and Don Alvaro in the academy production of Rossini’s Il viaggio a Reims as part of the Rossini Opera Festival. From 2020 to 2022, he was a member of the Opera Studio of the Vienna State Opera, before joining the company’s ensemble, where he remained from 2022 to 2026. His repertoire at the Wiener Staatsoper encompassed a wide range of roles, including Silvio in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, Schaunard in Puccini’s La bohème, Figaro in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia, Malatesta in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, Belcore in L’elisir d’amore, Valentin in Gounod’s Faust, Mercutio in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, Sharpless in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Lescaut in Massenet’s Manon, Harlekin in Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos, and Boxer in Alexander Raskatov’s Animal Farm, among others.

His international engagements have included appearances as Sharpless in Madama Butterfly at the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos and as Riccardo in Bellini’s I puritani at the Teatro Principal de Maó. At the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, he has performed the role of Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia as well as Lamberto Spallanzani in Nicola Campogrande’s opera Olympia.

The 2026/27 season opens with Astakhov’s debut as Gamberotto in Rossini’s L’equivoco stravagante at the Wexford Festival in October. In December 2026, he will make his house debut at the Semperoper as Marcello in Puccini’s La bohème. In January 2027, he will make his debut as Figaro at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and the Opéra de Tours. In March 2027, he returns to the Teatro Comunale di Bologna to make his debut as Ulisse in Claudio Monteverdi’s masterpiece Il ritorno di Ulisse in patria. Finally, in July 2027, Astakhov will make his debut as the Count in Franz Schreker’s Der ferne Klang at the Tiroler Festspiele Erl.