Lauri Vasar

Estonian baritone Lauri Vasar was born in Tallinn and studied there and at the Salzburg Mozarteum. He made his stage debut at the Salzburg Festival in 2003 (Die Bakchantinnen, Don Carlos). Notable engagements include appearances as Gunther and Donner in Wagner’s Ring cycle, Orest (Elektra), Amfortas (Parsifal), the title role of Le nozze di Figaro and Sharpless (Madama Butterfly) for the Staatsoper Berlin; Olivier (Capriccio) for Paris Opera, Lyon Opera and La Monnaie, Brussels; Orest and Gunther for Teatro Real, Madrid; Kovalyov (The Nose) for Zurich Opera; Wolfram (Tannhäuser) and Amfortas for Budapest Wagner Days; and the title role of Il prigioniero for Athens Opera. Other roles in his repertory include Shaklovity (Khovanshchina), Marcello (La bohème), Belcore (L’elisir d’amore), Yeletsky (The Queen of Spades), Escamillo (Carmen), Lescaut (Manon Lescaut), the Forester (The Cunning Little Vixen) and the title roles of Don Giovanni and Eugene Onegin. He made his Royal Opera debut in 2014 as Schaunard (La bohème).