La Damnation de Faust

Stanislav Vorobyov is from Russia and studied at the Moscow Conservatory. He was a member of the International Opera Studio and has been part of the ensemble at the Zurich Opera House since the 2018/19 season. Here, he has performed, among others, as Colline ("La bohème"), Alidoro ("La Cenerentola"), High Priest ("Nabucco"), Notary ("Der Rosenkavalier"), Reinmar von Zweter ("Tannhäuser"), Faust ("Der feurige Engel"), Zaretsky ("Eugene Onegin"), Cesare Angelotti ("Tosca"), Fifth Jew and 1st Nazarene ("Salome"), Lord Rochefort ("Anna Bolena"), Dottor Grenvil ("La traviata"), Crébillon ("La rondine"), Zuniga ("Carmen"), Roberto ("I vespri siciliani"), Roucher ("Andrea Chénier"), Police Commissioner ("Der Rosenkavalier"), Marchese Calatrava ("La forza del destino"), Tom ("Un ballo in maschera"), Brühlmann ("Werther"), as well as Faust ("Der feurige Engel") and Gold Merchant ("Cardillac"). In addition, he sang Don Basilio ("Il barbiere di Siviglia") at the Bregenz Festival, Nourabad ("Les Pêcheurs de perles") at the Opera Vlaanderen and in Luxembourg, and Ombra di Nino ("Semiramide") at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam. At the Bregenz Festival, he appeared as Uncle Bonzo in "Madama Butterfly" and as Il Capitano/L’ispettore in Giordano’s "Siberia". In 2024, he also performed as Colline ("La bohème") at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre and the ROHM Theatre Kyoto. At the Zurich Opera House, he will appear as Méphistophélès in the concert performance of "Damnation de Faust".

Elīna Garanča was born in Riga and studied at the Latvian Academy of Music. She won the Mirjam Helin Singing Competition in 1999 and was a finalist in the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition in 2001. After engagements in Meiningen and Frankfurt, she quickly established herself through appearances at renowned opera houses and concert halls as one of the leading mezzo-sopranos internationally. She has appeared, among others, at the Vienna State Opera, the Salzburg Festival, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, the Bavarian State Opera and the Berlin State Opera, as well as at the Opéra national de Paris. In 2003, she became a member of the ensemble of the Vienna State Opera, where she was awarded the title of Austrian Kammersängerin in 2013. Her numerous awards include several Echo Awards and multiple honors as Singer of the Year. One of the highlights of her career was her debut at the Royal Opera House in London in 2009 as Carmen, as well as performances in the same role in a new production at the Metropolitan Opera, which was broadcast worldwide in over 1,000 cinemas. She has also performed as Carmen at La Scala in Milan, the Vienna State Opera, and the Zurich Opera House. Recently, she sang the Principessa di Bouillon in "Adriana Lecouvreur" at Teatro Real, Santuzza ("Cavalleria rusticana") and Eboli ("Don Carlo") at the Vienna State Opera, Amneris ("Aida") at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and the Bavarian State Opera, Kundry ("Parsifal") at the Bayreuth Festival, as well as gala concerts and song recitals (including at the Zurich Opera House). Highlights of the 2025/2026 season include "La Damnation de Faust" at the Zurich Opera House, a tour with Daniele Gatti and the Staatskapelle Dresden with the "Verdi Requiem", and "Adriana Lecouvreur" in Naples.

Tenor Saimir Pirgu was born in Albania and studied at the Claudio Monteverdi Conservatory in Bolzano. He is a regular guest on stages such as Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the Vienna State Opera, the Royal Opera London, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, and the Bavarian State Opera Munich, and has worked with conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Christian Thielemann, Philippe Jordan, Zubin Mehta, and Sir Antonio Pappano. In 2009 he was awarded the Franco Corelli Prize and in 2013 he received the prestigious Pavarotti d’Oro. In concert he has sung, among others, Beethoven’s "Missa Solemnis" with Gianandrea Noseda and the Washington National Symphony Orchestra, the solo part in Beethoven’s "Symphony No. 9" in Bucharest, as well as a concert performance of "Carmen" with the Copenhagen Philharmonic and Verdi’s "Requiem" with the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia under Daniel Harding and with the Bergen Philharmonic. Recent engagements include his role debut as Mario Cavaradossi ("Tosca") at the Roma Caracalla Festival, Don José ("Carmen") at the Edinburgh International Festival, the title role in Verdi’s "Ernani" at the Bregenz Festival, Pinkerton ("Madama Butterfly") at the Teatro di San Carlo and at the Vienna State Opera, the Duke of Mantua ("Rigoletto") and Rodolfo ("La bohème") at the Royal Opera London, Lensky ("Eugene Onegin") in Rome, as well as Rodolfo at the Vienna and Berlin State Operas. With Opus Arte he released the solo album "Il Mio Canto" in 2016 and the aria collection "Saimir" in 2024. At the Zurich Opera House he most recently performed the title role in "Les Contes d’Hoffmann" as well as Chevalier des Grieux in "Manon Lescaut" and returns there in a concert performance as Faust ("La Damnation de Faust").

Amin Ahangaran, bass, was born in Iran. He completed his artistic training at the Tehran Conservatory of Music as well as in Graz. From 2020 to 2022, he was a member of the Young Artist Program at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, where he appeared in the productions "Rigoletto", "Siberia", and "Ariadne auf Naxos". He also performed in Florence and in various concert halls in Italy as a bass soloist. In the summer of 2022, he participated in the competitions “Voci Verdiane in Busseto” (finalist), “Riccardo Zandonai” in Riva del Garda, and the “CLIP” competition in Portofino. From 2022 to 2024, he was a member of the International Opera Studio at the Zurich Opera House, where he was heard in productions including "La traviata", "Eugene Onegin", and "Viva la mamma". He then joined the ensemble of the Opéra de Paris, where he has been a member ever since. In the 2025/26 season, he will appear there, among other roles, as Dottor Grenvil in "La traviata" and in a new production of Philip Glass’s "Satyagraha". He returns to the Zurich Opera House as Brander in the concert version of "La Damnation de Faust".