Macbeth

Baritone Roman Burdenko was born in Russia and studied at the conservatories in Novosibirsk and St. Petersburg. He was a prizewinner at international singing competitions in Moscow and Paris, as well as at Plácido Domingo’s Operalia in Beijing (2012) and the Belvedere Singing Competition in Amsterdam (2013). From 2006 to 2011 he was a soloist at the Mikhailovsky Theatre and, from 2017, at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. He performs on the world’s leading opera stages, including La Scala in Milan, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Mariinsky Theatre, the Grand Théâtre de Genève, the Arena di Verona, the Opéra de Paris, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, the Opera Amsterdam, and the Salzburg Festival. His repertoire includes Scarpia ("Tosca"), Iago ("Otello"), Tonio ("Pagliacci"), Alfio ("Cavalleria rusticana"), Don Carlo di Vargas ("La forza del destino"), Rodrigo ("Don Carlo"), Alberich ("Der Ring des Nibelungen"), Giorgio Germont ("La traviata"), Jack Rance ("La fanciulla del West"), Amonasro ("Aida"), Tomski ("Pique Dame"), Enrico Ashton ("Lucia di Lammermoor"), Barnaba ("La Gioconda"), as well as the title roles in "Rigoletto," "Nabucco," and "Macbeth." Most recently, he appeared as Macbeth at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, as Amonasro at the Opéra de Paris and the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and as Michele ("Il tabarro") at the Opéra de Paris. He made his debut at the Zurich Opera House in 2015 as Ford and has since returned as Count Tomski, Alfio, Tonio, Lord Enrico Ashton, and most recently as Macbeth.

The South Korean bass Insung Sim studied in Seoul and Vienna. He is the winner of the KBC Singing Competition in Korea (1996) and was a prizewinner at the Belvedere Singing Competition (2000) as well as at competitions in Los Angeles and Oslo. In 2001, he made his debut at the Vienna State Opera, marking the beginning of his international career. In recent years, he has performed roles such as Il Re ("Aida"), Fasolt ("Das Rheingold"), Raimondo ("Lucia di Lammermoor"), and appeared in a gala concert celebrating Antonio Pappano’s 22nd anniversary at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden. He made his role debut as Palémon ("Thaïs") at La Scala in Milan and has appeared as Sarastro ("The Magic Flute") in Montpellier, Turin, and Seattle. His repertoire also includes Vodník ("Rusalka"), Count des Grieux ("Manon"), First Soldier ("Salome"), and Klingsor ("Parsifal"). His more recent engagements have taken him to the Teatro Real de Madrid, the Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv, Vancouver, the Tokyo Spring Festival, the Ópera de Oviedo, and with Mozart’s "Requiem" to the Malmö Symphony Orchestra and the Granada Festival. Most recently, he has appeared as Lodovico ("Otello") in Madrid, Sarastro at the Komische Oper Berlin, Ramfis ("Aida") at the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville and the Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania, and Timur ("Turandot") at the Irish National Opera, in Tel Aviv, and at the Seoul Arts Center. He has also given song recitals at the Opéra de Marseille and the Opéra d’Avignon.

The Polish-American soprano Ewa Płonka completed her vocal studies at the renowned Juilliard School in New York, after having previously studied piano at the Music Academy in Poznań as well as at the Universities of Oklahoma and Utah. As a concert pianist, she won several prizes at international competitions and has performed in the USA, Poland, Israel, France, Italy, Germany, and Norway. As an opera singer, she first made her debut in mezzo-soprano roles such as Azucena ("Il trovatore", Oper Frankfurt) and Giovanna Seymour ("Anna Bolena", Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe) before successfully transitioning to the dramatic soprano repertoire. Since then, leading roles in "Turandot", "Tosca" and "Aida" as well as roles such as Lady Macbeth ("Macbeth"), Abigaille ("Nabucco"), the Foreign Princess ("Rusalka") and Venus ("Tannhäuser") have taken her to the world’s most prestigious opera houses, including the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Hamburg State Opera, Teatro Real in Madrid, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Arena di Verona, Semperoper Dresden, Washington National Opera, and the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, as well as to Seoul and Tokyo. On the concert stage, she has appeared in Mahler’s Symphony No. 3, Rachmaninov’s choral symphony "The Bells", Mendelssohn’s "Elijah", Wagner’s "Wesendonck Lieder", Szymanowski’s "Stabat Mater", and in gala concerts at Carnegie Hall. Engagements for the 2025/26 season include Aida at the Opéra Bastille in Paris, Floria Tosca at the Hamburg State Opera, her debut at La Scala in Milan as Turandot, Abigaille at the Bavarian State Opera, and Elisabetta ("Don Carlo") at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin.

Thalia Cook-Hansen, soprano, is from the USA. After studying voice in the USA and Canada, she completed her master’s degree at the Dutch National Opera Academy. She also attended masterclasses with, among others, Elliot Madore, Floris Visser, and Lynne Dawson. In Amsterdam, she performed roles such as Nerina in Haydn’s "La fedeltà premiata," Fanny in Rossini’s "La cambiale di matrimonio," Bastienne in Mozart’s "Bastien et Bastienne," and Adele in "Die Fledermaus." She sang Barbarina ("Le nozze di Figaro") at the Estates Theatre in Prague, as well as the First Lady ("The Magic Flute") and Mademoiselle Silberklang ("Der Schauspieldirektor") in Toronto. Her repertoire also includes roles such as Bubikopf in Viktor Ullmann’s "Der Kaiser von Atlantis," Singer No. 1 in Conrad Susa’s "Transformations," Amore in Monteverdi’s "Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria," and the title role in Donizetti’s "Lucia di Lammermoor." Since the 2025/26 season, she has been a member of the International Opera Studio at the Zürich Opera House.

The tenor Omer Kobiljak is originally from Bosnia and was born in Switzerland. He studied singing with David Thorner, first at the Winterthur Conservatory and then at the Kalaidos University of Applied Sciences in Aarau. He attended masterclasses with Jane Thorner-Mengedoht, David Thorner, and Jens Fuhr and won first prize with distinction at the Thurgau Music Competition in 2012. The following year, he sang a apprentice (“Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg”) under Daniele Gatti at the Salzburg Festival and made his debut in the same role at La Scala in Milan in 2017. From the 2017/18 season, he was a member of the International Opera Studio at the Zurich Opera House, where he appeared in productions such as “La fanciulla del West,” “Parsifal,” “The Flying Dutchman,” and “La traviata.” He also performed as Lord Arturo Buklaw (“Lucia di Lammermoor”) and as the notary in the concert performance of “La sonnambula.” Since the 2019/20 season, Omer Kobiljak has been part of the ensemble at the Zurich Opera House, where he has sung roles including Abdallo (“Nabucco”), Macduff (“Macbeth”), Froh (“Das Rheingold”), Alfredo (“La traviata”), Tybalt (“Roméo et Juliette”), the Mad Hatter (“Alice in Wonderland”), and a singer (“Der Rosenkavalier”). His further engagements include Prince Alexis (Umberto Giordano’s “Siberia”), Yamadori (“Madama Butterfly”), and Don Riccardo (“Ernani”) at the Bregenz Festival, as well as the title role in “The Count of Luxembourg” at the Tiroler Festspiele Erl. In 2023, Omer Kobiljak was a finalist in the Operalia Competition in Cape Town. Most recently, he made his house debuts as Lord Arturo Buklaw at the Semperoper Dresden, as Froh at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, and as Narraboth (“Salome”) at the Baltic Opera Festival in Poland.

Salvador Villanueva is a Mexican tenor. He completed his vocal training at the Universidad de Sonora and subsequently at the Mexican Opera Studio, where he sang roles including Goro in "Madama Butterfly" and Remendado in "Carmen." In the 2023/24 and 2024/25 seasons, he was a member of the Opera Studio at the Amsterdam Opera, performing roles such as Gastone ("La traviata"), Borsa ("Rigoletto"), the tenor role in Tom Johnson’s The Four Note Opera, and the Sailor ("Dido and Aeneas"). In 2024, he returned to Mexico to sing the title role in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette. Salvador Villanueva was a finalist in singing competitions in Mexico City and ’s-Hertogenbosch. He has been a member of the International Opera Studio at the Zürich Opera House since the 2025/26 season.

Evan Gray is a Swiss bass-baritone from Winterthur. He began his musical training as a treble with the Zürich Boys’ Choir and later transitioned to the bass voice. After initial vocal studies at the Winterthur Conservatory, he continued his education at the prestigious Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. His roles to date include the Forester ("Das schlaue Füchslein"), Figaro ("Le nozze di Figaro"), and Leporello ("Don Giovanni"). As an accomplished recitalist, he has performed Schubert’s "Winterreise" and Vaughan Williams’ "Songs of Travel" multiple times and has collaborated with artists such as Julius Drake and Robert Holl. From 2023 to 2025, he was a guest at the Marlboro Music Festival, where he developed a close artistic relationship with pianist Mitsuko Uchida, who has invited him back for the summer 2026 edition. Since the 2025/26 season, Evan Gray has been a member of the International Opera Studio at the Zürich Opera House.

Guram Margvelashvili is from Georgia. He completed his vocal studies in 2024 at the State Conservatory in Tbilisi. From 2019 to 2023, he was a member of the Tbilisi Opera Studio, where he performed roles such as the Priest and Papageno in "The Magic Flute," Valentin in Gounod’s "Faust," and the title roles in "Don Giovanni" and "Eugene Onegin." He also sang Belcore in Donizetti’s "L’elisir d’amore." Guram Margvelashvili has received several scholarships and was a finalist in the Giuseppe Di Stefano International Singing Competition in Sicily and the Tamar Iveri International Singing Competition in Georgia. Since the 2025/26 season, he has been a member of the International Opera Studio at the Zürich Opera House.