Anton Belov, baritone

Bristol-Myers Squibb Artist-in-Residence
Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at 7:00 PM
Location: State Theatre

FREE PUBLIC PERFORMANCE - Tickets Required
CALL: 732-246-SHOW (7469) to reserve tickets.

About Anton Belov
Russian-born baritone Anton Belov has performed in major opera houses and concert halls across the U.S., earning impressive notices from the music world. The Washington Post hailed his “voluminous sound, appealing stage presence, and a tone of rich vibrancy,” while The New York Sun was impressed with his “authority—technical, musical, dramatic—that was almost frightening.” Opera News praised his “great emotional honesty; singing straight from the heart,” and The Philadelphia Inquirer concluded that Belov “has the voice of an emerging star.”

The singer’s most recent credits include the title role in Delaware Opera’s Don Giovanni, John Sorel in Menotti’s The Consul with Opera Boston and Chamber Opera of Chicago, Malatesta in Don Pasquale with Opera Providence, Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro and Ping in Turandot with Opera New Jersey, Golijov’s Ainadamar with Opera Boston, Count di Luna in Il trovatore with Anchorage Opera, Handel’s Messiah at Avery Fisher Hall, and a recital under the auspices of New York Festival of Song.

As little as a decade ago, no one—including Belov himself—would have predicted this career path. Born and raised in Moscow, he came to the U.S. at the age of 16, speaking virtually no English, seeking medical treatment for his ailing father. Expecting to stay for two or three weeks, Belov and his parents instead embarked on a new life in America. Through the Orthodox Church in Claremont, NH, he met Simeon Tregubov, a former professor of voice at the Moscow State School of Theater, who offered the young Anton free voice lessons. Belov eventually graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music with a Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance and went on to earn an Artist’s Diploma and a Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School.

For two weeks out of every season, the State Theatre heads up an artist-in-residency program funded by corporate sponsor Bristol-Myers Squibb. An artist or ensemble is chosen each year to visit schools, senior citizen centers, hospitals, and other local venues to present free educational informances (lecture-demonstrations) for small groups, giving them an up-close and highly personal connection to the arts. The residency culminates each year with a free public performance at the theater.