Vladimiras Prudnikovas is a true legend, shining brightly in the Lithuanian music sky. One of the most famous Lithuanian basses, the professor of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre will celebrate his anniversary this evening with the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra conducted by Maestro Gintaras Rinkevičius and invited guests, and will present the audience with the most famous classical vocal works.
V. Prudnikoff's musical journey began with the boys' and young men's choir "Ąžuoliukas", when the choir's famous founder and conductor Herman Perelstein selected the talented boy for his newly created ensemble. After graduating from the then Lithuanian State Conservatoire in 1979, Prudnikov began singing at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre, and in 1981 he was a prize-winner of the International Maria Callas Competition in Athens. However, the real recognition came when he sang the role of Boris in Mussorgsky's opera Boris Godunov, with which he appeared in the opera houses of St Petersburg, New York, the Champs Elysees in Paris, as well as in Italian and Japanese opera houses. Later, Prudnikov was regularly invited to sing in France, Italy, Spain, Great Britain, Germany, Finland, Norway, the Netherlands, the USA, Japan and other countries, and took part in international music festivals.
During his lifetime, Prudnikov has performed about 80 major operatic roles, as well as a similar number of cantata and oratorio works. Among the most prominent roles created by V. Prudnikov are Mephistopheles in Ch. Gounod's Faust, King Philip in Verdi's Don Carlo, Boris Godunov and Pimen in Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, and many others.
V. Prudnikov is also a much-loved pedagogue, professor at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, since 1992 head of the Singing Department. In 1996, the singer was awarded the Order of the Grand Duke Gediminas of Lithuania, 3rd degree, and in 1997 he was awarded the Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Art.
