Lithuanian tenor Ilja Aksionov (born 1996) first gained experience on the stage when still a boy soprano, where he made his debut on the opera stage as the Prince in “The Little Prince” by Rachel Portman and as the soloist in Leonard Bernstein’s “MASS”.
Thereafter followed vocal studies under the guidance of Prof. Virgilijus Noreika at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre in Vilnius and at the Robert Schumann Conservatoire in Düsseldorf in the class of Prof. Konrad Jarnot. His vocal studies have been further enriched by participating in masterclasses with artists including Dame Sarah Connolly, Anne le Bozeck, Hans Eijsackers, Hank Neven, Peter Gijsbertsen, Juliane Banse, Margareet Honig and Christianne Stotijn. He currently studies with John Evans.
He is a member of Les Arts Florissant’s Le Jardin des Voix (2023-2024), touring Europe and North America performing Purcell’s The Fairy Queen, directed by William Christie and Paul Agnew.
Operatic roles include Tamino Die Zauberflöte, Flute A Midsummer Night's Dream, Gherardo Gianni Schicchi and Teapot, Little Old Man & Tree Frog L’enfant et les sortilèges. He has appeared at the Ettlingen Festspiele as Alfred Die Fledermaus and Prince Ramiro La Cenerentola, Rodé in Peter Eötvös’ Three Sisters at Hagen Theatre and as Orphée in Glück’s Orphée et Eurydice in Enschede. Most recently he sang at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, in the Semichorus of Brett Dean’s Hamlet, conducted by Vladimir Jurowski.
Ilja won the Press Prize at the IVC song competition in S-Hertogenbosch in 2021, 1st Prize in the International Competition Kaunas Sonorum in 2015, and 2nd Prize in the Citta di Barletta Competition in Italy, alongside pianist Gustas Raudonius. In 2021/22 he was awarded a scholarship by the Richard Wagner Association Düsseldorf.
