Николай Басков

Nikolai Victorovich Baskov was born on October 15th 1976, in Balashikha, Moscow Oblast, Russian SFSR. He is a Russian tenor who performs in both operatic and popular music styles. His honors include commendations as Meritorious Artist and People’s Artist of the Russian Federation as well as People’s Artist of Ukraine. In addition to his career as a vocalist, Baskov is a regular figure on the Russian game show “What? Where? When?.” Baskov studied at the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music and Moscow Conservatory. In 1998, he placed first in the All-Russian Young Singers Competition and placed second in the 1999 Grande Voce competition in Spain. The same year, Nikolay Baskov was invited to the Bolshoi Theatre, where he performed the major arias in such operas as Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, Rimsky-Korsakov's Prince Igor, and Boris Godunov, Verdi's Traviata, and others. In 2000, he recorded his debut solo album, The Dedication. The music video filmed for "In Memory of Caruso" (a cover of “Caruso” written by Lucio Dalla) was aired on Russian TV and increased his popularity. In 2001, Baskov abandoned the Bolshoi to work on his solo career. Though Baskov's repertoire consists mostly of modern arrangements of arias and romances, he performs pop music as well. Nikolay has often performed with pop artists, as well as with classical singers such as Montserrat Caballe. Released in 2011, the Nikolai Baskov: Romantic Journey concert performance CD/DVD took place at Moscow's Hall of the Luzhniki Stadium. Baskov was accompanied by a full orchestra and played to an enthusiastic crowd of nearly 10,000 people. Taped with 24 HD cameras, this is Russia's most elaborate and expensive performance ever recorded for international television. In early 2012, Baskov embarked on his first American tour.