Awards

The winner of the Grand Prix at the International Opera Singers Competition in Milan (2008).
The winner of the 1st prize at the VI International Contest of Vocalists named after Bulbul in Baku (2012).
Merited Artist of Azerbaijan (2017).
People’s Artist of Azerbaijan (2018).
Laureate of the prestigious classical music award of Grand Prix de la Culture (Austria, 2020).

				
Юсиф Эйвазов

Biography

Yusif Eyvazov was born in Algeria but grew up in Baku, Azerbaijan. He studied at the Baku Conservatory, then moved to Italy in 1997 and completed his training with Franco Corelli, Luciano Pavarotti, Magda Olivero, Placido Domingo, Gianandrea Gavazzeni and Antonio Fogliani among others.

Yusif Eyvazov’s repertoire includes the roles of Alfredo (La Traviata), Renato des Grieux (Manon Lescaut), Kalaf (Turandot), Rodolfo (La Boheme), title parts in Andrea Chenier  and Don Carlo, and many others. He is the winner of the Grand Prix at several international competitions in Italy and awarded an honorary medal of Gianandrea Gavazzeni.

In 2010 he took part in the production of Tosca at the Bolshoi Theatre, singing the role of Cavaradossi.

During the 2014/15 season Yusif Eyvazov sang Turiddu (Cavalleria rusticana) at the Teatro Filarmonico for the Verona Opera Festival and Radames in Aida with the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma. He sang Verdi’s Requiem with the Symphony Orchestra La Verdi in Milan’s Auditorium. He also gave a recital at the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona alongside Anna Netrebko, conducted by Massimo Zanetti. During the summer of 2015 he sang Cavaradossi (Tosca) at the St. Margarethen Opera Festival near Vienna. Other highlights of Yusif Eyvazov’s career include Turiddu with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, the title role in Otello at the Ravenna Festival. He has also sung Des Grieux (Manon Lescaut) alongside Anna Netrebko under Riccardo Muti at the Rome Opera and Canio (I Pagliacci) under Paolo Carignani at the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari .

In the 2015/16 season, Yusif Eyvazov made a series of important debuts at the world-renowned opera houses. He stared as Canio in Los Angeles Opera’s production of I Pagliacci conducted by Plácido Domingo, made his first appearances at the Metropolitan Opera and the Wiener Staatsoper singing Calaf in Turandot, and debuted at both the Paris Opera and at the Staatsoper Berlin as Manrico in Il Trovatore.

In June 2016, Eyvazov appeared at the Mariinsky Theatre in the title role of Otello (under Valery Gergiev). His Salzburg Festival debut took place in the summer of 2016, as Des Grieux in Manon Lescaut. As a concert artist he has been heard in Graz and Italy and on an Asian tour with Anna Netrebko.

In the 2016/17 season he performed the role of Des Grieux in a new production of Puccini’s Manon Lescaut at the Bolshoi Theatre (directed by Adolf Shapiro, conducted by Jader Bignamini), and also sang his first Don Carlo.
Among his other engagements: Macduff (Macbeth) at the Bayerische Staatsoper, München; Andrea Chénier at the Praha National Opera Theatre; Maurice de Saxe (Adriana Lecouvreur) at the Mariinsky Theatre; Radames (Aida) at Salzburger Festspiele and Arena di Verona; Manrico (Il Trovatore) at the Wiener Staatsoper.

In December 2017 Yusif Eyvazov had a successful debut at the prestigious season opening of Teatro alla Scala in the title role of Andrea Chenier (conductor Riccardo Chailly, director Mario Martone). He could be also seen at Covent Garden and Mariinsky theatre as Macduff (Macbeth), at Berlin State Opera as Cavaradossi (Tosca), Opera National de Paris as Manrico (Il Trovatore) and Arena di Verona as Radames (Aida). He gave concerts at Monte Carlo, Moscow, Minsk, Zagreb, London, Würth, Lübeck and Salzburg; toured across Asia, Australia and New Zealand (alongside Anna Netrebko), including cities such as Dubai, Tokyo, Nanjing, Melbourne and Sydney; and finished the 17/18 season with an extensive tour throughout South America, including cities such as Santiago, Sao Paulo, Lima and Buenos Aires.

Highlights of the 18/19 season include role debuts as Dick Johnson (La Fanciulla del West) at the Metropolitan opera and as Don Alvaro (La forza del destino) at Royal Opera House. Moreover, Yusif Eyvazov appeared in title roles of Andrea Chenier at Vienna State Opera, Herman (The Queen of Spades) and Don Carlo at Bolshoi Theater. In addition, he sang Manrico (Il Trovatore), alongside Anna Netrebko, at Arena di Verona and Maurizio (Adriana Lecouvreur) at Salzburg Festival. He also gave the series of his first solo recitals at the Salle Gaveau, Elbphilharmonie and Tonhalle Düsseldorf, sang at Wiener Opernball and 350th Anniversary Gala of Opera National de Paris.

Highlights of previous 2019/20 include his triumphant return to the Metropolitan Opera to perform two of his signature roles: Herman in the new production of The Queen of Spades and Calaf (Turandot), a performance of which has been broadcasted live in HD. Besides that, he also took part in the prestigious New Year Eve Gala concert for the Metropolitan Opera conducted by music director Yannick Nezet-Seguin and featuring a line-up of international stars. Moreover, he made his house debut as Maurizio in a concert version of Adriana Lecouvreur at Deutsche Oper Berlin and returned to the Vienna State Opera as Manrico (Il Trovatore).

Repertoire

At the Bolshoi Theatre:

Cavaradossi (Tosca)
Chevalier Des Grieux (Manon Lescaut)
Don Carlo (Don Carlo)
Herman (The Queen of Spades)