Sergej Larin

Sergej Alekseyevich Larin[1] (Lithuanian: Sergejus Larinas; Russian: Сергей Алексеевич Ларин; March 9, 1956 – January 13, 2008)[2] was one of a number of operatic tenors from the former Soviet Union to achieve success in the West.

His vocal talent was acknowledged by some of the world's leading conductors including Riccardo Muti, Claudio Abbado, James Levine and Zubin Mehta.

Larin's international career started after he signed a contract with the Slovak National Theatre and moved to Slovakia, following which he made a debut at the Vienna State Opera.

Larin also performed as Calaf in a production of Puccini's Turandot mounted in China and recorded, video-taped, and distributed globally.

His Andrei in Neeme Järvi's recording of Tchaikovsky's Mazeppa placed him in the company of Sergei Leiferkus, Galina Gorchakova, Anatoly Kotcherga, and Larissa Diadkova, the top post-Soviet singers in the 1990s.