One discovery was that of the performance by young tenor Oleg Balashov as Vaudémont: in terms of his singing style, conveying the sound and even appearance he distinctly reminded everyone of the young Lemeshev.
Nezavisimaya gazeta
The tenor of Oleg Balashov’s clarion voice and husky, youthful physique were ideal for Prince Vsevolod.
The New York Times
Oleg Balashov was born in Moscow. Graduated from the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatoire in 1999 (class of Ye. Kibkalo). Soloist with The Moscow municipal New Opera theatre from 1998–1999. Mariinsky Theatre soloist since 1999.
Repertoire at the Mariinsky Theatre:
Bayan (Ruslan and Lyudmila)
Prince Vasilly Shuisky (Boris Godunov)
Andrei Khovansky, Kuzka (Khovanshchina)
Balakin (The Enchantress)
Andrei (Mazepa)
Chekalinsky (The Queen of Spades)
Vaudemont (Iolanta)
Vakula (Christmas Eve)
Old Grandpa (The Tale of Tsar Saltan)
Vsevolod (The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia)
Elisey Bomely (The Tsar's Bride)
Oedipus (Oedipus Rex)
The Marquis (The Gambler)
Kuragin (War and Peace)
Neighbour (The Fiery Angel)
Sergei, Teacher (Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk)
Mitya (The Brothers Karamazov)
Klembovsky (Semyon Kotko)
Edgardo, Arturo (Lucia di Lammermoor)
Carlotto (Don Pasquale)
Alfredo (La traviata)
Don Carlo (Don Carlo)
Manfredo (I vespri siciliani)
Messenger (Aida)
Hadji (Lakmé)
Cassio (Otello)
Judge (Un ballo in maschera)
Bardolph (Falstaff)
Rodolfo (La bohème)
Pinkerton, Goro (Madama Butterfly)
Joe (La fanciulla del West)
Rinuccio (Gianni Schicchi)
Pong (Turandot)
The Abbé de Chazeuil (Adriana Lecouvreur)
Innkeeper (Benvenuto Cellini)
Nathaniel (Les Contes d'Hoffmann)
Daland (Der Fliegende Holländer)
Loge (Das Rheingold)
Siegmund (Die Walküre)
Parsifal (Parsifal)
Narraboth, Herod (Salome)
Aegisth (Elektra)
Števa (Jenůfa)
Vítek (The Makropulos Affair)
Has toured with the Mariinsky Opera Company to the world's leading theatres, among them the Metropolitan Opera (New York), Covent Garden (London), La Scala (Milan), the Teatro Real (Madrid) and the Théâtre du Châtelet (Paris). He has also toured to Berlin, Stockholm, Beijing, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Washington, Amsterdam and Rotterdam.
