INTRODUCTION

Baritone Steponas Zonys is an ensemble member of the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre. He has a charming full lyric voice characterized by its delightful quality and powerful delivery. His achievements have been recognized with awards such as the Opera Hope of the Year and Best Opera Singer of the Year at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre for 2021 and 2022.

RECENT AND FUTURE ENGAGEMENTS

His most recent and future engagements since 2022 include (among others):

  • a role debut Michonnet/Adriana Lecouvreur at the Estonia Opera Festival 2023;
  • a role debut as Sharpless/Madama Butterfly (co-production with the MET and ENO), a role debut as Titas/Lamb of God, a role debut as Rodrigo Posa/Don Carlos, as well as Faninal/Rosenkavalier, Figaro/Il barbiere di Seviglia, the title role in Eugene Onegin, Escamillo/Carmen, Valentin/Faust, Ping/Turandot, Marcello/La bohème and Danilo/Die lustige witwe (a.o.) at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre;
  • Morel/Thérèse (concert version) w. the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre at the Pazaislis festival;
  • Fauré’s Requiem with the Lithuanian National Philharmonic;
  • Creation of the World by L.Vilkoncius (concert version) with the Lithuanian Symphony Orchestra;
  • Strauss’ The Gypsy Baron in Chicago, USA;
  • Escamillo/Carmen at Teatro Politeama Greco in Lecce;
  • Michonnet/Adriana Lecouvreur (cover) in Parma, Modena and Piacenza.

BIOGRAPHY

Baritone Steponas Zonys graduated from Lithuania Music and Theatre Academy with studies of Vocal Performance in 2016 (class of prof. Eduardas Kaniava). During his studies, he had been working at Klaipėda State Musical Theatre (2014-2019), where he sang several major baritone roles. In 2016-2017 the singer participated in the LNOBT Opera Trainee Programme.

Since 2019 he has been an ensemble member of the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre.

Recent Past Engagements

In 2021, Steponas portrayed Valentin in Faust and Faninal in D. Michieletto’s production of Der Rosenkavalier at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre. His versatility shone through in 2019 with roles such as Marcello in La bohème, Don Giovanni in the production of the same name at Klaipeda State Musical Theatre, Maximilian in Candide, and Mr. Astley in V. Barkhatov’s production of The Gambler at the Lithuania National Opera and Ballet Theatre.

Zonys has a string of notable performances, including Eisenstein in Fledermaus (2019), Ping in R. Wilson’s production of Turandot (2019), and Figaro in Il barbiere di Seviglia(2018) at Klaipeda State Musical Theatre. His earlier contributions to the opera repertoire include the roles of Count Danilo in Die lustige Witwe (2017), Silvio in I Pagliacci (2017), Robert in Iolanta (2017), Belcore in L’elisir d’amore (2016), and Schaunard in La bohème (2016), all performed at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre.

Awards

Steponas Zonys is laureate of many republic and baltic states competitions. In 2019 he was given the Opera Hope of the Year award at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre and the Most Beloved Artist prize chosen by the audience at Klaipėda State Musical Theater. In 2021 and 2022 he was given the Best Opera Singer of the Year award at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre. The singer has been awarded the Lithuania President Dalia Grybauskaitė’s award for international merits to Lithuania.

OPERA    

                                                                                                                                                                       

Bizet, G. Carmen Escamillo
Cilea, F. Adriana Lecouvreur Michonnet
Donizetti, G. L’elisir d’amore Belcore
Lucia di Lammermoor Enrico
Gounod, Ch. Faust Valentin
Lehar, F. Die lustige witwe Danilo
Leoncavallo, R. I Pagliacci Silvio
Mozart, W.A. Don Giovanni Don Giovanni
Le nozze di Figaro Conte Almaviva
Ponchielli, A. I Lituani Arnoldo
Prokofjev, S. The Gambler Mr. Astley
Puccini, G. La bohème Marcello
Madama Butterfly Sharpless
Turandot Ping
Rossini, G. Il barbiere di Seviglia Figaro
Strauss, J. Der Fledermaus Eisenstein
Strauss, R. Rosenkavalier Faninal
Tchaikovsky, P. Eugene Onegin Eugene Onegin
Iolanta Robert
Verdi, G. Don Carlos Rodrigo
Simon Boccanegra Paolo Albiani

 

CONCERT

 

Brahms, J. Deutsches Requiem
Fauré, G. Requiem
Mahler, G. Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen
Mozart, W.A. Kronungmesse C-Dur
Saint Saens, C. Oratorio de Noel

AUDIO & VIDEO

Steponas Zonys – Carmen by G. Bizet – Votre Toast – Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre (Apr. 2024)

Steponas Zonys – Eugene Onegin by P.I. Tchaikovsky – Uzhel ta samaja Tatjana – Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre (2022)

Steponas Zonys – Faust by C. Gounod – Avant de quitter ces lieux – Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre (2021)

Steponas Zonys – Eugene Onegin by P.I. Tchaikovsky – Vy mne pisali – Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre (2022)

Steponas Zonys – La bohème by G. Puccini – O Mimi tu piu non torni – Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre (2023)

REVIEWS

Rosenkavalier at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre – September 2021

“Steponas Zonys è la sorpresa della serata in quanto il suo Faninal promette grandi riuscite di carriera per questo giovanissimo talento: è Artista di sicuro potenziale al cento per cento e sotto ogni profilo”

– Antonio Smaldone, lesalonmusical.it

Candide at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre – September 2019

“Another character and singer worth mentioning in the first cast was the narcissistic Maximilian as performed by Steponas Zonys. With just a few lines at the beginning of the performance, he won the audience’s hearts with his pink wig and the same pink cheeks. But his finest hour came when he either accompanied The Old Lady or overpowered the orchestra and his colleagues during the last scene ensembles, bringing a fine clean bottom sound.”

–  Polina Lyapustina, operawire.com

NEWS

Singers: All Events October 2024
Singers

October 2024 All Events: Singers

We are excited to unveil all the projects (premieres and first performances) our Singers (listed alphabetically) have scheduled for October 2024.…
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