BIOGRAPHY
With a voice that unites lyrical warmth, textual precision, and a natural command of theatrical gesture, bass-baritone Oleg Volkov has emerged as a distinctive presence in both classical and contemporary repertoire. His work is marked by a finely sculpted musicality, a deep sensitivity to language, and an expressive range shaped by his background in linguistics and his European training.
Based in Europe since 2014, he studied at the Conservatoire de Toulouse with Jacques Schwarz and continued his development at the Opéra Studio of the Opéra national du Rhin in Strasbourg and the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Waterloo.
In the 2025/26 season, Oleg returns to the Philharmonie de Paris as Conte Monterone in Rigoletto under Jérémie Rhorer, following their earlier collaboration in La Traviata. He appears in a selection from Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder with the Brussels Philharmonic at Flagey, conducted by Kazushi Ono. He also performs Bach’s Magnificat with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo in Monaco, and joins Augustin Dumay, Hélène Mercier, and Frank Braley for the New Year’s Concert at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel. In July 2026, he takes part in Bovary at the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya in Barcelona — a co-production with La Monnaie / De Munt, KVS, and Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles — under the musical direction of Debora Waldman and stage direction of Carme Portaceli.
These engagements build on a highly visible 2024/25 season, during which Oleg created the role of Charles Bovary in the world premiere of Harold Noben’s Bovary at La Monnaie / De Munt — a performance praised for its “subtle humanity and vocal sincerity” (La Libre Belgique) and described by OPER! Magazine as “entirely believable… carried by his attractive baritone.” He also made his house debut at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées as Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore under Simon Proust.
At the Opéra Côte d’Azur, in Martinů’s dreamlike Juliette conducted by Anthony Hermus, he performed the three sharply contrasting roles of Vieil Arabe, Père Jeunesse, and Matelot — a demonstration of theatrical versatility that prompted OperaOnline to remark that Volkov “offers an entire universe, crafted through his exploratory artistry.”
Earlier in the season he appeared at the Philharmonie de Paris as Marchese d’Obigny in La Traviata with Jérémie Rhorer, marking a collaboration that now extends into the following year.
Beyond his operatic and symphonic engagements, Oleg maintains an active involvement in contemporary creation through his collaboration with Ars Nova under the artistic direction of Benoît Sitzia, as well as with the Peter Eötvös Contemporary Music Foundation in Budapest. Working alongside composers mentored by Ramon Lazkano, Benoît Sitzia and Gergely Vajda, he contributes to the development and performance of new operas and vocal works by emerging composers — a strand of artistic activity that reflects his commitment to the evolution of today’s operatic language.
As a member of the Opéra Studio du Rhin between 2021 and 2023, Oleg performed in a wide range of stylistically diverse works. His roles included the Armchair and the Tree in Ravel’s L’Enfant et les sortilèges, Maximilian in Bernstein’s Candide, Sam in Trouble in Tahiti, and the Hoopoe in Lunar Lake by Howard Moody. He also sang the Armed Man and the First Priest in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte and covered the title role in Hans Abrahamsen’s The Snow Queen.
With a Master’s degree in linguistics specializing in phonology and phonetics, Oleg approaches vocal interpretation with a heightened awareness of prosody, rhetoric, and textual nuance. His work is shaped by a cultivated sensitivity to language and style, and by the guidance of his mentors José van Dam, Sophie Koch, Stéphane Degout, and Ludovic Tézier.