One of the famed Wagnerian bass-baritones of our age, Egils Silins, sings romantic art songs by Latvian composers in recital, accompanied by Maris Skuja.

‘It is a poetry of longing, an unsatisfiable longing for tranquillity, home, homeland, something unattainable and unsummonable, a longing for lost happiness and love.’ - Emils Darzins

Latvian bass-baritone Egils Silins made his Royal Opera debut in 2011 as the Dutchman (Der fliegende Hollander). He has since returned to sing Jokanaan (Salome) for The Royal Opera. Silins studied at the Latvian Academy of Music. He has won ten international vocal competitions, has twice received the Latvian Music Award and was awarded the title Singer of the Year in Zagreb in 2010 for his performances as Amfortas (Parsifal). Silins regularly performs at such opera houses as La Scala, Milan, Metropolitan Opera, New York, Lyric Opera, Chicago, Hamburg State Opera, Semperoper Dresden, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Bavarian State Opera, Liceu, Barcelona, ZUrich Opera and Vienna State Opera. He has worked with such conductors as Andrew Davis, Colin Davis, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Andris Nelsons, Seiji Ozawa, Gennady Rozhdestvensky and Christian Thielemann.

‘This collection of Latvian songs is a rewarding experience. Egils Silins has a wonderfully fresh voice which proves to be perfect for his repertoire. From the dark basss tonest o the almost tenorish heights, it hat a consistent beauty over a wide range of various feelings.’ - Pizzicato

‘Heart-felt, delicately nuanced.’ - Diena