Mikołaj Zalasiński studied at the Academy of Music in Katowice, Poland (diploma with distinction). He is a prizewinner of a range of vocal competitions, including the Adam Didur Opera Singers’ Competition in Bytom and the Edvard Grieg competition. He won the Jan Kiepura Award for best opera singer of 2009 (Poland) and a Bursztynowy Pieścien (Amber Ring) for the role of Renato in Un ballo in maschera. He was nominated by Opernwelt for his performance as Scarpia (Tosca) and Macbeth in the 2010/2011 season. He is highly acclaimed for his interpretations of Macbeth, Nabucco, Rigoletto, Luna (Il trovatore), Iago (Otello), Renato (Un ballo in maschera), Don Carlo (La forza del destino), Amonasro (Aida), Germont (La traviata), Seid (Il corsaro), and Don Carlo (Ernani). He also won praise as Don Giovanni, Eugene Onegin, King Roger, Carlo Gerard (Andrea Chenier), Scarpia (Tosca), Barnaba (Gioconda), Jochanaan (Salome), and Wotan (Das Rheingold). He is particularly known for his great acting abilities and stage charisma.
He began the 2018/2019 season with the role debut as Urok in Paderewski’s Manru, a production nominated for the International Opera Awards for the best rediscovered work.
Recent highlights include: Luna in a new production of Il trovatore at the Teatro Lirico, Cagliari; Robert in Iolanta at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale, Florence; Don Carlo (La forza del destino) in Augsburg; Amonasro (Aida) in Dubai; Macbeth and Rigoletto in Poznań; and a very successful role debut as Wotan (Das Rheingold) at the Staatstheater, Nuremberg, where he also sang Ezio (Attila), Iago (Otello), and Rigoletto. In Warsaw he was Nabucco, Rigoletto, and Blaks in Różycki’s Eros and Psyche (role debut).
The artist regularly performs at the Teatro La Fenice, Venice; Teatro Regio, Turin; Zurich Oprnhaus; Kammeroper, Vienna; Teatro Sao Carlos, Lisbon; Teatro Real, Madrid; New Israeli Opera, Tel Aviv; Teatro Lirico, Cagliari; Maggio Musicale, Florence; Polish National Opera, Warsaw; and the opera houses of Berlin, Chicago, Tokyo, Beijing, Wiesbaden, Lausanne, Prague, Vilnius, Dublin, and Belfast. As a member of the Staatstheater Nurnberg for ten years, he performed mainly Verdi repertoire and verismo operas.
Mr Zalasiński has performed with Munich Radio Orchestra, Orchestre Régional Avignon-Provence, Harper Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra do Norte, and at opera festivals in Bologna, Rome, Portimao, and Trapani, the Antikenfestspiele in Trier, Mozart Festival in Roubaix, and Wratislavia Cantans. He appeared at Berlin’s Philharmonie and Konzerthaus, Bunka Kaikan in Tokyo, and Abilene Philharmonic in Abilene, Texas.
He has collaborated with such renowned conductors as Paolo Arrivabeni, Giampaolo Bisanti, Daniele Callegari, Gabriel Chmura, Asher Fisch, Patrick Fournillier, Daniele Gatti, Valery Gergiev, Jacek Kaspszyk, Donato Renzetti, Marcello Viotti, Omer Wellber. He has performed in productions of the following directors: David Alden, Gilbert Deflo, Peter Konwitschny, Pier Luigi Pizzi, Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, David Pountney, Adam Hanuszkiewicz, Mariusz Treliński, Krzysztof Warlikowski, Marek Weiss, Graham Vick, Franco Zeffirelli.