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Sergej Larin

Russian opera singer (1956–2008)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionApr 10, 2025
Entity authorityQ1287223 ↗
Source-derived summary

Sergej Alekseyevich Larin (Lithuanian: Sergejus Larinas; Russian: Сергей Алексеевич Ларин; March 9, 1956 – January 13, 2008) was one of a number of operatic tenors from the former Soviet Union to achieve success in the West. His vocal talent was acknowledged by some of the world's leading conductors including Riccardo Muti, Claudio Abbado, James Levine and Zubin Mehta. Larin was also a recitalist, with several programs of songs preserved on disc.

Larin was born in Daugavpils, Latvia. After completing a degree in French philology in Gorky and undergoing voice training in Lithuania under the Lithuanian tenor Virgilijus Noreika, he made his debut at the Lithuanian Opera and Ballet Theatre in 1981, singing Alfredo in La Traviata. After nearly a decade of performances at various Soviet venues, Larin made his debut in the West. Larin's international career started after he signed a contract with the Slovak National Theatre and moved to Slovakia, following which he made a debut at the Vienna State Opera. His Covent Garden debut took place in 1991, where he sang Don José in Bizet's Carmen, while Cavaradossi in Puccini's Tosca served for his debuts at both Paris and the Metropolitan Opera. His later roles at the Met included Don Jose in "Carmen", Pinkerton in "Madama Butterfly", Dmitri in "Boris Godunov" and Don Alvaro in "La forza del destino".

The prevailingly lyric impact of his strong tenor made him the choice for important Russian roles at several theatres.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Sergej Larin” as russian opera singer (1956–2008). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA productive starting point for separating a subject’s documented career from later reputation and commemoration. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1956, 2008, 1981, 1991—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1956-03-09. The account is most persuasive where Sergej, Larin and Russian can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as russian opera singer (1956–2008). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 10, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q1287223. VIAF identifies the subject as 61739233. The Library of Congress control number is n87804180. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1956, 2008, 1981 and 1991.

Critical limits

Later biographies can compress uncertainty and repeat inherited reputations, so apparently settled claims may still require comparison. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
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Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Sergej Larin”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Sergej Larin primary sources, Sergej Larin archive and Sergej research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Sergej Larin”?
  2. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
  3. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Sergej Larin” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.