Born in Russia, baritone Rodion Pogossov holds dual American and Russian citizenship.

He joined the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera early in his career, during the 2000/2001 season.

He made his debut at Carnegie Hall with the Metropolitan Opera Chamber Ensemble, singing Stravinsky's Renard under the direction of James Levine, and the following season gave his first solo recital at Carnegie Hall.

Currently based in Cincinnati, he regularly performs the role of Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, including at Glyndebourne and the MET. Other notable operatic roles include Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia, which he has performed in numerous theatres around the world, including Hamburg State Opera, Teatro Municipal de Santiago, the Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper, Michigan Opera Theatre, Minnesota Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Teatro Comunale Pergolesi in Jesi, and the Canadian Opera Company.

In recent seasons, he has made important debuts in roles such as: Don Giovanni with Opera de Oviedo; Die Zauberflöte with Los Angeles Opera and at Lincoln Center in New York; Il barbiere di Siviglia with Los Angeles Opera and Minnesota Opera; Così fan tutte at the MET, conducted by James Levine and broadcast live in HD; La bohème at Michigan Opera Theatre, the MET, and the Royal Opera House Covent Garden; Le comte Ory with Seattle Opera; Manon Lescaut at Bavarian State Opera; Pagliacci at the MET; Il trovatore at Oper Graz; Don Pasquale at La Monnaie; and Carmen at Seattle Opera.

More recently, he has performed in Il barbiere di Siviglia (Figaro) at Teatro Regio di Torino and Cincinnati Opera; L’elisir d’amore (Belcore) at Seattle Opera; The Makropulos Case at Malmö Opera; La bohème (Marcello) at Welsh National Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, and Bayerische Staatsoper; La forza del destino at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden; The Queen of Spades at Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona; Il turco in Italia and Falstaff at the Glyndebourne Festival; La Cenerentola at LA Opera; and Die Zauberflöte (Papageno) in Treviso, Padua, and Seattle.

On the concert stage, his solo appearances include St John's Smith Square, Suntory Hall, Carnegie Hall, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Vancouver Recital Society, a Rachmaninov recital at Wigmore Hall with Iain Burnside in 2014, as well as a Medtner recital in 2019. He has also performed La scala di seta under Enrique Mazzola with the Orchestre National d'Île-de-France and Rachmaninov's The Bells at the Vara Konserthus. He regularly performs Carmina Burana, with notable appearances alongside the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Simón Bolívar Orchestra of Venezuela, Spanish National Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, and London Philharmonic Orchestra, the latter also released on CD.

Rodion has worked with renowned conductors such as James Levine, Jean-Christophe Spinosi, Kent Nagano, Yves Abel, and James Conlon, among others.

His discography includes a solo recital CD for the prestigious EMI Debut Series, which received critical acclaim. This was followed by a recording of Rachmaninov songs with pianist Iain Burnside, released in February 2014, and Bellini’s Adelson e Salvini with Opera Rara.

Upcoming engagements in the 2025-26 season include: Die Zauberflöte at San Antonio Opera; Ravel’s L’Heure espagnole at the Maison de la Radio et de la Musique in Paris; and Il cappello di paglia di Firenze at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie in Liège.

August 2025