Lithuanian tenor Kristian Benedikt has built up a reputation as one of the leading international singers of Verdi’s Otello. He sang this most demanding role more than 120 times: at Opera de Bellas Artes in Mexico, Teatro Filarmonico in Verona, Wiener Staatsoper, Bavarian State Opera Munich, at the Mariinski Theatre in St. Petersburg, Modena, Piacenza, Cagliari, Palermo, Ekaterinburg, Santiago de Chile, Vilnius, Graz, Basel, Stockholm, Latvian Opera Festival and at Victoria’s Pacific Opera, Montreal Opera, Savonlinna Festival and others.
Upcoming plans include Radames (Aida) in Jerusalem Opera Festival, Des Grieaux (Manon Lescaut) in Taormina Opera Festival, Bacchus (Ariadne auf Naxos) in Germany, Calaf (Turandot) in Latvian National Opera.
He started the year 2024 as Calaf (Turandot) in Opera Dijon and did the role also in a new production in Tartu, Estonia.
In February 2023 Kristian made his debut at Bulgarian National Opera in Sofia with the role of Florestan (L. van Beethoven’s Fidelio). Later in that year he sang Herman (P. Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades) at Swedish Royal Opera in Stockholm, Andrea Chenier (U. Giordano) at St. Gallen Opera Festival, Calaf (Turandot) in Madrid Real Opera, M. Bieshu Festival at Latvian National Opera, Jose (Carmen) in Riga Opera House, Radames (Aida) at the Dnipro Opera and Erik (The Flying Dutchman) in São Paolo (TMSP, Brasil).
In October 2022 he sang Otello at Craiova and Brasov theatres in Romania. In the same year he participated in a concert Double Jubilee with Petras Geniušas (at the Lithuanian National Philharmonic), festive concerts with LSSO Kristian Benedikt and his friends, Echoes of Operetta with Kaunas State Musical Theater at Kaunas Philharmonic, Kristian Benedikt Gala with Klaipėda Musical Theater, Concert for the Defenders of Freedom Day - G. Verdi Requiem with LNOBT, Tenoriada – a concert tour around Lithuania. In April 2022 Benedikt sang Calaf (Turandot, directed by R. Willson) at the Houston Grand Opera.
In 2021 Benedict performed Samson at the Korean National Opera. In November Kristian Benedikt Grand Gala took place – a jubilee concert with world known opera star Maria Guleghina (LNOBT orchestra and choir, conductor – Modestas Pitrėnas).
During the pandemic, Benedict was preparing new roles, expanding his repertoire, creating new concert programs and discovering new forms of creative expression. He made recordings in studios, participated in online concerts (solo at the Kaunas Philharmonic, Japanese Songs at the National Philharmonic), gathered Tenoriada, which was registered in the Lithuanian Guinness Book of Records as the concert with the most high number (16) of tenors (he was registered in that book also in 2013 - as a Lithuanian soloist, singing in the longest concert - performance of R. Wager's Rienzi in Boston) and actively participated in performing sacred music in various Lithuanian churches.
In March of 2021 Benedikt participated in the concert recording of the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra and Lithuanian Radio and Television Thanks to Lithuanian Doctors. in April, together with the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra and Kaunas State Choir, he recorded the Corrado part (A. Ponchielli Lithuanians, conductor - Modestas Pitrėnas). The CD is to be released by Accentus in 2024.After the pandemic subsided, in June 2021 the soloist successfully debuted in the role of Florestan (L. van Beethoven's Fidelio). It was a triple debut: for the first time in France, in the METZ Metropole Opera and in the role of Florestan. In the same summer the soloist has sung solo concerts, participated in Kristupas‘ Festival, M.K. Čiurlionis Music Festival, Midsummer Festival at the Palace of the Grand Dukes, Klaipėda Music Festival (performed Erik in The Flying Dutchman), Peter Dvorski International Music Festival in the Czech Republic and Pažaislis Festival with Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra and Kaunas State Choir.
In 2018 he made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York with the role of Samson (Samson et Dalila). In 2019 he debuted as Andrea Chenier at the Trieste Teatro Verdi and as Calaf at the famous Teatre Colón in Buenos-Aires along with Maria Guleghina as Turandot. He had double debut in Portugal – sang Don Alvaro (La forza del destino) at Teatro San Carlos in Lisbon and again sang Herman (The Queen of Spades) at the Metropolitan. In 2020 he debuted as Erik (The Flying Dutchman, Höllander – Bryn Terfel) at Bilbao ABAO theatre.
Benedikt‘s first CD solo album Tenore di forza was released in 2019. It was recorded with Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra and choir of Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre, conductor Modestas Pitrėnas, sound director – Vilius Keras. It was released by DELOS (California) and distributed worldwide.
During his earlier seasons Benedikt sung at the Wiener Staatspoer (Otello), London Royal Covent Garden Opera (Canio), Mariinsky Theatre (Otello, Samson, Lohengrin), Teatro Municipal de Santiago Chile (Otello, Calaf), Beijing NCPA (Samson), Moscow Bolshoi Theatre (Herman), Hungarian National Opera (Otello, Herman), Torino Regio (Samson), Barcelona Liceo (Rienzi), Bergamo Opera (Cavaradossi), Dresden Semperoper (Otello), Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet theatre (Alfredo, Corrado, Don Jose, Pinkerton, Duca, Eleazar, Otello, Ernani, Siegmund, Calaf), Finland National Opera (Dick Johnson), Odeon in Odense (Siegmund), Vilnius City Opera (Des Grieux, Samson), Macedonian National Opera (Calaf), Savonlinna Festival (Otello), Al Bustan Festival (Otello), Festival Opera pa Skaret (Don Jose, Edgardo) etc.
Among the highlights of Benedikt’s repertoire are the roles of Don Jose (Carmen), Cavaradossi (Tosca), Samson (Samson et Dalila), Calaf (Turandot), Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly), Canio (I pagliacci) as well as roles like Eleazar (La Juive), Manrico (Il trovatore), Dick Johnson (La fanciulla del West), Edgardo (Lucia di Lammermoor), Hoffmann (Les Contes d’Hoffmann), title roles of Andrea Chenier, Ernani, Rienzi and Lohengrin could be mentioned.
He has performed under the baton of conductors such as Antonio Pappano, Marco Armiliato, Marcello Votti, Riccardo Chailly, Maurizio Barbacini, Paolo Carigniani, Asher Fisch, Renato Palumbo, Valeri Gergiev, Alexander Vedernikov and is working with stage directors like Giancarlo del Monaco, Damiano Michieletto, Willy Decker, David Alden, Calixto Bieito, Hugo de Ana, Dmitri Bertman, Eimuntas Nekrošius and Pier Francesco Maestrini.
As a concert singer he has sung Verdi’s Requiem, Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, Rachmaninov’s The Bells and Webber’s Requiem among others.
From 2008 to 2018 Benedikt has worked with famous Italian tenor Gianfranco Cecchele, paying special attention to the Italian opera and taking over vocal tradition of Mario del Monaco. He has also studied with Virgilijus Noreika, Jaakko Ryhänen and Robert Lloyd.