Oleksandr (Alex) Ilvakhin is a Ukrainian baritone whose compelling stage presence and distinctive timbre have led him to engagements across Europe. He began his musical education at the Odessa College of Arts and Culture and continued at the Nezhdanova National Academy of Music, where he earned his Bachelor of Music in 2020. He later completed his Master’s degree under Mark Wildman at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Before dedicating himself fully to opera, Oleksandr developed a substantial performing background as an actor and musical theatre artist. At the Young Theater and Music Theater Odessa, he appeared in numerous leading roles in both drama and musical productions, including Mowgli, Aladdin’s Magic Lamp, The Golden Key, Karlsson-on-the-Roof, The Canterville Ghost, Kiss Me, Kate, Pinocchio, and many others. His early performances in the rock operas Romeo and Juliet and Ariadne Thread, combined with his classical vocal training, marked a turning point that led him toward a professional operatic path.

Oleksandr has been recognized in several national and international competitions, receiving awards in Ukraine, Turkey, and the Czech Republic. He gained additional visibility in 2018 through his appearance on The Voice of Ukraine, where his performances reached a wide audience.

His operatic career has developed rapidly. At the Royal Academy of Music Opera, Oleksandr performed Antonio in Le nozze di Figaro, Slook in Rossini’s La cambiale di matrimonio, and Sid in Britten’s Albert Herring. He also portrayed Mr. Toad in Shostakovich’s The Silly Little Mouse for Longborough Festival Opera, and earlier appeared as Mr. Astley in Prokofiev’s The Gambler at Italy’s Festival della Valle d’Itria. He returned to the Festival della Valle d’Itria in 2024 for Nino Rota’s Aladino.

To strengthen his bel canto technique, Oleksandr trained at the Rodolfo Celletti Belcanto Academy in Martina Franca. His achievements include Second Prize and a special award from the Fundación Victoria de Los Ángeles at the Certamen Nuevas Voces Ciudad de Sevilla (2022). In 2023, he received a Drake Calleja Trust Scholarship and an award from the Fondazione Paolo Grassi. He was honored with the Pavarotti Prize of the Royal Academy of Music in September 2023 and the Mercedes Viñas Extraordinary Prize at the Tenor Viñas Competition in 2024.

Since the 2024/25 season, Oleksandr Ilvakhin has been a member of the Opera Studio of the Vienna State Opera, where he has performed roles including Fiorello (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Johann (Werther), Schmidt (Andrea Chénier), Zweiter Gralsritter (Parsifal), Ein Offizier (Dialogues des Carmélites), Muff / Komödiant (Die verkaufte Braut), Der Kaiserliche Kommissär (Madama Butterfly), and Wirt (Manon), as well as Schobiack in Le Grand Macabre. In this role, he continues to expand his repertoire, refine his artistry, and collaborate with leading conductors, directors, and fellow artists.