Tenor Sergei Balashov has died at the age of 47.

The news was announced by Moscow’s Stanislavsky Opera where he was a lead tenor. However, no cause of death was given.

A graduate of the Russian Academy of Theatre Art in 1999, Balashov studied with R. Nemchinskaya and Y. Udalov. He went on to make his debut at the Stanislavsky in 1998 where he would become one of the leading soloists with the company. He went on to take part in many tours with the company to Latvia, USA,  South Korea,  Italy, and Estonia.

Outside the Stanislavsky Opera, he also performed with the Ravenna Festival and with the Diaghilev Festival in Groningen with the “Helikon Opera” Theater and toured throughout Russia and Yugoslavia.

Among the roles, he was well known for included Nemorino in “L’ Elisir d’amore,” Almaviva in “Il Barbiere di Siviglia,” Alfredo in “La Traviata,” the title role of “Werther,” Ferrando in “Così Fan Tutte,” Lensky in “Evgeny Onegin,” and Hoffmann in “Les Contes d’ Hoffmann.” He also participated in the world premiere of “Hamlet” by V. Kobekin in 2008.