(Credit: Deutsche Oper am Rhein official website)

Famed Russian baritone Boris Statsenko has posted on his Facebook account that he is in the hospital, being treated for a heavy form of COVID-19.

“I am positive for COVID-19, and my lungs have suffered 50% damage,” wrote Statsenko on his social media account.

Statsenko has appeared on many international operatic stages, including Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Den Norske Opera, Theater Bolshoi, and Arena di Verona, among others. He became famous for his roles of Rigoletto, Giorgio Germont in Verdi’s “La Traviata,” Tonio in Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci,” Jago in “Otello,” Scarpia in Puccini’s “Tosca,” Wolfram von Eschenbach in Wagner’s “Tannhäuser,” Amfortas in “Parsifal,” and Count Tomsky in Tchaikovsky’s “The Queen of Spades,” among others.

OperaWire sends its best to Boris Statsenko in these difficult times.