Pannon Philharmonic

Ljubomir Puskaric began the 2011-12 season with his Lyric Opera of Chicago stage debut as Andrey Shchelkalov in Boris Godunov under the baton of Sir Andrew Davis. This debut is preceded by his participation in the 2011 “Stars of the Lyric Opera of Chicago Millenium Park Concert” – alongside Renée Fleming, Matthew Polenzani and James Morris amongst others. Just after his role debut as Giorgio Germont in La Traviata at the Croatian National Theatre in Osijek another stage debut awaits in early 2012 at Staatsoper Hamburg as Valentin in Gounod’s Faust with Simone Young conducting. Mr. Puskaric finishes the season with a return to Cincinnati Opera as Silvio in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci. In the 2010-11 season, Mr. Puskaric made his critically acclaimed Seattle Opera debut as Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor. He further appeared as Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus, as Marcello in La Boheme and as Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb where he continues to perform throughout the 2011-12 season. A native of Zagreb, Croatia, Ljubomir Puskaric finished his studies with Robert Harrison at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in May 2010. He made his Cleveland Orchestra debut at Severance Hall in Orff’s Carmina Burana under the baton of Robert Porco. Under the same conductor he sang the baritone solo in Walton's Belshazzar's Feast at the Cincinnati May Festival where he also interpreted the role of Andrej Schelkalov in Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov under the baton of James Conlon. Mr. Puskaric made his operatic debut in 2007 at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb in the title role of Figaro of Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia. Subsequently he appeared there as Silvio in I Pagliacci as well as in smaller roles in such works as: Ivan Zajc’s Zrinjski, Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera, Poulenc’s Dialogues of Carmelites, Bizet's Carmen, Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, Mandic’s Mirjana and Monteverdi's Orfeo. He repeated Rossini's Figaro at the National Theater in Rijeka, Croatia. In summer 2008, he participated in the Cincinnati Opera Summer Festival as a member of the Young Artist Program. In 2009, Mr. Puskaric won the first-place award at the Indiana Matinee Musicale competition as well as the second-place regional award at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in Cincinnati. The following year he won the First Prize at the international competition for young opera singers “Ondina Otta” in Maribor, Slovenia. Before studying voice, Ljubomir Puskaric studied journalism at the University of Zagreb and worked as a professional journalist for daily newspaper Vjesnik for five years. He and his wife make their home in Zagreb.