The outstanding Lithuanian bass cantante Vaclovas Daunoras (b. 1937) joined the Lithuanian Opera and Ballet Theatre in Vilnius in 1960, where through 1993 he performed leading roles with the company throughout the world. His illustrious career with international performances includes La Scala and major prizes such as at the Toulouse Competition (a winner). He has critical acclaim for his numerous appearances as Philip II in Don Carlos, seen at the Bolshoi in Moscow, Sweden's Malme Opera House, Ruse State Opera in Bulgaria, and many houses in the Netherlands, Italy and Belgium. Other major roles in Daunoras' repertoire are the title role in Boris Godunov, sung on the Lithuanian State Opera Tour to the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, where he earlier appeared as Monterone in Rigoletto. He sang the latter role at La Scala in 1967 with Pavarotti as leading tenor. Other performed roles in his repertoire are Mephistopheles (Faust), Don Basilio (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Raimondo (Lucia de Lammermoor), Galitsky (Prince Igor), Grand Inquisitor (Don Carlos), King Henry (Lohengrin), Gran Sacerdote (Idomeneo), and Marcel (Les Huguenots). His appearances have included performances of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, the Bach Magnificat, and Verdi‘s Requiem.
Daunoras received the Bronze medal at the Glinka Competition in Moscow in 1962, was a laureate of the Tchaikovsky Voice Competition (1966) and the winner of the 1971 Grand Prix in Toulouse, France.
In 1993 Daunoras moved to the United States where he sang mainly at the Metropolitan Opera. Appearances in the United States also included solo recitals at Carnegie Hall, Weill Hall, and Chicago's Orchestra Hall. In 2012 he returned to his native Lithuania.
More recordings of Daunoras can be found at http://www.epaveldas.lt/object/recordDescription/LNB/C1B0001665233
https://www.pakartot.lt/album/operu-arijos-dainos-2-cd
