Baritone RINALDS KANDALINCEVS is a graduate of the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music (2006) and Norwegian Academy of Music (2010). He has perfected his vocal skills with James McRae in The Hague, as well as in masterclasses with Margarita Gruzdeva, Evelyn Tabas, Joy Mammen, Scot Weir, Barbro Marklund, and others. Nominated for the 2019 Great Music Award in the category Outstanding Performance of the Year, he received the 2021 Pauls Sakss Award for Opera Singers. He made his debut on the Latvian National Opera stage in the 2018/2019 season in the role of Marcel in Puccini’s La Boheme. Since then he has also interpreted Silvio in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, Klibais and Bluķakāja in Imants Kalniņš’s Spēlēju, dancoju, Georges Germont in Verdi’s La Traviata, Prince Yeletsky in Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades, the title role in Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra and Mozart's Don Giovanni, Horatio in Jānis Kalniņš’s Hamlet, Danilo Danilovitsch in Lehar's operetta Die Lustige Witwe, Michonnet in Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur, and Rodrigo in Verdi's Don Carlo. His repertoire includes Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Verismo and contemporary opera and chamber music. He has performed at the Early Music Festival, Sigulda Opera Festival, Oslo Opera Festival, Bauska Medieval and Renaissance Music Festival, Vivat Curlandia! and elsewhere. He has collaborated with conductors Māris Kupčs, Andris Veismanis, Mārtiņš Ozoliņš, Jānis Liepiņš, Kaspars Putniņš, Māris Sirmais, Normunds Vaicis, Atvars Lakstīgala, Andrew Manze, Vladimir Kiradijev, Aleksandrs Viļumanis, Erki Pehk, David Shemer, Franck-Emmanuel Comte, Pedro Halffter, Keri-Lynn Wilson, Arvo Volmer, and others. Rinalds Kandalincevs is also a vocal pedagogue and a lecturer at the Department of Early Music and Vocal Department of the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music.