MOSCOW, January 9. /TASS/. Soviet-era opera star, former Bolshoi Theater soloist Alexander Vedernikov has died at the age of 90, Katerina Novikova, a Bolshoi Theater spokeswoman, told TASS on Tuesday.

"We learned about the death of Alexander Filippovich Vedernikov from his son, conductor Alexander Alexandrovich Vedernikov," she said.

Alexander Vedernikov, Sr. was born on December 23, 1927 in the village of Mokinino in the Kirov region, northeast of European Russia. After he graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in 1955, he was soloist of the Leningrad Kirov Theater of Opera and Ballet (now Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg).

In 1958, Alexander Vedernikov joined the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow to work as a soloist (bass) till 1990. In 2006-2009, he was vocalism consultant at the Bolshoi Theater. Since 2008, he has been artistic director of the Moscow-based Russkaya Opera theater.

Over his artistic life, he toured extensively abroad, with an internship at Italy’ La Scala. His discography includes more than 30 albums.