"Taras Kulish, the veteran bass-baritone with a big, smoothly executed range, was very comfortable as Ruslan, bringing great clarity of diction and grand attention
to detail to his character."
Opera Canada magazine

"Taras Kulish as Giovanni's buffoonish servant Leporello was excellent, possessing a strong rich voice and an entertaining personality"
Ottawa Sun

"Montrealer Taras Kulish, in the role of Sparafucile, gave an excellent dramatic interpretation. He sang and acted with appropriate conviction, and his well-rounded, powerful bass must have rung out to the far reaches of the balcony."
Opera Canada magazine

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Born in Montreal of Ukrainian heritage, Taras is a singer who possesses a large vocal and dramatic range. For 15 years he has performed with opera companies and orchestras across Canada, the United States and Europe.

Taras is the founding Artistic Director of the GREEN MOUNTAIN OPERA FESTIVAL, Vermont's professional opera festival now in its 7th year.

This season, Taras was a special invited soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood for the 90th birthday celebration of legendary soprano Phyllis Curtin. In the spring, Taras was bass soloist with the Victoria Symphony in Verdi's Requiem.

In the 2010-2011 season with the Opéra de Montréal, Taras sang the role of Sir Walter Raleigh in Roberto Devereux receiving critical praise for this performance, and the role of Erster Soldat in Salome under the baton of maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin. In the fall of 2010, Taras made his Toronto Opera in Concert debut in the title role of Ruslan and Ludmila also to great critical acclaim.

In July 2010, to rave reviews, Taras sang his signature role of Leporello in Don Giovanni under the baton of noted conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Orchestre Métropolitain. Claude Gingras from La Presse newspaper said "The same high praise goes to Taras Kulish....this singer revealed in the omnipresent valet of the Don, a talent for acting which we were not aware of". Another reviewer said: "His agile voice blends well with that of Taras Kulish's, the bass-baritone who performed Leporello. As Don Giovanni's sidekick, he (Taras) ends up being more sympathetic than the Don."

The 2009/2010 season saw Taras return to the Opéra de Montréal in the role of Simone in Gianni Schicchi, and with Chants Libres he sang the role of the King in a world premier fairy tale opera by Gilles Tremblay.

2008/2009 performances included returning to Opera Lyra Ottawa singing The Ghost in Hamlet, Pistola in Falstaff with Edmonton Opera, Truffaldino in Ariadne auf Naxos with Calgary Opera and Erster Soldat in Salome with Vancouver Opera. Last season Taras also sang Shostakovich's 14th Symphony with the Atlantic Classical Orchestra under the baton of Stewart Robertson.

In the 2006/2007 season performances included Leporello in Don Giovanni with Opera Lyra, Truffaldino in Ariadne auf Naxos with Vancouver Opera, Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola and Zuniga in Carmen with Calgary Opera, and a debut with Opera Ontario as Abimélech in Samson & Dalilah.

In 2006, Taras sang two Mozart Galas, one in Guatemala City under maestro Francis Graffeo and one with the Orford Arts Centre under Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Also that same year, Taras returned to the Montreal Symphony Orchestra as Bass Soloist in Nielsen’s 3rd Symphony and in 2007 he sang a concert version of Eugene Onegin again with the Montreal Symphony under maestro Nagano at the Lanaudière Festival.

In 2005, Taras sang with Manitoba Opera as Colline in La Bohème and with Opera Lyra Ottawa as Luther, Crespel and Shlemil in The Tales of Hoffman. At Manitoba Opera Taras has also sung the roles of Sparafucile and Monterone in Rigoletto and in 2003 he sang Leporello in Don Giovanni where critics said he “stole the show”.

Taras made his European debut in 2002 touring the castles of France and Belgium singing the title role in Don Giovanni under the stage direction of Gérard Corbiau, well known film director (Farinelli). This production was subsequently broadcast worldwide on TV5 every year. Returning to Europe in 2005, Taras sang the role of Gremin in Eugene Onegin in the Czech Republic.

Other successful roles include: the title role in Le Nozze di Figaro for Saskatchewan and Vancouver Operas; Colline in La Bohème for Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa Operas; The King in Aida with Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal and Vancouver Operas; Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola with Opera Saskatchewan; Leporello in Don Giovanni with Winnipeg, Vancouver, Victoria and Aspen operas; Ferrando in Il Trovatore with Calgary and Ottawa Operas and Lanaudière Festival; and Basilio in The Barber of Seville with Opera Saskatchewan.

Taras completed musical studies at McGill and University of Toronto. As a young artist, he received professional training at l’Opéra de Montréal and Vancouver Opera.  He was a finalist at the Belvedere International Opera Competition in Vienna and has been a recipient of grants from the Canada Council, the Jacqueline Desmarais Foundation, and the Martha Lou Henley Foundation. In the summer of 2006, Taras was a proud recipient of a career development grant from the Quebec Arts Council.

American Festival performances include Ravinia’s Steans Institute, Aspen Music Festival, and Tanglewood where he sang in the anniversary production of Peter Grimes under Seiji Ozawa. Canadian summer festival performances include a concert version Osmin in The Abduction from the Seraglio; Fernand in Le Trouvère and Ibn-Hakia in Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta both at the Lanaudière Festival.

Upcoming engagements include a concert of Ukrainian arias with the Calgary Philharmonic. In the fall, Taras returns to Calgary Opera as Simone in Gianni Schicchi. In the spring of 2012, Taras will make his debut with the Opéra de Québec as Pistola in Verdi's Falstaff.