Press


(GARIBALDO) RODELINDA, OPER FRANKFURT, MAY 2019

“Božidar Smiljanić glänzt als fieser, machtbesessener Garibaldo mit seinem galanten wendigen Bassbariton.”

[EN: “Božidar Smiljanić shined as a nasty, power-obsessed Garibaldo with his gallant agile bass-baritone.”]
MAGAZIN.KLASSIK.COM, MAY 2019

“Bassbariton Božidar Smiljanić gibt einen wuchtigen Garibaldo.”

[EN: “Bass-baritone Božidar Smiljanić gave a stunning Garibaldo.”]
(FRANKFURTER NEUE PRESSE, MAY 2019)

“Mit Piratenaugenklappe versehene Finsterling Garibaldo, prachtvoll vertreten durch den Bassbariton Božidar Smiljanić.”

[EN: “The sinister, eye-patch-wearing baddie Garibaldo was magnificently represented by the bass-baritone Božidar Smiljanić.”]
(FRANKFURTER RUNDSCHAU, MAY 2019)

“Molto promettente la prova del giovane basso Božidar Smiljanić impegnato a restituire di Garibaldo, in palandrana nera e benda da pirata, il lato più sinistro e minaccioso.”

[EN: “Very promising was the test of the young bass Božidar Smiljanić who, wearing a black cloak and an eye patch, engagingly portrayed Garibaldo’s most sinister and menacing side.”]

(GIORNALEDELLAMUSICA.IT, MAY 2019)

“Božidar Smiljanić wird dem finsteren Charakter des Garibaldo mit dunklem Bass-Bariton mehr als gerecht. Ihm nimmt man den Bösewicht darstellerisch und stimmlich in jedem Moment ab.” 

[EN: “Božidar Smiljanić more than lives up to the dark character of Garibaldo with a dark bass-baritone. Dramatically and vocally, in every moment he gave off the air of the villain.”]

(OMM.DE, MAY 2019)


BELSHAZZAR’S FEAST, CBSO, SYMPHONY HALL, APRIL 2019

Bass-baritone Božidar Smiljanić was by turns mesmerising, moving and borderline prophetic as soloist. His take on the introduction to Babylon was masterful, moving abruptly from proudly rattling off a list of valuable commodities to a stern, almost witheringly prolonged articulation of the word “slaves”, concluding with a tender lament for the “souls of men”. Likewise, the almost laughably undramatic moment when the libretto sums up almighty judgement in the wake of all the ungodly merriment in just a single sentence, Smiljanić made profound, as if he were heralding not merely the end of Belshazzar’s days but everyone’s.
(BACHTRACK, APRIL 2019)

“Bozidar Smiljanic, a name new to me, and with the bearing of an Old Testament prophet, simply owned Walton’s bass-baritone solos, stentorian, grieving (sometimes singing from memory), and fearless in the unaccompanied exposure Walton demands of him.”
(MIDLANDS CLASSICAL MUSIC MAKING, APRIL 2019)


(SCHAUNARD) ‘LA BOHÈME’ – ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA, 2018

“Only in Act 4 did the emotional temperature begin to run higher. It was genuinely touching when Bozidar Smiljanic’s Schaunard, an energetic, eager-to-please kind of chap, went out to have a weep on the stairs”
(OPERA MAGAZINE, FEBRUARY 2019)

“Smiljanic is likewise an able actor and impressed greatly both as soloist, insofar as possible for a Schaunard, and in ensemble.”
(OPERA TODAY/BOULEZIAN, NOVEMBER 2018)


(SIMONE) ‘LA FINTA SEMPLICE’ – CLASSICAL OPERA, 2018

“Simone, his sergeant, splendidly sung by Bozidar Smiljanic, surely a fine Figaro and Leporello in waiting.”
(OPERA MAGAZINE, AUGUST 2018)

“a lively bass voice with strong textures and tonal definition.”
(BACHTRACK, JUNE 2018)


(MARQUIS) ‘LA TRAVIATA’ – ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA, 2018

“Smaller roles were well cast, including Božidar Smiljanic as a glamorous Marquis; Smiljanic’s honeyed bass-baritone in particular marked him as one to watch”
(BACHTRACK, APRIL 2018)


(BRANDER) ‘LE DAMNATION DE FAUST’ – RLPO, 2017

“Božidar Smiljanic made a rowdy cameo with his tapster’s tale of oven-baked rat.”
(THE GUARDIAN, MARCH 2017)


(MASETTO) ‘DON GIOVANNI’ – GLYNDEBOURNE TOUR, 2016

“Božidar Smiljanic (British of Serbian descent) completed the cast as a bolshie Masetto”
(OPERA MAGAZINE, HUGH CANNING, DECEMBER 2016)

“Božidar Smiljanic [and his Zerlina are] deliciously dysfunctional, both singing beautifully when she manipulates him and he traduces her”
(WHAT’S ON STAGE, OCTOBER 2016)

“The strongest characters here are Božidar Smiljanic’s jealous Masetto [and his Zerlina]”
(EXPRESS, OCTOBER 2016)

“Božidar Smiljanic excels as Masetto”
(ANNA PICARD, TIMES, OCTOBER 2016)

“I was happily surprised to find a meatily sung Masetto from Božidar Smiljanic, whose even timbre and natural heft meant that for once the character was not a minor plot point, but actually a centre of attention. His relationship with Zerlina was the only one that had any chemistry”
(BACHTRACK, OCTOBER 2016)

“It won’t be long before Božidar Smiljanic graduates to Leporello from his lovable, fluently sung Masetto”
(MUSIC OMH, OCTOBER 2016)


(HALY) ‘L’ITALIANA IN ALGERI’ – GARSINGTON OPERA, 2016

“Bozidar Smiljanic impressed as Haly, captain of the palace guard.”
(OPERA MAGAZINE, AUGUST 2016)

“For more idiomatic sparkle, technical security and expressivity, it’s worth paying attention to the supporting cast [including] Bozidar Smiljanic’s harried Haly”
(ANNA PICARD, THE TIMES, JUNE 2016)

“As the feckless captain of the palace guard, Bozidar Smiljanic complemented Mustafá’s ineffectual blustering with a performance of Haly which combined wit and naïveté”
(SEEN & HEARD, JUNE 2016)

“Completing the male principals was Bozidar Smiljanic as Haly, who served the Bey with judicious deference and genuflection. [He] was far more assured and imposing than we might expect from a singer who is just completing his postgraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music.”
(OPERA TODAY, JUNE 2016)


(FIGARO) ‘LE NOZZE DI FIGARO’ – ROYAL ACADEMY OPERA, 2015

“Bozidar Smiljanic’s Figaro – exuberant, but not bumptious, and splendidly sung and enunciated – seemed ready for the world’s stages”
(OPERA MAGAZINE, JANUARY 2016)

“At a professional level, a bass or baritone will have had to work their way up through the ranks before being gifted the role of Figaro…That Bozidar Smiljanic already embodies the barber-turned-manservant, leaping around the stage with relish and singing with both flair and subtlety, is impressive.”
(BACHTRACK, NOVEMBER 2015)


(LUKA) ‘THE BEAR’ – ROYAL ACADEMY OPERA, 2015

“As [the] servant Luka, Božidar Smiljanic, a superb Nick Shadow in March, once again grabbed attention with his tonal and verbal immediacy.”
(OPERA MAGAZINE, JULY 2015)


(NICK SHADOW) ‘THE RAKE’S PROGRESS’ – ROYAL ACADEMY OPERA, 2015

“Božidar Smiljanic’s charismatic, velvet-voiced Nick Shadow simmered with subtle menace beneath his bonhomie and roared magnificently in defeat.”
(OPERA MAGAZINE, MAY 2015)

“This time the focus for me was on the Nick Shadow of Božidar Smiljanic. This young man goes from strength to strength with each production he is seen in. We will hear much more from him. [He produced] exemplary communication of the text”
(BRIAN DICKIE, MARCH 2015)

“The Nick Shadow of Božidar Smiljanic was far clearer, and his sinister jocularity admirably sustained.”
(THE SPECTATOR, MARCH 2015)

“the singer that stood out the most was Božidar Smiljanic, the English Serbian bass-baritone in the role of Nick Shadow. Here is a singer ready to be on a professional stage. His vocalisation and general performance was very strong and one never got the feeling the role was challenging him. His death scene was very powerful in what is often a fiendishly difficult sing at that point in the opera.”
(BACHTRACK, MARCH 2015)