Valery Kritskov Valery Kritskov Valery Kritskov is a Russian conductor who used to take conducting lessons at the Moscow Institute of Culture which were taught by Kirill Tikhonov. He graduated from there in 1988 and then worked in Moscow-based Helikon Opera till he got employed with Novaya Opera in 2002. While there, he conducted many operas including Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's "The Snow Maiden" and "The Tsar’s Bride" as well as Anton Rubinstein's "The Demon" and Tchaikovsky's "The Maid of Orleans". He also conducted works by the Italian composers such as Pietro Mascagni's "Cavalleria rusticana" and Ruggero Leoncavallo's "Pagliacci" and German such as Richard
Vyacheslav Polozov "Cavalleria rusticana" opposite Makvala Kasrashvili and Elena Obraztsova. In 1983, he made his debut in the role of Faust at the Lithuanian National Opera opposite and Irena Milkeviciute. In 1984, he made debut for the role of the Duke of Mantua at the Bulgarian National Opera and Lensky at the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre. In 1984, he performed the role of Alfredo at the Estonian National Opera and Latvian National Opera. In January 1986, another great success followed - Polozov's debut at the Teatro alla Scala in Milano where he sang the role of Pinkerton, which very soon became,