Alexander Raskatovs father was a leading journalist of the magazine Krokodil, his mother was a medical doctor and war hero of World War II. Raskatov studied composition under Albert Leman at the Moscow Conservatory. In 1990 he was composer in residence at Stetson University and 1998 in Lockenhaus. Raskatov was a member of the Union of Soviet Composers; after the collapse of the Soviet Union he is a member of the Composers' Union of Russia. In the early nineties he moved to Germany, then to France in 2004. Raskatov is a member of the Russian Authors' Agency.

Raskatov’s music, especially his sound development, is influenced by Modest Mussorgski and Anton Webern. His vocal works are often based on texts of Russian poets like Alexander Blok or Joseph Brodsky. His opera GerMANIA commissioned and premiered by the Opéra de Lyon has all the marks of a major event on the international opera scene. Drawn from two texts by the playwright Heiner Müller, this dramatic and satirical opera plunges the audience into a critical period of the 20th century, and the clash between Nazism and Communism. Against the backdrop of Germany from the first World War to reunification after the destruction of the wall, thirty-seven characters follow one another across the stage, amongst them Hitler, Stalin and Goebbels.

He is now working on a new opera Animal farm that will be premiere in 2023 in Amsterdam.

Photo : © M.F. Plissart

GerMANIA (2017)
Opera on a libretto by the composer after Heiner Müller
soloists, choirs & orchestra
Watch an extract
Salabert Editions -On hire

Animal farm (2020-2022)
Opera 
Salabert Editions -On hire