Among the more than 40 performed roles of the young bass Vitalij Kowaljow - whose first profession was fireman in his native Ukraine - are Verdi`s King Philip in Don Carlo, Fiesco in Simon Boccanegra, Banquo in Macbeth, Zaccaria in Nabucco, Ramfis in Aida, Barbarossa in La Battaglia di Legnano, Procida in I Vespri Siciliani, Padre Guardiano in La Forza del Destino, Walter in Luisa Miller and the title role of Attila. Among other parts are Kaspar in Der Freischütz, Mephistopheles in Faust, Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, the four villains in Les Contes d'Hoffmann and such Russian language roles as Prince Igor, Pimen in Boris Godunov and Prince Gremin in Eugene Onegin.

He was introduced to the U.S. by Opera Orchestra of New York as Baldassare in La Favorita and has sung in this country at the Metropolitan, the San Francisco, Washington National, Los Angeles, Colorado and Philadelphia Opera Companies. He has appeared with various European companies including the Bayerische Staatsoper and the Arena di Verona and made news when he stepped in on 10 days notice at the Bastille Opera in Paris for an ailing colleague, singing Procida in the new production of the original and seldom performed French version of Les Vepres Siciliennes under the baton of James Conlon. He repeated the role under the baton of Placido Domingo at the opening of the 50th anniversary of the Washington National Opera. At the Metropolitan Opera he has sung, so far, Zaccaria in Nabucco, Padre Guardiano in La Forza del Destino (which was also his role for his Munich debut), Walter in Luisa Miller, Ramfis in Aida (which was also the role for his Arena di Verona debut).

He began the 2006/07 season singing the Verdi Requiem with the San Francisco and the Chicago Symphony orchestras, and then King Philip in Don Carlo at the New National Theatre of Tokyo and Sarastro at Opera Colorado in Denver. Sarastro is also the role of his return to the Metropolitan Opera this season, while other engagements during the season include Pimen in Boris Godunov at San Diego Opera, Banquo in Macbeth at the Washington National Opera, and concert performances and recordings of Puccini`s La Bohéme with Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazon and of Leoncavallo`s I Medici with Placido Domingo.

Future seasons bring, among others, debuts as Giorgio in I Puritani at the Vienna Staatsoper and as Gremin in Eugene Onegin at Chicago Lyric Opera, the Verdi Requiem with the Orquesta National de Espana in Madrid and his return to the Metropolitan Opera as Oroveso in Norma. At the Los Angeles Opera, he has been announced as Wotan in its new Wagner Ring cycle to be directed by Achim Freyer and conducted by James Conlon.