Artist. Opera Singer. Born in Istanbul and raised in Vienna.
Tenor Ilker Arcayürek has emerged as one of the most exciting and versatile vocal artists in recent years – hailed by the press for his “golden tenor” (Opera Now Magazine) and quickly establishing himself “in a class of his own” (The Guardian). He is a winner of the International Art Song Competition of Germany’s Hugo Wolf Academy, a finalist of the 2015 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World and was a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist.
He was also selected to perform at Ronaldo Vilazon’s “Stars of Tomorrow” for ARTE. In 2017 Champs Hill Records released his first solo album “Der Einsame”, featuring Schubert songs accompanied by Simon Lepper, to great critical acclaim. His latest recording with Simon titled “Path of Life” for Prospero Classical has recently been nominated for 2 OPUS KLASSIK Awards.
İlker
Arcayürek
Concerts
Next season and beyond he will return to the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks under Philippe Jordan, perform Schumman’s Das Paradies und die Peri with the Symphonischer Chor Hamburg at the Elbphilharmonie, Haydn’s Die Schöpfung with WDR Koln and Mozart Mass in C with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin as well as concerts with Orchestre des Champs-Élysées and Collegium Vocale Ghent (Dvorak Requiem, Beethoven Missa Solemnis and Schuman Das Paradis und die Peri).
On the opera stage this season he will make his Canadian Opera Company debut as Tamino Die Zauberflöte and for Opera Vlaanderen and Opéra National de Montpellier performing the roles of Ariel, Pater Ecstaticus in Schumann’s Szenen aus Goethes Faust.
Ilker has been a member of the studio of Zürich Opera (2009-2013) a member of the ensemble of the Stadttheater Klagenfurt (2013-2015) and Staatstheater Nürnberg (2015-18) singing various roles such as Tamino Die Zauberflöte, the title role Idomeneo, Don Ottavio Don Giovanni, Ferrando Così fan tutte and Rodolfo La Bohème. As a guest artist he has performed at Teatro Real Madrid in Kasper Holten’s production of Wagner’s Das Liebesverbot, Munich Opera Festival of the Bayerische Staatsoper in the world premiere of Nikolaus Brass’ Die Vorübergehenden, Salzburg Festival in Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia, Volksoper Wien in Lortzing’s Zar and Zimmerman and for Opera Graz the role of Lyonel in Flotow’s Martha and as the title role in Weber’s Oberon. In summer 2019 Ilker made his US operatic debut in the role of Nadir in Les Pêcheurs de Perles at Santa Fe Opera.
Next season and beyond he will return to the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks under Philippe Jordan, perform Schumman’s Das Paradies und die Peri with the Symphonischer Chor Hamburg at the Elbphilharmonie, Haydn’s Die Schöpfung with WDR Koln and Mozart Mass in C with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin as well as concerts with Orchestre des Champs-Élysées and Collegium Vocale Ghent (Dvorak Requiem, Beethoven Missa Solemnis and Schuman Das Paradis und die Peri).
On the opera stage this season he will make his Canadian Opera Company debut as Tamino Die Zauberflöte and for Opera Vlaanderen and Opéra National de Montpellier performing the roles of Ariel, Pater Ecstaticus in Schumann’s Szenen aus Goethes Faust.
Ilker makes his home in Zürich with his wife and daughter.
Work
On the concert platform he has worked with orchestras such as Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Tonkünstler-Orchester, Tokyo Philharmonic, RSO Vienna, Orchestre National de Belgique, Orchestre National de Lyon, Danish Chamber Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Antwerp Symphony, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Royal Northern Sinfonia under conductors such as Mariss Jansons, Ivor Bolton, Laurence Equilbey, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Philippe Herreweghe, Riccardo Minasi, Mikhail Pletnev, Lars Vogt and Adam Fischer.
Recent highlights have included Britten Serenade with the Amsterdam Sinfonietta and Felix Kleiser, the tenor arias in the St Matthew Passion at the Palau in Barcelona under Simon Halsey with Soloists from Berliner Philharmoniker, Mozart Requiem at the Vienna Konzerthaus and with the Antwerp Symphony and Beethoven 9 with the RSO Wien under Marin Alsop.