Kerem Kurk
tenor
Kerem Kurk has been singing professionally since his days at the Manhattan School of Music in the studio of Patricia Misslin. In his final semester in 2002, he sang the title-role in Mozart’s LA CLEMENZA DI TITO under the baton of Julius Rudel in the Cathedral St. John the Divine in New York City. Upon graduation, Kerem joined the International Opera Studio of the Zurich Opera, where he sang in various productions with renowned conductors Christoph von Dohnanyi and Marcello Viotti. While in Switzerland, he studied privately with Nicolai Gedda.
His performance of Belmonte ENTFÜHRUNG AUS DEM SERAIL at the Bad Hersfeld Festival in Germany was praised in the November 2003 issue of Opernwelt magazine as a “first-rate Mozart tenor with a highly-cultivated legato.” Following a workshop in Zurich with director Peter Konwitschny of his now-famous production of DON GIOVANNI, Kerem was invited to the Komische Oper Berlin to sing Oronte ALCINA directed by David Alden and conducted by Paul McCreesh. He returned to Berlin for the following season’s revival, and created the tenor role in the world-premiere staging of the recently discovered Telemann opera PASTORELLE.
He appeared regularly as a soloist with Boston Baroque: for the Messiah in 2008 the Boston Globe noted his “sweet voiced, clarion tenor.” In 2009, he travelled with the Boston Baroque ensemble to the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico for the Bach Magnificat, and later sang with them in Michael Haydn’s Requiem in C minor. In December 2009 he made his Belgian debut in Bach’s Mass in B minor with the Charlemagne Orchestra and the Brussels Choral Society in 2009 at the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels.
In spring 2010 he returned to Belgium to sing Almaviva IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA at the Alden Biesen Castle Festival. For 2010-2012 he was engaged as the principal tenor at the Theater Vorpommern in Germany to sing Eisenstein, Alfredo and an Italian Opera Gala at which he sang arias and ensembles as Don Ottavio, Rodolfo, Edgardo, among others. The gala was reviewed by the Viennese magazine Der Neue Merker: “And still another singer, when listening to, one can only recommend (even gentlemen of the order of magnitude such as Meyer in Vienna, would lick their fingers if they had such a tenor in their house… Kerem Kurk, offers strength, timbre, vocal technique, magnificent high notes, a full personality, and was easily the star of the evening – as Ottavio, Edgardo, Rodolfo, and Alfredo: Whenever he was on stage, operatic bliss ensued. If he is always in such form, he shall soon take bigger stages by storm.”
In Germany 2011-2012, he added the roles of Tom Rakewell THE RAKE’S PROGRESS, Lenski EUGENE ONEGIN and title-role IDOMENEO to his repertoire with numerous performances for each of them to great acclaim.
In 2012-13 he was invited to the Staatstheater Schwerin where he opened the season with his first Pinkerton MADAMA BUTTERFLY and Edwin DIE CSÁRDÁSFÜRSTIN; the tenor leads in two German romantic one-act operas: DIE OPERNPROBE and DER MUSIKFEIND; and finished the season with Alfred DIE FLEDERMAUS, while performing Lenski EUGENE ONEGIN in a new production. His solo concert engagements included the Mozart Requiemand Beethoven 9th – the latter marking Kerem’s debut at the Philharmonie in Cologne.
In Schwerin 2013-14 he resumed the roles of Edwin, Lenski and the above-mentioned one-acts, as the soloist in Beethoven 9th, Handel’s Messiah and added the roles of Howard Boucher DEAD MAN WALKING and Ismaele NABUCCO for the Schwerin Festival.
In the 2014-15 season Kerem returned to the Philharmonie in Cologne for Beethoven 9th, took part in various Opera and Operetta Gala Evenings at the Schwerin State Theater and sang Lenski EUGENE ONEGIN and Camille THE MERRY WIDOW. He also added the role of Turiddu CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA in a concert performance in Potsdam, Germany.
In the summer 2015 Kerem sang Alfredo in the Schwerin Summer Festival’s LA TRAVIATA and in 2016 returned to Germany at the Stadttheater Giessen to add the role of Yilmaz in the contemporary opera GEGEN DIE WAND, based on the award-winning film with the same title. He performed IDOMENEO as part of the MetOpera Guild’s lecture series in November 2016 in New York City and sang Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and Saygun’s Yunus Emre Oratorio at the Fulda Orangerie in Germany which was recorded by the Hessische Rundfunk in March 2017. Kerem also sang the Yunus Emre Oratorio at the Berlin Konzerthaus in May 2017 to great acclaim…“powerfully expressive and rich colours” – Tagesspiegel Berlin.
