Hungarian-Romanian baritone Gyula Orendt was born in Transylvania and studied at the University of Brașov and the Franz Liszt Conservatory, Budapest. Already as a student he performed the title role of Handel’s oratorio Saul. He started his career as a member of the Vienna Volksoper (2010– 11) before becoming a member of the Opera Studio of Berlin State Opera (2011–13), and a member of the Berlin State Opera in 2013, where his roles include Papageno (Die Zauberflöte), Conte (Nozze di Figaro), Guglielmo (Cosi fan tutte), Figaro (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Carolus (Emma und Eginhard) under René Jacobs, and Thésée (Hippolyte et Aricie) with Simon Rattle, the title role in Der Kaiser von Atlantis, Belcore (L’elisir d’amore), Zurga (Les Pêcheurs de perles) with Daniel Barenboim, Schaunard (La bohème) and Harlequin (Ariadne auf Naxos).

Engagements elsewhere:
Roberto/Nardo (La finta giardiniera) for Glyndebourne Festival, Count Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro) for the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Liceu Barcelona, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Glyndebourne Festival with Robin Ticciati, and Hungarian State Opera, Guglielmo (Così fan tutte) for Bavarian State Opera Munich, the Norwegian National Opera Oslo and the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, where he also performs the title role in Monteverdi’s Orfeo, Valens (Handel’s Theodora) and Gaveston/Stranger (Lessons in Love and Violence, world premiere, 2018), coproduction with Dutch National Opera Amsterdam, Hamburgische Staatsoper, Opéra National de Lyon, and Teatro Real Madrid.

Concert appearances include Ein Deutsches Requiem with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, Des Knaben Wunderhorn with Concerto Budapest, George Benjamin’s Sometime Voices with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra Stockholm as well as the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France Paris, Handel’s Apollo with the Finish Baroque Orchestra Helsinski, and Lied recitals at Hungarian State Opera and Berlin State Opera. His discography includes Rappresentatione di Anima e di Corpo under Rene Jacobs for Harmonia Mundi as well as Lessons in Love and Violence for Nimbus on CD and Opus Arte on dvd. Orendt is a triple prizewinner of the Francisco Viñas Competition.

Recent and future highlights:

  • Staatsoper Berlin: Conte Le Nozze di Figaro, new production, Daniel Barenboim/V. Huguet, 04/2021
  • Festival d’Aix: Conte Le Nozze di Figaro, new production, L. de Beer/Thomas Hengelbrock, 07/2021
  • Staatsoper Berlin: Guglielmo Così fan tutte, new production, Daniel Barenboim/Vincent Huguet, September-October 2021
  • Royal Opera House Covent Garden London: Valens Handel’s Theodora, new production, Katie Mitchel/Harry Bicket, January-February 2022

 

Decemer 2021

title role

Monteverdi’s l’Orfeo

Guglielmo

Così fan tutte

Papageno

Zauberflöte

Zurga

Les Pecheurs de Perles

Figaro

Barbiere di Siviglia

Papageno

Zauberflöte

Conte

Le Nozze di Figaro

Guglielmo

Cosi fan tutte

Gaveston & Stranger

George Benjamin’s Lessons in Love and Violence

Zauberflöte (Papageno), Royal Opera London, December 2022

The Guardian

“THERE ARE STRONG PERFORMANCES, PARTICULARLY FROM GYULA ORENDT’S PAPAGENO (headline) – Gyula Orendt’s Papageno is the heart of this production, turning his journey towards earthly fulfilment with Sarah Dufresne’s Papagena into the most convincing development of character and comedy in the show”

Così fan tutte (Guglielmo) – Royal Opera London, February-March 2019

Opera Today

“Orendt’s Guglielmo rather revelled in the vast comic scale of his arias. It’s not just that the voice is so large, but it’s that it also has such a developed and innate sense of character. The voice can sound mocking one moment – almost like a foil to Thomas Allen’s Don Alfonso – but the next it seems to imitate the orchestra – how some of Orendt’s notes rang out against some of the brass fanfares, as if in a comic duet, was thrilling”

Zauberflöte

Gyula Orendt as Papageno

12 August 2023

Venue

The Usher Hall, Edinburgh

Conductor

Maxim Emelyanychev

Orchestra

Scottish Chamber Orchestra

Médée (new production)

Gyula Orendt as Oronte

Premiere: Sunday, 19 November 2023

Conductor

Sir Simon Rattle

Director

Peter Sellars

Die Jacobsleiter

Gyula Orendt as Der Auserwählte

Friday, 25 January 2024

Saturday, 26 January 2024

Sunday, 27 January 2024

Venue

Philharmonie Berlin

Program

Die Jacobsleiter

Conductor

Kirill Petrenko

Orchestra

Berliner Philharmoniker