Przemysław Firek

A graduate of vocal and drama studies under Wojciech J. Śmietana at Cracow Academy of Music. He made his operatic debut while still a student, singing the part of Skołuba in Moniuszko’s The Haunted Manor at Cracow Opera. (1988). A year later he performed at a concert for exceptionally talented students of Art Schools, organised by the Ministry of Culture. He won 3rd Prize and two Awards of Distinction at the International Vocal Competition in Wrocław (1990), was a finalist of the Ada Sari Competition in Nowy Sącz (1991) and a prize winner of the International ‘Opera for Europe’ Competition in London (1997). He also attended master classes given by Ryszard Karczykowski (Cracow, 1997) and Helena Łazarska (Vienna, 1998). His repertoire includes among others the roles of Satan in Penderecki’s Paradise Lost, Scarpia in Puccini’s Tosca, Méphistophéles in Gounod’s Faust and Zaccaria in Verdi’s Nabucco. He made his debut at the Polish National Opera during the 1998-99 season as Satan in Penderecki’s Paradise Lost. He works closely with the Łódź Grand Theatre where he sings Escamillo in Bizet’s Carmen. During the Krzysztof Penderecki International Festival in Cracow (1998), he sung Ebbo in The Black Mask, and during the Beethoven festival in Olsztyn (1999) in Symphony No. 9, the same year singing Don Basilio in Rossini’s Barber of Seville in Vienna. He also has an oratorio and cantata repertoire and gives recitals and concerts throughout Europe as well as Japan, China and the USA.