Łukasz Konieczny (born 13 March 1985) is a Polish operatic bass. Between 2011 and 2019, he was a soloist of Düsseldorf Opera House. From 2019 to 2020, he performed at the Grand Theatre–National Opera in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. Konieczny is the brother of Tomasz Konieczny, also an opera singer.

Early life and education

Łukasz Konieczny graduated from the

Karol Lipiński Academy of Music Karol may refer to: Places * Karol, Gujarat, a village on Saurashtra peninsula in Gujarat, west India ** Karol State, a former Rajput petty princely state with seat in the above town *Karol Bagh, neighbourhood of Central Delhi, Delhi, India **Ka ...

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

, Poland. He took part in numerous master classes conducted by such opera singers and teachers as Christian Elsner, Deborah Polaski, David Syrus, Jane Henschel, Linda Watson, and Franz Grundheber. Konieczny also took part in acting classes at the

Internationale Filmschule Köln The ifs internationale filmschule köln gmbh (''international film school cologne'') is a privately funded film school in Cologne, Northrhine-Westphalia, Germany. The film school was founded by Filmstiftung NRW. In the German film school ranki ...

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, Germany.

Career

He started his career in Germany as a member of the Opera Studio at Düsseldorf Opera House. In the season 2011/2012, he became a full-time soloist of the Düsseldorf Opera House. He is a frequent performer of the

Wagnerian Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most ...

repertoire, including interpretation of Fafner in the ''

Das Rheingold ''Das Rheingold'' (; ''The Rhinegold''), Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis, WWV 86A, is the first of the four epic poetry, epic music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's Literary cycle, cycle ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nib ...

'' and the ''Siegfried'', likewise as Hunding in the ''Valkyrie''. The role of Polyphemus in the stage premiere of ''

Acis and Galatea Acis and Galatea (, ) are characters from Greek mythology later associated together in Ovid's ''Metamorphoses''. The episode tells of the love between the mortal Acis and the Nereid (sea-nymph) Galatea; when the jealous Cyclops Polyphemus kil ...

'' by

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

during the Händel Festival in Halle 2013 was a milestone in the artist’s career. In the same year, he also performed with the interpretation of the bass part in

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of ...

's ''

Les Noces ''The Wedding'', or ''Svadebka (''), is a Russian-language ballet-cantata by Igor Stravinsky scored unusually for four vocal soloists, chorus, percussion and four pianos. Dedicating the work to impresario Sergei Diaghilev, the composer described ...

'' at the

Klavier-Festival Ruhr The Klavier-Festival Ruhr (also ''Klavierfestival Ruhr'') is an annual festival of piano music, which takes place in the area of the Ruhr in Germany. The festival runs from around the beginning of May for three months. The organizer of the fest ...

, and a year later he took part in the performance of the

Penderecki Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best-known works include '' Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', '' Polish Requiem'', '' ...

’s ''

Polish Requiem ''Polish Requiem'' (; ), also ''A Polish Requiem'', is a large-scale requiem mass for soloists, mixed choir and orchestra by the Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki. The Lacrimosa, dedicated to the trade union leader Lech Wałęsa, was written f ...

'' during the Festival of Polish Music in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. In 2015, Konieczny made his debut as Rocco in

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

's opera ''

Fidelio ''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Opus number, Op. 72, is the sole opera by German composer Ludwig van Beethoven. The libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of ...

'' at the Mainfranken Theater in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

. He played Doctor Behrens in the world premiere of the opera ''Magic Mountain'' by

Paweł Mykietyn Paweł Jan Mykietyn (Polish pronunciation: ; born 20 May 1971) is a Polish award-winning composer and clarinetist. By the year 2012, Mykietyn had written two symphonies, cello, piano and violin concertos, St. Marc Passions for soprano, narrator ...

, based on

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...

's novel during the Malta Festival 2015 in

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

. In 2017, Konieczny has made his debut as Banco in

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma, to a family of moderate means, recei ...

's ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'' at

Theater Aachen Theater Aachen is a theatre in Aachen, Germany. It is the principal venue in that city for operas, musical theatre and plays. It is the home of the Sinfonieorchester Aachen. The original project was by Johann Peter Cremer, later altered by Ka ...

and as Barone Douphol in Verdi's '' Traviata'' at the

Bavarian State Opera The Bavarian State Opera () is a German opera company based in Munich. Its main venue is the Nationaltheater München, and its orchestra the Bavarian State Orchestra. History The parent ensemble of the company was founded in 1653, under El ...

in Munich during the

Munich Opera Festival The Munich Opera Festival () takes place yearly in the Bavarian capital from late June to late July. Preceding on the calendar the two nearby festivals of Bayreuth and Salzburg, which both start in late July, the festival summarizes the concludin ...

2017. In the same year performed in

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

's ''

Requiem A Requiem (Latin: ''rest'') or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead () or Mass of the dead (), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the souls of the deceased, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is ...

'' at Théâtre du Capitole Toulouse. In 2017/2018, Konieczny made his debut at Dresden Opera (

Semperoper Dresden The Semperoper () is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden (Saxon State Opera) and the concert hall of the Staatskapelle Dresden (Saxon State Orchestra). It is also home to the Semperoper Ballett. The building is located on the T ...

) as Crespel and Luther in Offenbach's ''

Les Contes d'Hoffmann ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (French: ) is an by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, who is the protagonist of the story. It was Offenbach's final work; he died in ...

''. In 2018, he took part in the world premiere of Aleksander Nowak's opera ''ahat-ilī – sister of gods'' to the libretto by

Olga Tokarczuk Olga Nawoja Tokarczuk (; born 29 January 1962) is a Polish writer, activist, and public intellectual. She is one of the most critically acclaimed and successful authors of her generation in Poland. In 2019, she was awarded the 2018 Nobel Pri ...

at the Sacrum Profanum 2018 festival. In 2019, as part of The Year of

Stanisław Moniuszko Stanisław Moniuszko (; May 5 (17), 1819 – June 4, 1872) was a Polish composer, conductor, organist and pedagogue. He wrote many popular art songs and operas, including '' The Haunted Manor'' and '' Halka'', and his music is filled with patr ...

, he presented songs of this composer at the Grand Theater–National Opera. During the season 2018/2019, he performed as Sparafucile in Verdi's ''

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...

'', Skołuba in Moniuszko's ''

The Haunted Manor ''The Haunted Manor'' () is an opera in four acts composed by Polish composer Stanisław Moniuszko in 1861–1864. The libretto was written by . Despite being a romance and a comedy, it has strong Polish patriotic undertones, which made it ...

'', Faust and Inquisitore in

Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...

's '' The Fiery Angel''. He also made guest appearances at the Düsseldorf Opera House as Fafner in ''Das Rheingold'' and the ''Siegfried'', and as Hunding in the ''Valkyrie'' by Wagner. At the Dramma per musica festival, Warsaw, he played the role of Polifema in Handel’s ''

Aci, Galatea e Polifemo Aci, Galatea e Polifemo ( HWV 72) is a serenata for three voices by George Frideric Handel. It was first performed at Naples on 19 July 1708; the completed score is dated to 16 June 1708. A sort of dramatic cantata, the work was commissioned ...

''. His repertoire includes more than fifty opera roles, among others Bartolo in ''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' (, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienn ...

'', Masetto and Commander in ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; full title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanish legen ...

'', Zuniga in Bizet's ''Carmen'', Bonzo in ''Madame Butterfly'', Tom in '' Un ballo in maschera'', Il Re in ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is a tragic opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 De ...

'' by Verdi, Minotaurus in ''Ariane'' Martinů. Konieczny also regularly performs in concerts.

Awards

He was awarded a special prize during the International Song Contest in Istanbul, in 2010.

References

External links

Official websiteŁukasz Konieczny
at operabase.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Konieczny, Łukasz 1985 births Living people Musicians from Łódź 21st-century Polish male opera singers Operatic basses