Baritone Levent Bakırcı, born in Ankara, made a name for himself at a young age through successes in international competitions. In 2019, he was named “Best Male Opera Artist of the Year” by the Semiha Berksoy Opera Foundation. He performed with the Ankara State Opera between 2001 and 2003, and later with the Istanbul State Opera. In 2005, he was invited to Teatro Verdi in Trieste, Italy.
After studying at the Accademia d’Arte Lirica in Osimo, Italy, in 2005, he continued his vocal education at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia from 2006 to 2008, supported by scholarships from the Eczacıbaşı Foundation and AVA Philadelphia. During this time, he gained extensive stage experience in the U.S. From 2008 to 2011, he was a full-time ensemble member of Theater Bremen in Germany, where he created the role of Cahit in the world premiere of Ludger Vollmer’s acclaimed opera Gegen die Wand. He later performed the same role at Stuttgart Opera. While in Bremen, he took on numerous roles including Eugene Onegin, Figaro (Il barbiere di Siviglia), and Don Giovanni.
In 2013, he performed at the Wien Modern Festival in Vienna in the premiere of Jörg Ulrich Krah’s Seelentore. In 2015, he received critical acclaim for his leading role in Luigi Dallapiccola’s Il prigioniero at Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse. His notable stage appearances include the role of Count Gloucester in Aribert Reimann’s Lear and the lead in Il prigioniero at Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence; Alberich in Das Rheingold in Mexico; the title role in Don Giovanni in Santiago de Chile; Eugene Onegin at the Seiji Ozawa Festival in Japan; Frank in Die Fledermaus at Teatro Carlo Felice; Don Arias in Malipiero’s La vita è sogno and a concert in tribute to Stravinsky at Teatro La Fenice.
At the Verdi Festival, he sang Kelbar in Un giorno di regno; Captain Ahab in Moby Dick at Teatr Wielki in Warsaw; Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette with the Munich Radio Orchestra; and the lead role in Il prigioniero in Lucerne. From 2015 to 2018, he was a permanent ensemble member at Staatstheater Nürnberg, where he performed leading roles in Rigoletto, La Bohème (Marcello), Carmen (Escamillo), Don Giovanni, Il barbiere di Siviglia (Figaro), Die Zauberflöte (Papageno), Le nozze di Figaro (Count Almaviva), and Manon (Lescaut).
Throughout his career, Levent Bakırcı has worked with distinguished conductors such as Michael Boder, Fabio Luisi, Markus Stenz, and Keri Lynn Wilson, and with leading stage directors including Lotte de Beer, Calixto Bieito, Robert Carsen, Mariame Clement, Pierre Constant, Massimo Gasparon, Tatjana Gürbaca, Michael Hampe, Peter Konwitchny, Cesare Lievi, Pier Luigi Pizzi, Lydia Steier, Beppe de Tomasi and Keith Warner.
After studying at the Accademia d’Arte Lirica in Osimo, Italy, in 2005, he continued his vocal education at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia from 2006 to 2008, supported by scholarships from the Eczacıbaşı Foundation and AVA Philadelphia. During this time, he gained extensive stage experience in the U.S. From 2008 to 2011, he was a full-time ensemble member of Theater Bremen in Germany, where he created the role of Cahit in the world premiere of Ludger Vollmer’s acclaimed opera Gegen die Wand. He later performed the same role at Stuttgart Opera. While in Bremen, he took on numerous roles including Eugene Onegin, Figaro (Il barbiere di Siviglia), and Don Giovanni.
In 2013, he performed at the Wien Modern Festival in Vienna in the premiere of Jörg Ulrich Krah’s Seelentore. In 2015, he received critical acclaim for his leading role in Luigi Dallapiccola’s Il prigioniero at Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse. His notable stage appearances include the role of Count Gloucester in Aribert Reimann’s Lear and the lead in Il prigioniero at Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence; Alberich in Das Rheingold in Mexico; the title role in Don Giovanni in Santiago de Chile; Eugene Onegin at the Seiji Ozawa Festival in Japan; Frank in Die Fledermaus at Teatro Carlo Felice; Don Arias in Malipiero’s La vita è sogno and a concert in tribute to Stravinsky at Teatro La Fenice.
At the Verdi Festival, he sang Kelbar in Un giorno di regno; Captain Ahab in Moby Dick at Teatr Wielki in Warsaw; Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette with the Munich Radio Orchestra; and the lead role in Il prigioniero in Lucerne. From 2015 to 2018, he was a permanent ensemble member at Staatstheater Nürnberg, where he performed leading roles in Rigoletto, La Bohème (Marcello), Carmen (Escamillo), Don Giovanni, Il barbiere di Siviglia (Figaro), Die Zauberflöte (Papageno), Le nozze di Figaro (Count Almaviva), and Manon (Lescaut).
Throughout his career, Levent Bakırcı has worked with distinguished conductors such as Michael Boder, Fabio Luisi, Markus Stenz, and Keri Lynn Wilson, and with leading stage directors including Lotte de Beer, Calixto Bieito, Robert Carsen, Mariame Clement, Pierre Constant, Massimo Gasparon, Tatjana Gürbaca, Michael Hampe, Peter Konwitchny, Cesare Lievi, Pier Luigi Pizzi, Lydia Steier, Beppe de Tomasi and Keith Warner.
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