BIOGRAPHY |  ENGLISH

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Kartal Karagedik is one of the most distinguished artists of his generation. With his strong, virile baritone voice, exuberant stage presence, and charismatic personality, he captivates audiences both in concerts and on the opera stage. He has achieved success in over 40 leading roles at renowned theaters and festivals throughout Europe. Known for his artistic versatility, he has garnered acclaim in a wide range of roles, including Mozart's Conte Almaviva ("Le Nozze di Figaro"), Donizetti's Enrico ("Lucia di Lammermoor"), Verdi's Renato ("Un ballo in maschera"), Puccini's Lescaut and Marcello ("Manon Lescaut",”la Bohème”), Rossini's Dandini ("La Cenerentola"), Berlioz's Chorèbe ("Les Troyens"), and the title role in Tchaikovsky's "Eugene Onegin."

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In the 2023/24 season, Kartal Karagedik will sing Zurga in Bizet's "Les pêcheurs de perles" at Opera Vlaanderen, as well as Enrico in Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor" at Hamburg State Opera, where he will also reprise one of his signature roles: Marquis de Posa in Giuseppe Verdi's "Don Carlos" (in the five-act French version). Additionally, he will take on the role of Frère Léon in Messiaen's "Saint François d'Assise" at the Elbphilharmonie and the Grand Théâtre de Genève. His concert schedule for the season includes a special Schubert recital with Helmut Deutsch on the piano in Antwerp and Istanbul, which will also provide the basis for a CD recording in May 2024.

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Highlights from previous seasons include the title role in Donizetti's rarely performed "Le Duc d'Albe" at Vlaamse Opera, the world premiere of Christian Jost's "Voyage vers l'espoir" at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, and Marcello in "La Bohème" at the Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago. At Savonlinna Opera Festival he sang the title role in "Don Giovanni", Germont in "La Traviata" at Theater St. Gallen, Paolo in "Simon Boccanegra" at Opéra de Normandie in Rouen, and Rodrigo in "Don Carlo" at Oper Leipzig, among others.

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On the concert stage, Karagedik has performed Mahler's 8th Symphony under the baton of Eliahu Inbal at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, the "Kindertotenlieder" at the Mahler Festwochen in Toblach with Munich Symphony Orchestra, "Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen" in Istanbul with CRR Symphony Orchestra, and Beethoven's 9th Symphony at the Brucknerhaus Linz. He has also been heard at Mozartsaal in Vienna, Hercules Saal in Munich, Tokyo Metropolitan Hall, Frankfurt Opera, Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf and at Schleswig Holstein Musik Festival. Karagedik has collaborated with esteemed conductors, including Joana Mallwitz, Kent Nagano, Stefano Ranzani, Ottavio Dantone, Eliahu Inbal, Gianluca Capuano, Roberto Rizzi-Brignoli, Christoph Prick, Yves Abel, Anthony Bramall, Ulf Schirmer, Antonello Allemandi, Paolo Arrivabeni, Axel Kober, Marie Jacquot and many more.

Since the season 2015/16, Kartal Karagedik has been a resident artist at the Hamburg State Opera and has also performed at major European opera and concert houses, as well as international festivals. Prior to that, he was a member of the ensemble at the Theater Magdeburg from 2009 and at the Theater Erfurt from 2013. He made early career appearances at notable venues such as Teatro Comunale di Bologna (Riccardo in "I Puritani"), Staatstheater Braunschweig (Gerard in "Andréa Chenier"), and Teatro Sociale di Como (as Falstaff). Karagedik was born in Turkey and completed his vocal studies in his hometown of Izmir and at the Accademia Dell'Opera Italiana in Bologna.

In addition to his singing career, Kartal is also a celebrated and award-winning photographer. Since 2014, his photo exhibitions have received widespread public recognition.