Ilker Arcayürek

Ilker Arcayürek was born in Istanbul and raised in Vienna. He received his initial musical training with the Mozart Boys' Choir under the direction of Peter Lang. As a soloist of this choir, he gathered experience both on international tours and on local stages at the Vienna Volksoper, Staatsoper, and Kammeroper Wien. He continued his training with the tenor Sead Buljubasic, sang with the Arnold Schönberg Choir, and was later admitted to the International Opera Studio Zurich (IOS).

During the seasons 2010/2011 to 2012/2013, he was engaged at the Zurich Opera House. Alongside this, he amassed a wealth of concert experience. Under the direction of Muhai Tang, he performed at the New Year's concert with the ZKO (Zurich Chamber Orchestra) at the Tonhalle Zurich and KKL Lucerne.

In 2011, he collaborated with Muhai Tang in a concert version of Joseph Haydn's "Orlando Paladino".

In 2012, he was part of the Verbier Festival Academy, attending masterclasses with Thomas Quasthoff, Ileana Cotrubas, Sir Thomas Allen, and Alfred Brendel. In "Le Nozze di Figaro", he performed as Basilio and Don Curzio in a concert version under the direction of Paul McCreesh.

Together with the pianist Norman Shetler, he gave song recitals and performed, among others, Schumann's Dichterliebe and the Liederkreis Op.24 in Bonn.

In 2013, under the direction of Thomas Rösner in a guest production of the Zurich Opera House at the Stadttheater Winterthur, he made his debut as Ferrando in "Così fan tutte". At the summer festival Oper Klosterneuburg, he debuted in the subsequent years as Fenton in "The Merry Wives of Windsor", as Tamino in "The Magic Flute", and as the Swan in "Carmina Burana". Under the direction of Franz Welser-Möst, he sang Beethoven's C Major Mass in Vienna and also recorded it on CD. During the seasons 2013/2014 and 2014/2015, he was a member of the ensemble at the Stadttheater Klagenfurt, performing roles such as Alfred in "Die Fledermaus", Prince in "The Love for Three Oranges", the Italian singer in "Der Rosenkavalier", Chevalier de la Force in "Dialogues des Carmelites", and Tamino. With the role of the Son in "Tahrir", he made his debut at the Salzburg State Theater. From the 2015/2016 season onwards, he has been a member of the ensemble at the Staatstheater Nürnberg.