Hungarian-Romanian baritone Gyula Orendt made his Royal Opera debut in 2012 as Gamekeeper (Rusalka) and has since returned to sing the title role in Orfeo at the Roundhouse.

Orendt was born in Trannsylvania and studied at the Transylvania University of Brasov and the Franz Liszt Conservatory, Budapest. Early in his career he sang the title role in Handel’s Saul under Helmut Rilling, Colas (Bastien und Bastienne) in Györ and Schumann’s Liederkreis op.24 at the Bad Kissingen Festival.

He started his career as a member of the Vienna Volksoper 2010–11 before becoming a member of the Opera Studio of Berlin State Opera 2011–13, singing such roles as Papageno (Die Zauberflöte), Keeper of the Madhouse (The Rake’s Progress, directed by Krzysztof Warlikowski) and Fiorello (Il barbiere di Siviglia) under Daniel Barenboim.

In 2013 he became a member of the Berlin State Opera, where his roles have included Papageno, Figaro (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Tempo/Consiglio (Rappresentatione di anima et di corpo) and Carolus (Emma und Eginhard) under René Jacobs, the title role in Der Kaiser von Atlantis, Belcore (L’elisir d’amore), Silvano (Un ballo in maschera) and Harlequin (Ariadne auf Naxos).

Engagements elsewhere include Roberto/Nardo (La finta giardiniera) for Glyndebourne Festival, also broadcast on BBC Radio 3, Guglielmo (Così fan tutte) and Orfeo for Opéra national de Lorraine, Nancy, and Guglielmo for Bavarian State Opera.

In concert Orendt has sung Ein deutsches Requiem with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra. His discography includes Rappresentatione di Anima, et di Corpo under Jacobs for Harmonia Mundi. Orendt is a triple prizewinner of the Francisco Viñas Competition.

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