Music took on a crucial role in the life of Nyíregyháza-born tenor Gergely Biri from a young age, starting when he began his studies in the voice and music course at his home town’s Zoltán Kodály Primary School under the direction of Kossuth Prize-winning choirmaster Dénes Szabó. He also kept up his relationship with the Cantemus choir family after leaving primary school, singing for seven years as a member of the Cantemus Mixed Choir directed by Soma Szabó.
After earning a degree in opera performance from the University of Debrecen’s faculty of music in 2017, he continued his voice studies privately with opera singer Éva Bátori. Having taken part in master classes with Béla Perencz, Timothy Bentch and Bátori herself, he is currently working under the guidance of Kossuth Prize-winning opera singer Ildikó Komlósi.
He made his début at the Hungarian State Opera in the role of Nemorino (L’elisir d’amore), and his principal roles include include the major roles from the lyric tenor repertoire: Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Calandrino (Mozart’s L'oca del Cairo, ossia Lo sposo deluso), Ottó (Bánk bán) and Acis (Acis and Galatea).
As a former member of the company, he is a frequent guest at the Debrecen’s Csokonai National Theatre, and he has also sung at the national theatres of Miskolc and Győr. He regularly appears as a soloist in classical musics around Hungary, working with such conductors as László Kovács and Tamás Vásáry.
Competitions:
Emil Petrovics Singing Competition – first place (2017)
Mihály Székely Singing Competition – first place (2016)
Awards and recognitions:
Lili Neményi Cup – Csokonai Theatre of Debrecen (2016)
