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József Csapó pursued his education at the University of Pécs, studying solo voice and giving his solo graduation concert – as Hungary's sole countertenor – in 1996. Over the years, he has enhanced his skills with the assistance of renowned singers like Ashley Stafford and Alastair Thompson. He has been singing tenor roles since 2002. Although the backbone of his repertoire is composed primarily of oratorios, he is at home singing music from every era, from Monteverdi to Ligeti. His debut on the opera stage took place at the 2001 Budapest Spring Festival, when he sang the role of Medoro in Handel's opera Orlando with the Budapest Chamber Opera. He made his Hungarian State Opera debut in 2005 as the First Servant in Levente Gyöngyösi's The Stork Calif. Since then, he has taken part in the premieres of several opera premieres, including Zsófia Tallér's Leander and Linseed, Samu Gryllus's Two Women and Haydn's L'isola disabitata. Taking the stage at Müpa Budapest, he gave a memorable portrayal of Monsieur Taupe in Richard Strauss's Capriccio, with Zoltán Kocsis conducting. He sang the role of the Judge in both the Budapest and Berlin performances of Iván Fischer's Opera The Red Heifer and has appeared at the Wagner in Budapest Opera Festival several times to portray Eisslinger in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. As both a soloist and a member of the UniCum Laude Vocal Ensemble, he has made regular concert appearances in numerous countries abroad, including in Germany, Italy, France, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Malta, Romania, Japan and Taiwan.
József Csapó