Rafał Bartmiński

Rafał Bartmiński – Polish tenor, graduate of the vocal and acting department of the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice in the class of prof. Eugeniusz Sąsiadek.

Winner of 3rd place at the 11th Ada Saria Vocal Competition in Nowy Sącz. In 2007 he won 2nd place and 11 extra-statutory awards at the 6th International Stanisław Moniuszko Vocal Competition in Warsaw.

He began his intensive concert activity while still a student (Mass in B minor and Magnificat by Bach, Requiem by Mozart). He made his debut on the stage of the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera in 2002 with the role of Lensky in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin directed by Maciej Prus.
Since this year he has been collaborating with the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera, performing the main tenor roles: Tamino in In the Land of the Magic Flute, Jontek in Halka (conducted by Marc Minkowski) and Stefan in The Haunted Manor by Moniuszko, Ismael in Nabucco by Verdi, Boris in Katya Kabanova by Janaček, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly by Puccini, Madwoman Curlev River by Britten and Tamburmajor in Wozzeck by Berg. Rafał Bartmiński made his debut in the Bolshoi Theatre with this last role, conducted by Teodor Currentzis and directed by Dmitry Tcherniakov.

Rafał Bartmiński also distinguished himself particularly in such roles as: Nemorino – L'elisire d'amor by Gaetano Donizetti, Don Ottavio – Don Giovanni by W.A. Mozart, Alfredo – Latraviata by Giuseppe Verdi (Latvian National Opera in Riga), Rudolfo – La boheme, Calaf – Turandot by Giacomo Puccini, Don José – Carmen by Georges Bizet (Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus, Tiroler Landestheater Innsbruck) and Wenceslas – Maria by Roman Statkowski (Wexford Festival Opera) or the Shepherd – King Roger by Karol Szymanowski (Oper Wiesbaden, Teatro Real in Madrid, Opéra Bastille in Paris, Opernhaus in Wuppertal), Laca Klemen – Jenufa, Boris – Katia Kabanova by Leoš Janáček.

The artist also conducts a very rich concert activity. As a leading performer of tenor parts in Krzysztof Penderecki's oratorios – Te deum, Kosmogonia, Jutrznia, Credo (CD Recordings Philharmonic National Orchestra conducted by Antoni Wit), VII Bramy Jerozolimy, Polish Requiem (Leipzig with MDR- Sinfonieorchester, with Israel Philharmonic Orchestra Tel Aviv – Bronfman Auditorium, Haifa – Municipal Auditorium, Jerusalem – International Convention Centre). He also performed in Krzysztof Penderecki's Credo conducted by Valery Giergiew at the Jubilee Gala of the composer's 80th birthday. He also sang Messa di Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi (International Sacred Music in Riga, Ljubljana Festival) and Symphony No. 8 by Gustav Mahler (The Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion, conducted by Noam Sheriff), Harnasie – Karol Szymanowski's Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, Missa Solemnis – L. van Beethoven (NOSPR conducted by Jerzy Semkow, Berliner Philharmoniker conducted by Jörg-Peter Weigle), Symphony No. 9 – L. van Beethoven (National Philharmonic conducted by Stanisław Skrowaczewski, Berliner Philharmoniker conducted by Jörg-Peter Weigle), Messiah by George Frideric Handel alongside Emma Kirkby and Michael Chance. Rafał Bartmiński performed Symphony No. 3 Song of the Night – Karol Szymanowski with the Warsaw Philharmonic conducted by Antoni Wit (DVD recording), on the occasion of the 120th anniversary of the National Philharmonic conducted by Jacek Kaspszyk and the Sinfonieorchester des Bayerischen Rudfunks in Munich and Cologne conducted by Mariss Jansons (CD recording), as well as with the Orquesta Sinfónica de RTVE in Madrid conducted by Hannu Lintu.

The artist regularly collaborates with the best orchestras and philharmonics, including: the Warsaw Philharmonic, the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (NOSPR), Simfonia Varsovia, the Polish Radio Orchestra. He has collaborated with such outstanding conductors as: Gabriel Chmura, Teodor Currentzis, Miguel Gomez-Martinez, Tomas Hanus, Mariss Jansons, Jacek Kaspszyk, Paweł Przytocki, Łukasz Borowicz, Patrick Fournillier, Hannu Lintu, Marc Minkowski, Tadeusz Wojciechowski, Krzysztof Penderecki, Andrzej Straszyński, Antoni Wit, Tadeusz Wojciechowski and Alberto Zedda, as well as with directors such as: David Alden, Dmitri Tcherniakov, MariuszTreliński, Jakob Messer, Krzysztof Warlikowski, Tomasz Konina, Andrzej Domalik, Krzysztof Zanussi, Krystyna Janda.

He has made numerous recordings: Symphony No. 8 Polish Flowers by Mieczysław Weinberg, Credo and Kosmogonia by Krzysztof Penderecki (Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, conducted by Antoni Wit), Masses by Stanisław Moniuszko (Warsaw Philharmonic Choir, conducted by Henryk Wojnarowski, Fryderyk Award 2009), Psaumes by Aleksander Tansman, Vocal – Instrumental Works by Witold Lutosławski (Łódź Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, conducted by Daniel Raiskin), Falstaff by Giuseppe Verdi, Monbar czyli fibustierowie by Ignacy Feliks Dobrzyński (Polish Radio Orchestra, Polish Radio Choir, conducted by Łukasz Borowicz), Missa Solemnis ex B by Maksymilian Koperski (Beethoven Academy Orchestra).