Bass

Ante Jerkunica

Rusalka

Biography

Born in Croatia, Ante is currently one of the most sought-after basses on the international stage. This is his debut with Irish National Opera. In 2005, he won first prize at the National Singing Competition in Zagreb, and in 2007 represented Croatia at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World. From 2006 to 2018, he was a member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin ensemble, initially as a scholarship holder. Ante has made several appearances at the Salzburg Festival, and has sung at the state operas in Hamburg, Munich, Berlin and Vienna, as well as in Cologne, Leipzig and Frankfurt and at the Semperoper in Dresden. He has been a guest at Opéra National de Lyon, Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona, Bilbao Opera, Nederlandse Opera Amsterdam, Opéra Bastille Paris, Teatro Real Madrid, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Bergen Opera, Opernhaus Zürich, Bregenz Festival, and Theater an der Wien. In 2017, he made his successful US debut at the Seattle Opera as Sarastro in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, and in 2022 he made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera New York, singing Sparafucile in Verdi’s Rigoletto. In 2020, he made his role debut as Gurnemanz in Wagner’s Parsifal at Opéra du Rhin Strasbourg, a great personal success. He sang Dvořák's Requiem at the Berlin Philharmonie and the Liceu Barcelona, as well as Verdi's Requiem in Basel. In August 2017, he made his debut under Semyon Bychkov at the Royal Albert Hall in London at the BBC Proms. Future plans include a return to Hamburg State Opera, and his debut at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées Paris. 

March 2026