Tomasz Rak

In 2005, he graduated with distinction from the Academy of Music in Łódź: the vocal-acting faculty, in the class of Prof. Piotr Miciński. While still a student, he made his debut in 2003 as Guglielmo in W.A. Mozart’s "Cosi fan tutte" on the stage of the Grand Theatre in Łódź. In the same year, he became a soloist at the Łódź Musical Theatre, where he continues to perform major baritone roles. In 2003, he received an award at the I.J. Paderewski Song Competition in Bydgoszcz, and the following year he was honored at the First National Operetta Competition named after Iwona Borowiecka in Kraków.

In 2007, he became a soloist at the Warsaw Chamber Opera, where he debuted as Figaro in G. Rossini’s opera "The Barber of Seville," directed by Jitka Stokalska. Since then, he has performed the roles of Papageno in "The Magic Flute" and Guglielmo in "Cosi fan tutte" at all the Mozart Festivals of the Warsaw Chamber Opera.

In 2010, he performed the role of Nick Shadow in the opera "The Rake’s Progress" by I. Stravinsky, directed by Marek Weiss. He participated in the Warsaw Chamber Opera’s tours in Japan ("The Barber of Seville," Weber’s "Der Freischütz"), Spain, and France ("The Magic Flute," "Cosi fan tutte"). In 2012, he appeared as Jontek in the Vilnius version of St. Moniuszko’s "Halka" at the Lviv Opera. He took part in the Contemporary Music Festival held in 2008 in Gdynia and Gdańsk, which resulted in world premieres of works by composers Georgios Kissas (Greece), Adrian Williams (England), and Sylvia Filus (France).

In 2010, at the invitation of the Warsaw Estrada, he performed with the Polish Chamber Philharmonic from Sopot at the Baltic States Festival in Karlshamn (Sweden).

He also collaborates with the Grand Theatre in Łódź, where in 2005 he played the role of Maximilian in the production of Leonard Bernstein’s "Candide," directed by Tomasz Konina, the title role in Rossini’s "The Barber of Seville," directed by Natalia Babińska, and Eisenstein in "Die Fledermaus" in 2018, directed by Giorgio Madia.

In 2011, he debuted at the Baltic Opera in Gdańsk in the title role of P. Tchaikovsky’s "Eugene Onegin," directed by Marek Weiss. The same year, he performed one of the main roles in the world premiere of E. Sikora’s opera "Madame Curie," directed by Marek Weiss, which was staged at UNESCO headquarters in Paris and at the Tianjin Grand Theatre in China. At the Baltic Opera, he also performs the role of Escamillo in G. Bizet’s "Carmen," directed by Marek Weiss; Aleksander Glowa in Shostakovich/Meyer’s "The Gamblers," directed by Andrzej Chyra; and the 2013 production of Krzysztof Penderecki’s "Ubu Rex," directed by Janusz Wiśniewski.

In April 2015, he appeared on the Baltic Opera stage as Iago in G. Verdi’s "Otello." In subsequent years, he performed in productions at the Baltic Opera including St. Moniuszko’s "The Haunted Manor," directed by Marek Weiss; G. Bizet’s "Les pêcheurs de perles," directed by Tomasz Podsiadło; Leonard Bernstein’s "Candide," directed by Anna Wieczór; and J. Massenet’s "Thaïs," directed by Romuald Wilcz Pokojski.

His successful debut at the Wrocław Opera in the title role of "Eugene Onegin," directed by Yuri Alexandrov, led to further roles including Zurga in G. Bizet’s "Les pêcheurs de perles," directed by Waldemar Zawodziński; Figaro in "The Barber of Seville," directed by Igor Przegrodzki; Dandini in G. Rossini’s "Cinderella," directed by Irina Brook; and Escamillo in the opera spectacle "Carmen," prepared at the Silesian Stadium in Wrocław for an audience of 25,000.

Since June 2017, he has collaborated with the Grand Theatre – National Opera in Warsaw, performing in productions by Mariusz Treliński: E.W. Korngold’s "Die tote Stadt," G. Puccini’s "Madame Butterfly," St. Moniuszko’s "Halka," and K. Szymanowski’s "King Roger."

In the 2021/2022 season, he performed as Marcello in G. Puccini’s "La Bohème," directed by Barbara Wysocka. Since 2021, he has been permanently associated with the Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic in Białystok as a soloist and vocal consultant.

In the photo: Tomasz Rak, photo: artist's promotional materials