The young bass Marcell Bakonyi was born in Györ, Hungary, in 1980. From 1999 until 2002 he studied voice at the Leo Weiner Conservatory in Budapest, he continued his studies with Julia Hamari and Cornelis Witthoeft at the Academy for Music and Drama in Stuttgart, where he passed his diploma with distinction in 2007.
In 2003 Marcell Bakonyi was choosen to take part at the International Schlossfestspiele Rheinsberg, a developement programme for up and coming young singers, where he appeared in a performance of C. Monteverdi`s 5th Madrigal.
In 2004, the young bass was granted a scholarship from the Richard Wagner association, and in 2006 he was the winner of the International Classic Mania Competition`s special prize in Vienna.
In 2006/07, Marcell Bakonyi was a member of the Stuttgart Opera School. During this period he sang roles such as Theseus in Britten`s Midsummernight’s Dream, Colas in Mozart`s Bastien und Bastienne and Antonio in Le Nozze di Figaro. At the Pforzheim Theatre he guested as Deputato fiammingo in Verdi`s Don Carlos in 2006 and at the Staatsoper Stuttgart`s ‘Junge Oper’ he sang the part of Der Träumer in the world première of M. Heeb`s opera ‘Papa’ in 2007. Within the Academy of the Rossini Festival Pesaro 2007, Marcell Bakonyi appeared as Lord Sidney in Il Viaggio a Reims under the baton of Alberto Zedda.
In the season of 2007/08 the young singer guested at the Heidelberg Theatre as Benoit in La Bohème and as The Bear in ‘Pinienkerne wachsen nicht in Tüten’, an opera for children by M. Moebius (world première).
In the 2008/09 Season, Marcell was a member of the Zurich Opera Studio, he appeared in roles such as Fafner (Siegfried) and Alberich (Rheingold) in a version for children of Wagner`s 'Ring’ and as the Steuermann in the premiere of Tristan und Isolde for the Zurich Opera.
At the Schwetzingen Festival 2009 he sang with great success the part of Varo in Handel`s opera Ezio (director: Günter Krämer, conductor: Attilio Cremonesi). In 2010 Marcell Bakonyi appeared at the International Davos Festival as Joachim Ziemssen in the world première of Gregory Vajda’s opera Der Zauberberg and at the International Herrenchiemsee Festspiele as the Second Armed Man in The Magic Flute under the baton of Enoch zu Guttenberg and repeated this role in 2011. Opera engagement in 2011/12 include his debut at the Budapest State Opera as Il Endre in Ferenc Erkel´s opera Bánk Bán followed by the part of Pietro in Simon Boccanegra; his debut at the Oslo National Opera as Antinoo in Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d´Ulisse in Patria under the baton of Alessandro de Marchi as well as his USA debut as Speaker in The Magic Flute at Crested Butte Festival in Colorado.
Since the 2009/10 Season Marcell is a member of the Landestheater Salzburg where he appeared in roles such as Bartolo and Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro, Kaspar in Der Freischütz, Angelotti in Tosca and Bacco in Arianna, a baroque opera by B. Marcello. Role debuts in 2010/11 were Dulcamara in L‘Elisir d’Amore and Leporello in Don Giovanni. New parts in 2011/12 include Alidoro in La Cenerentola.
In oratorio Marcell focuses on Bach`s major Passions as well as on works by Mozart,
Handel and Dvorák, for instance he took part as the bass soloist in a concert seria
with Bach’s Christmas Oratorio in 2007 with the boys choir ‘collegium juvenum’ and
the baroque orchestra L’Arpa Festante under Friedemann Keck. In 2008, he appeared
as Pilatus in J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion at the Herrenchiemsee Festspiele under
Enoch zu Guttenberg. In 2009, he sang Handel’s Messiah with the Klassische Philharmonie
Bonn under Heribert Beissel. In 2010, he appeared in a programme with Mozart arias
at the Philharmonie am Gasteig in Munich with the Bach Collegium Munich to great
acclaim, he sang Bruckner’s Mass in F-
Last Update December 2011