Ilker Arcayürek

The striking tenor voice of Turkish-Austrian singer Ilker Arcayürek earned its possessor several of the most prestigious awards bestowed upon young singers in the mid-2010s, and brought him a reputation as one of the vocal world's rising stars. His education in singing began early in Vienna, and finishing touches were applied during a sojourn in Switzerland. In 2015 he was a finalist in the popular BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, the same year he joined the ensemble of Germany's Nürnberg State Theater. He debuted at Madrid's Teatro Real in the spring of 2016, and later that year gave his first recital at London's Wigmore Hall. Arcayürek released his debut album, a program of Schubert songs entitled Der Einsame, in 2017. ~ James Manheim