Bass. Wojtek Gierlach graduated with honours Magna cum Laude from the Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, the class of Prof. Kazimierz Pustelak.
He made his debut at the Warsaw Chamber Opera, performing the title role in G. F. Handel’s Imeneo conducted by Władysław Kłosiewicz and directed by Ryszard Peryt. The artist frequently performed in the Polish National Opera in Warsaw: as Colline in La boheme by G. Puccini, Duce Alfonso in Lucrezia Borgia by G. Donizetti, Raimondo in Dionizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor , Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro by W. A. Mozart, Escamillo in Carmenby G. Bizet, Gessler in Wilhelm Tell by G. Rossini, Zbigniew in Straszny Dwór by S. Moniuszko, Talbot in Maria Stuart by G. Donizetti and Hermes in Eros i Psyche by L. Różycki. He’s also appeared as Don Basilio (The Barber of Seville by G. Rossini) in the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Oroveso (Norma by V. Bellini) in Teatro National São Carlos, Lisbon, Assur (Semiramide by G. Rossini) in the Royal Danish Opera in Copenhagen, Alidoro (G. Rossini’s Cinderella) during the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Melisso (Alcina by G. F. Handel) in Opéra National de Bordeaux, Orbazzano (Tancred by G. Rossini) in Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville, Leporello (Don Giovanni by W. A. Mozart) in the NICO Opera House in Cape Town and as Count Rodolfo (La sonnambula by V. Bellini) in Theater St.Gallen.
In 2015, he made his debut in the Danish National Opera and the Welsh National Opera in Cardiff as Sir Giorgio in V. Bellini’s I puritani directed by C. Rizzi. He’s won general acclaim for his performances as Melisso in Alcinatogether with J. DiDonato and the Baroque orchestra The English Concert, directed by H. Bicket in the New York’s Carnegie Hall, as well as in Théâtre des Champs Élysées in Paris, and Theater an der Wien in Vienna. In the season 2017/2018 Gierlach made his debut in the Royal Opera at Covent Garden in London as Priest in Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District directed by Antonio Pappano.
Gierlach successfully performs concert and oratorio works from the Baroque period to modern times. His artistic output in this field encompasses various renditions of the following works: Saul and Elijah conducted by Helmuth Rilling, Dvořák’s Stabat Mater conducted by J. Kaspszyk in the National Philharmonic in Warsaw, Missa Solemnis by Beethoven in Konzerthaus, Berlin, Bach’s Magnificat in Auditorio Nacional de Madrid, Stabat Materby Rossini with Orquesta del Principado de Asturias in Oviedo, Penderecki’s Dies Irae with the Simón Bolívar Orchestra in Caracas.
In his phonographic output one may also find the recordings of the Pharaoh’s part from Rossini’s Moses in Egyptand Douglas from La Donna del Lago, as well as Mirteo in Semiramide by Meyerbeer conducted by Richard Bonynge (Naxos), Dourlinski in Cherubini’s Lodoïsca, Domoslav in L. Spohr’s Der Berggeist (LvBAssociation), or the Voivode in Maria by Statkowski, conducted by Łukasz Borowicz (Polskie Radio).
Gierlach is a laureate of numerous awards and distinctions of various international vocal competitions. He was awarded the 1st prize in the Ada Sari Competition (1999), 2nd prize in the BilbaoInternational Singing Competition (2000), the grand prix during the Premio Caruso in Milan (2001), the 3rd prize in the Francisco Viñas Internationa Singing Competition in Barcelona (2004), and the Jan Kiepura Award (2012).
He is a soloist at the Polish Royal Opera.
