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The German-Turkish soprano, Banu Böke, began her musical studies at the age of 6 in piano and singing at the ildung im Alter von 6 Jahren in den Fächern Klavier und Gesang an der. Her outstanding performance in nationwide competitions were funded by grants from the City of Mannheim and the Wilhelm-Müller-Stiftung. After high school she studied in Munich at the Hochschule für Musik with Professor Reri Grist, then at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Köln with Professor Klesie Kelly.
During her studies, Banu Böke received her first engagement at the Cologne Opera. There she performed as an ensemble member between 1999 and 2004, many roles of the lyric soprano compartment (Romilda in George Frideric Handel’s Xerxes; Soeur Constance in Francis Poulenc’s Les Dialogues des Carmelites; Clorinda in Rossini’s La Cenerentola; Voce dal Cielo in Don Carlo; Röschen in Spohr’s Faust), including W.A. Mozart roles such as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Zerlina in Don Giovanni and Sandrina in La Finta Giardiniera. She was awarded study grants including the “Talented Artistes” Award and the Richard-Wagner-Stipendium by the City of Cologne in 2000. Parallel to her engagement in Colgne, she graduated with honors, advanced her education through master-classes with Gundula Janowitz and Montserrat Caballé and was 2nd prize-winner at the International Singing Competition "Competizione dell`Opera" in Dresden (2002).
Since the 2007-2008 season, Banu Böke is an ensemble member of the Wuppertal Opera, where she expanded her repertoire to include many roles. Among other things, she was a Contessa in Le Nozze di Figaro, as Mimi in La Boheme, as Alice Ford in Falstaff, as Agathe in Der Freischütz and in the title role in Richard Strauss' Arabella. In January 2013, she premiered in the role of Die Braut (The Bride) in Wolfgang Fortner's rarely performed opera Die Braut, which was enthusiastically received throughout Germany and has appeared on DVD by the Wergo label.
Banu Böke’s vocal range extends from early music to contemporary works and jazz. So she maintains in addition to her opera and concert career regular appearances with the Ulrich Rasch Jazz Trio. With the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita she appeared recently at the Wuppertal Opera with ease, the jump from classical opera compartment for acclaimed musical actress.
Banu Böke created the soprano part in the German premiere of Fazil Say's oratorio Nazim at the Historischen Stadthalle Wuppertal in 2012 and in 2013 at the Philharmonie Essen and at the Alte Oper Frankfurt, accompanied by the Sinfonieorchester Wuppertal. She regularly appears as a guest in concerts with the Sinfonieorchester Wuppertal she at the Historische Stadthalle Wuppertal. She has worked both in opera and in the concert field with internationally renowned conductors such as Gerd Albrecht, Howard Arman, Harry Bicket, Ivor Bolton, Peter Ruzicka, Jeffrey Tate and Ralf Weikert.
This season (2013-2014), she can be heard, inter alia, as Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus, in the title role of the musical Evita by Andrew Lloyd Webber and as Roksana in Szymanowski's opera Kròl Roger
Banu Böke is also a lecturer at the Academy of Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Köln since 2009.. |
