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The German bass-baritone, Ralf Lukas, studied at the Hochschule der Künste in Berlin and with William Murray. He attended Master- and Interpretation classes with Aribert Reimann, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Hans Hotter, and is a frequent prize winner of international competitions, including the "1. Preis and Großen Preis" at the International Vocalisten Concours s'Hertogenbosch 1991.
After two years at the Studio of the Bayerische Staatsoper Götz Friedrich engaged Ralf Lukas in 1987 as a member of the ensemble at the Deutsche Oper Berlin where he stayed until 2002. In Berlin he sang roles including Papageno (Zauberflöte), Masetto and Leporello (Don Giovanni), Fra Melitone (La Forza Del Destino), Donner (Rheingold), Heerrufer (Lohengrin), Biterolf (Tannhäuser) and Beckmesser (Meistersinger). In 1990 he performed the role of Nummer Vier in the world premiere of Henze's Das Verratene Meer, in this part he also made his debut at the Scala in Milan in 1991. In 1992, in the world permiere of Reimann's Das Schloss, he was Jeremias, a part he also sang at the Bayerische Staatsoper. He has worked with conductors including Claudio Abbado, Gerd Albrecht, Riccardo Chailly, Sir Colin Davis, Heinrich Hollreiser, Lorin Maazel, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Pinchas Steinberg, Christian Thielemann and Marcello Viotti.
Ralf Lukas guested at houses including the Bayerische Staatsoper, the Hamburgische Staatsoper, the Dresden Semperoper, the Glyndebourne Touring Opera and the International Festival di Santander. In February 1999 he made his acclaimed debut as Wotan in Das Rheingold at the Städtischen Bühnen Münster, followed by Die Walküre in November 1999, Wanderer in Siegfried in May 2000 as well as Gunther in Die Götterdämmerung in April 2001. In May 2001 he sang his first complete cycle of Der Ring Des Nibelungen in Münster.
In March 1999 Ralf Lukas made his debut at the Salzburger Osterfestspiele singing Melot in Tristan with the Berliner Philharmoniker conducted by Claudio Abbado, a part he also sang at the Salzburger Festspiele 2000 with the Wiener Philharmoniker under Lorin Maazel. Also in 2000 he made his role debut as Wolfram in Tannhäuser at the Theátre du Capitole in Toulouse with Pinchas Steinberg. In February 2002 he sang Don Fernando in a new production of Fidelio at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, in April 2002 Beckmesser (Meistersinger) in Toulouse (with Pinchas Steinberg), in June 2002 he made his debut as Amfortas (Parsifal) at the Staatstheater Kassel. In July 2002 he was the 1st Nazarene and 2nd Soldier in concert performances of Salome with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under Zubin Mehta. In September 2002 he made his successful debut as Flying Dutchman in Würzburg and in spring 2003 he covered Beckmesser (Meistersinger) at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. During the Munich Opera Festival 2003 he guested as Biterolf (Tannhäuser) at the Bayerische Staatsoper, followed by a tour of Europe as Pope Clément (Benvenuto Cellini) under Sir Roger Norrington. In October 2003 he guested in L.v. Beethoven's 9th Symphony with the MDR Sinfonieorchester Leipzig under Howard Arman in the Vatikan as part of the celebrations at the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the election of Pope Johannes Paul II. In John Dew's new Ring at the Staatstheater Wiesbaden since July 2003 Ralf Lukas sings very successfully Wotan in Rheingold und Walküre, Wanderer in Siegfried will follow. In August 2004 he sang Melot / Tristan II. Act in a concert performance at the Lucerne Festival under Claudio Abbado.
Ralf Lukas is also a renowned concert singer with a broad concert repertoire - he sang e.g. at the Philharmonie Berlin, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, in Munich, Hamburg, Madrid, Paris and Jerusalem. He participated in various recordings for TV and Radio (ZDF, SFB, MDR, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Radio France, RAI, RTE), as well as in CD recordings with, among others, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Bernhard Klee and David Zinman. In 1997 two song CDs were released - Fortner songs (Orfeo) and Die schöne Magelone by Brahms/Tieck (Concerto Bayreuth) and in 2003 L'enfance du Christ (King Herodes) under Sir Roger Norrington.
Future Projects include Wotan in Der Ring Des Nibelungen in a new production directed by John Dew in Wiesbaden as well as further performances at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, at the Klangbogen Wien, as well as concerts in Geneva, Bonn and Berlin. |
