Piotr Beczala is one of today’s biggest stars in the world. He has performed in arguably every major theater and has given historical performances in numerous signature roles. And this week he becomes the first Polish tenor to perform the role of Wagner’s “Lohengrin” at the Bayreuth Festival in his company debut.

Jumping in a month before opening, Beczala will open the festival and sing the title role in a highly anticipated production. When the tenor first performed the role in 2016 under Christian Thielemann at the Dresden Semperoper, critics were ecstatic and raved about his performance. OperaWire noted that he was a true “legendary hero” and he sang with “Bel Canto quality.” It is with these expressive and lyric qualities that Bayreuth audiences should expect Beczala this week.

And for those who miss the tenor portraying the heroic Wagnerian role, Beczala has some exciting projects this upcoming season including a new production of “Adriana Lecouvreur” at the Metropolitan Opera and a role debut as Cavaradossi in “Tosca” at the Wiener Staatsoper. And for those who want to hear Beczala on the historical night, a performance will be broadcast from the run.

Recordings 

For those curious to hear Beczala in Wagner, Deutsche Grammophon released a DVD for the 2016 run with Anna Netrebko and Evelyn Herlitizus. Here is a clip: