Polish countertenor Rafał Tomkiewicz, praised by the trade press for his ‘powerful, clear and masculine voice’ and his ‘captivating portrayals of roles’, first studied at the University of Music in Krakow, then at the Chopin Music Conservatory in Warsaw, and completed his training at the opera studio of the Wielki Warszawa Theatre, as well as in masterclasses with Hedwig Fassbender, Eytan Pessen and Matthias Rexroth.
Engagements for the 2024/25 season include his house debut at the Frankfurt Opera in the role of Unulfo in Handel’s ‘Rodelinda’, which will also take him, with La Lira d’Orfeo, to the Theater an der Wien and the Accademia Nazionale Santa Cecilila Roma; his role debut as Farnace in Mozart’s ‘Mitridate, re di Ponto’ with Capella Cracoviensis under Philippe Jaroussky at Opera Rara Kraków; his role and house debut as Oberon in Britten’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ at the Graz Opera, his debut at the Opera Royal de Versailles, where he will perform in the concert ‘Les Trois Contre-Ténors’ and as La virtù in Vivaldi’s ‘La Senna festeggiante’; his return as Siroe to the International Handel Festival in Karlsruhe and as Amadigi to the Halle Opera; Tolomeo in Handel’s ‘Giulio Cesare’ at the Polska Opera Kameralna, as well as his debut with the Lira d’Orfeo ensemble as Unulfo at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Roma and at the Theater an der Wien, where he has already appeared on stage as the Witch of Endor in Handel’s ‘Saul’.
Recent engagements have taken him to the International Handel Festival in Karlsruhe, where he sang the title role in Handel’s ‘Siroe’, and to the National Opera in Sofia, the International Handel Festival in Halle and the State Theatre in Meiningen, where he sang the title role in ‘Amadigi di Gaula’, as Primo pastore in Monteverdi’s ‘L’Orfeo’ with L’Arpeggiata under Christina Pluhar at ICE Kraków, as Sanctus Petrus in Hasse’s ‘Sanctus Petrus et Sancta Maria Magdalena’ at Bydgoska Scena Barokowa, as the Swan in Orff’s Carmina Burana (staged) at WOK, as Unulfo at the Festival Barokowy/Polska Opera Królewska and as Athamas in Handel’s ‘Semele’ at the Olympia Municipal Music Theatre Maria Callas under George Petrou, under whom the singer had already performed Athamas and Nireno in Handel’s ‘Giulio Cesare’ at the International Handel Festival in Göttingen and at the Nederlandse Reisopera.
He also made his role debut as Orfeo in Gluck’s ‘Orfeo ed Euridice’ in a concert performance with the Orkiestra Kameralna Capella Bydgostienis at the Filharmonia Bydgoszcz, sang Joacim in Handel’s oratorio ‘Susanna’ with the Capella Cracoviensis at the Kraków Philharmonic, and the Altus in Pergolesi’s ‘Stabat Mater’ in Zielona Góra and at the Misteria Pascalia Festival in the famous Wieliczka Salt Mine in Kraków.
The singer also had notable appearances as Porsenna in Fux’s ‘Costanza e Fortezza’ (world premiere recording on CD) and as Bacchus in Fux’s ‘Arianna’ (ditto) to the Styriarte Graz, in the title role of Handel’s ‘Amadigi di Gaula’ to the Meiningen State Theatre and the Ulm Theatre, where he also performed in New Year’s concerts featuring baroque, musical and pop music; as Idelberto in Handel’s ‘Lotario and Cleofe’ in Handel’s ‘La Resurrezione’ (also recorded on CD), accompanied by the Handel Orchestra Halle under Attilio Cremonesi at the International Handel Festival in Göttingen, and as Cleofe at the International Handel Festivals in Göttingen and Karlsruhe. He sang Bach’s ‘St John Passion’ at the Vienna Musikverein with the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn, the Swan in ‘Carmina Burana’ with the National Symphony Orchestra Dublin and Handel’s ‘Israel in Egypt’ at the Polska Filharmonia Warszawa. He also took over the concert ‘Nomi-Omni’ in memoriam Klaus Nomi at KlangARTVision Halle at short notice.
He also played Berterido in Handel’s ‘Rodelinda’ Unulfo and Rodelinda at the Polska Opera Królewska Warszawa; Anastasio in Handel’s Giustino and Tamerlano in Vivaldi’s Bajazet at the Kammeroper Wien; the title role in Cavalli’s ‘Giasone’ with the Collegium Nobilium Warszawa, that of Peter Eötvös’ ‘Radames’ at the Teatro Comunale di Bolzano and at the Theater Biel/Solothurn; Narciso in Handel’s ‘Agrippina’ at the Drama per Musica Baroque Festival Warszawa and the Handel Festival Göttingen; Tolomeo in Handel’s ‘Giulio Cesare’ at the Teatr Wielki Poznań and Nino in Stradella’s ‘Il Trespolo tutore’ with the Collegium Nobilium Warszawa, as well as at the Festival Barocco Alessandro Stradella di Viterbo e Nepi with the Ensemble Nostre Marum, with whom he recorded a DVD of this work in 2019. In 2020, the CD release was nominated for the German Record Critics’ Award in the ‘Opera’ category.
Concert engagements took the singer to the Archikatedra Sw. Jana Chrzciciela in Warsaw with Bach’s ‘St John Passion’; under Paul Esswood, he sang Hamor in Handel’s Jephtha at the Teatr Wielki Poznań; Bach cantatas with the ensembles Il Tempo Ensemble Ars Chori at the Koscól Seminaryjny in Warsaw and Pergolesi’s ‘Stabat Mater’ in Nowy Sól; he appeared in Jerzy Snakowsky’s ‘Snack opera’ at the Basen Artystyczny Opery Kemeralnej and performed Bach’s ‘Christmas Oratorio’ with Musica Antiquae Collegium Varsoviensis and Zespól Wokalny Opera Kameralnej in the Great Hall of the Zamek Królewski (Royal Castle) in Warsaw, sang Bernstein’s ‘Chichester Psalm’ at Unimus Koblenz, Antonio Teixeira’s ‘Te Deum’ at La Chapelle Vocale de Lausanne, with the Ensemble Vocal Heinrich Schütz and the Ensemble Baroque du Léman in Geneva and Lausanne, Handel’s ‘Messiah’ at the Annum Baroque Festival and at the Filharmonia Kraków, as well as Bach’s ‘Christmas Oratorio’ and his ‘Magnificat’ at the Filharmonia Opolska.
Rafał Tomkiewicz has had the pleasure of working with conductors and directors such as Benjamin Bayl, Attilio Cremonesi, Marcello Chryssicos, James Darrah, Andrea de Carlo Roberto Diaz-Cajamarca, Paul Esswood, Krzysztof Garstka, Claus Guth, Hinrich Horstkotte, Andrzej Klimczak, Kristian Lada, Christopher Moulds, Liliana Stawarz and Jan Willem de Vriend.
His competition successes include first prize at the III Krystyna Jamroz Singing Competition in 2017 and the special prize for outstanding young talent at the IV International Baroque Competition in Poznań. He was also a finalist in the Cesti Competition at the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music in 2018.