Born and raised in Croatia, Miljenko Turk enrolled at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz after high school. After completing his vocal studies in Graz, Miljenko Turk completed his studies with Hans Sotin at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Cologne. Cologne has become his second home, both professionally and privately. While still studying in Cologne, he was a member of the Cologne Opera Studio and from 2001 to 2010 a member of the Cologne Opera Ensemble, to which he has belonged again since 2015 after a very busy time as a freelance artist. Miljenko Turk has enjoyed great success in numerous roles, including in Cologne, where he was awarded the Offenbach Prize in 2006 in recognition of his singing and acting achievements.
In 2004, he made his debut at the Dresden Semper Opera and at the Bayreuth Festival. He has appeared at the Salzburg and Eutiner Festivals, the Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele, the Styriarte Festival in Graz, the Festival Maggio Musicale in Florence, the Garsington Opera Festival in Buckinghamshire, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, at the Opéra Bastille Paris, at the Opéra National du Rhin Strasbourg, at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, at the Volksoper Vienna, at the State Operas in Berlin and Stuttgart, at the State Operetta Dresden, at the operas in Leipzig and Rostock, as well as at the E.T.A. Hoffmann Theater in Bamberg.
Miljenko Turk also has a broad concert repertoire. He has performed several times in the Kölner Philharmonie, the Munich Gasteig and the Düsseldorf Tonhalle. He gave guest performances with the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and at the Tivoli Vredenburg in Utrecht. With Maestro Valery Gergiev and the Munich Philharmonic, Miljenko Turk was performing a concert production of Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde” at the Munich Gasteig, the Festspielhaus Baden Baden and the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg. He also loves the Lied (among others he was a master student of Fischer-Dieskau) and Chancon, as well as modern operas. With appearances in Wolfgang Rihm’s “Jakob Lenz” and “Die Eroberung von Mexico”, Peter Ruzicka’s “Celan and Benjamin”, Johannes Maria Staud’s “Die Antilope”, Bernd Alois Zimmermann’s “Die Soldaten”, Mauricio Kagel’s “Mare Nostrum”, Isang Yun’s “Der Traum des Liu-Tung” and Salvatore Sciarrino’s “Quaderno di strada”, he has established himself as an expert on modern opera.
Miljenko Turk is very committed to the dissemination of music through direct contact with students and enjoys a young audience. As a appreciate lecturer, he passes on his knowledge and experience to young singers. His expertise is also in demand as a jury member.
August 2021