Biography
Born in Bahia Blanca, Argentina, Raúl Gabriel Iriarte now lives in Vienna. He studied voice with Mario Monachesi and composition and conducting at the Universidad Nacional de la Plata. As a conductor, he devoted to both contemporary (founding the Grupo de musica contemporanea de La Plata) and early music (presenting the Argentinean premiere of Claudio Monteverdi’s opera Il ballo delle ingrate). After moving to Europe, he continued to study composition and conducting at the Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna and voice at the Konservatorium der Stadt Wien, as well as with Francisco Gutierrez. In Vienna, he founded the early-music ensemble Il diletto moderno, with whom he has performed at festivals in Austria (Salzburger Festspiele and Festwochen der alten Musik Innsbruck), Germany, Italy, Slovenia and Lebanon (Al Bustan Festival). He launched his career as an opera singer by appearing at concerts in Vienna (including with the ensemble Il giardino armonico at the Konzerthaus), became a member of the Wiener Volksoper and sang at numerous festivals in Austria (Theater an der Wien / Klangbogen Wien, Opern Air Gars am Kamp, Musikfestival Steyr, Opernwerkstatt Wien, Mozartzyklus UNO Wien). The pivotal roles of his repertoire include Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Belmonte (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Alfred (Die Fledermaus), Hoffmann (Les contes d’Hoffmann) and the Duke of Mantua (Rigoletto). Moreover, he has appeared as Don José (Carmen) at the Musikfestival Steyer, performed the roles of Don José and Pollione (Norma) in Sabadell, Spain, Riccardo (Un ballo en maschera) and Don José in Sarajevo, Don Alvaro (La forza del destino) in Rijeka, Croatia, Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly) at the Zvolen Castle Festival, Slovakia, and Don Carlo in Bahia Blanca, Argentina. At the National Theatre in Brno, he sang the roles of Rinuccio and Beppe in the double-bill production Gianni Schicchi / I pagliacci and at the National Theatre in Prague he created the role of Faust in the new production of Boito's Mefistofele (2015).
Updated: September 2015