Born in 1984 in Szczecin, Rafał Pawnuk studied at the Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz, Poland, with Leszek Skrla and at the Academy of Music in Krakow with Marek Rzepka. Awards include first prize at the 13th International Vocal Competition Iuventus Canti in Slovakia.
He made his opera debut in 2012 as Banco in Verdi’s Macbeth at the National Theatre Brno. The same year he joined the ensemble, singing roles like Vodnik Rusalka, Il Re Aida, Marchese d'Obigny La Traviata. Rafał has been a guest artist at Cracow Opera, Bydgoszcz' Opera Nova and the Szczecin Opera.
In 2013, he joined the European Opera Center to sing Cesare Angelotti in Tosca, alongside Bryn Terfel, with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Vasily Petrenko, and participated in Pisa's Anima Mundi Festival, performing Mozart's Coronation Mass with the NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover, conducted by Christopher Hogwood. Other concert engagements include Mozart's Requiem in Bygoszcz and Handel's Messiah under Paul Esswood.
Most recently, he performed Guglielmo in Cosi fan tutti in Szczecin, Dalremont in Donizetti's I pazzi per progetto at the Zurich Festival and a programme of Rossini arias at the Summer Opera Festival in Szczecin.
In the season 2018/19, Mr Pawnuk returns to Castle Opera Szczecin as Guglielmo, Betto/Gianni Schicchi, Priest in the Polish premiere of Philipp Glass’ The Trial and for the world premiere of Laurent Petitgirard’s opera Guru. In concert, he will take part in a Gala performance celebrating the National Independence Day in Krakow, perform Penderecki’s Oratorio Kosmogonia with the National Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Alexander Liebreich, and appear as Colline/La Bohème with Nederlandse Reisopera.
Mr Pawnuk is a former member of the Opera Studio of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, where his roles have included Thierry Dialogues des Carmélites, Brabantischer Edler Lohengrin and Dr. Wilhelm Reischmann Elegy for Young Lovers.
Rafał Pawnuk has attended master classes with Brigitte Fassbaender, Edith Wiens, Prof. Rudolf Piernay, Margreet Honig, Rosemarie Landry, Prof. Eva Blahova and worked with conductors such as Marco Armiliato, Massimo Zanetti, Lothar Koenigs, Paolo Carignani and Kent Nagano.
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