BRANKO ROBINŠAK - BIOGRAPHY

Branko Robinšak was born in Maribor, Slovenija. He studied music at the Ljubljana’s Music Academy with Proffessor Eva Noušak-Houška. Already as a student he was engaged by the Slovene National Opera in Ljubljana, where he made his operatic debut as Tamino in Mozart’s „ The Magic Flute“.The following summer he was awarded a price at the „Mario del Monaco singing competition“ in Treviso.
After graduation at the Ljubljana’s Academy, he was perfecting his singing at the Mozarteum in Salzburg with Proffessor Sena Jurinac. In 1987 he sang at the Salzburg Landestheater under the conductor Hans Graf, under whose lead Robinšak also made his debut in Mozart’s „Idomeneo“ in the Alte Oper of Frankfurt. During the same summer he made his first appearance at Salzburger Sommerfestspiele in many concert productions. In 1988, he created the role of Ozia in Mozart’s early opera „La Betulia liberata“ on the occasion of Mozart’s Festwochen, directed by Ernst Poetgen and conducted by Walter Hagen- Groll; the production was repeated at the Summer Festival. During his performing in Salzburg, the staging of Mozart’s „Don Giovanni“, directed by Joachim Hertz, and some noted concert appearances conducted by Milan Horvat (Missa solemnis, Mozart Requiem,...)ought to be mentioned. In the saesson 89/90, he signed a contract with the Opera House Graz, where he performed the part of Idamante in Mozart’s „Idomeneo“ under the artistic lead of Nikša Bareza, Tamino (Die Zauberflöte) and Bénedict (Berlioz ; Beatrice and Bénedict, conducted by Jean Perrison. The artistic collaboration with N.Bareza continued in various festivals (Dubrovnik, Split). In 91 Branko Robinšak appeared at the „Wiener Sommer“ as Don Ottavio which was characterized by chritics as a „discovery“. During the same summer B.R. took part in the seminar led by famous Italian tenor Franco Corelli and his wife Loretta. This represented a turing point in Robinšak’s career - from technical point of view as well as regards the repertoire selection. After a year of hard studies with the Italian cuple, he succeeded in signing a contract for heavier repertoire in Innsbruck (Oedipus Rex - Sravinsky).In 92 B.R. sang in Vienna in a concert production of Bellini’s opera „Beatrice di Tenda“ conducted by Pinkas Steiberg and with Edita Gruberova in the title role. Swiss gramophone company Nichtigale Classics AG made a CD record of the concert. In 93, he took debut as Duca di Mantova in Verdi’s „Riroletto“ in Deutsches Theater in Munich. In the following years he appered in this role in various European opera houses. The guest appearance with Swiss „Ensemble Theatre“ in the role of Leicester in Donizetti’s Maria Stuard has to be mentioned as well. Besides the current performances of the permanent repertoire in 95, the appereances in Spain (San Sebastian, Bilbao, Madrid) with Dvorak’s Stabat Mater, the appearance with Franz Schmit’s oratorio „Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln“, conducted by Teodor Guschelbauer at the Nürnber Summer Festival and the appearance in Teatro G.Verdi in Trieste also with Dworak „Stabat Mater“ and conducted by Julian Kovatschev are worth mentioning. In the same year Mladinska knjiga publishing house edited Robinšak’s first monografic CD record with famous opera arias, accompanied by the Symphonists of the RTV Slovenija.