Biography
The Slovak bass Jozef Benci studied at the Conservatory and the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava, and the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno. In 1997, he came third at the Cavalera Carla Vendra competition in Bratislava, and two years later he received second prize at the International Antonín Dvořák Vocal Competition in Karlovy Vary. He has also garnered numerous other prestigious accolades. In 1998 he began performing as a guest at the Slovak National Theatre Chamber Opera in Bratislava, in 2002 he was a soloist of the State Opera in Banská Bystrica, and in 2007 he was named a soloist of the Slovak National Theatre Opera in Bratislava. Jozef Benci has gained recognition as an excellent performer of bass roles, including Colline (La bohéme), the Water Sprite (Rusalka), Zaccaria (Nabucco), Ferrando (Il trovatore), the Grand Inquisitor (Don Carlo), Pimen and Boris Godunov (Boris Godunov), Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte), Mephistopheles (Faust), and others. In 2011, he appeared to great acclaim as Kecal in a concert performance of Smetana’s The Bartered Bride at the Barbican Hall in London, opposite the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jiří Bělohlávek. In 2012, he made under Bělohlávek a BBC Radio recording of Dvořák’s The Jacobin, singing the part of the Burgrave. Furthermore, Jozef Benci has appeared at chamber music and oratorio concerts in Slovakia and a number of other countries (Czech Republic, Luxembourg, France, Romania, Italy, Austria, Poland, Germany, Switzerland, Brazil, China, Japan, etc.). Since 2013, he has performed as a guest at the Hungarian State Opera in Budapest. In 2015, he participated in a tour of Japan, within which he dazzled as Bartolo (Il barbiere di Siviglia).