BIOGRAPHY

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Born in 1990, the baritone Ivan Thirion studied at Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles and Haute École de Musique de Genève, where he obtained his master’s degree with Prof. Gilles Cachemaille. He continued his artistic development at the CNIPAL Marseille and the International Opera Studio of Opernhaus Zürich. Then, he was invited by Salzburg Festspiele to take part in its Young Singers Project 2015, which also enhanced his career.
   

In 2013, Ivan Thirion was awarded with the «Wil Keune Prize for a young singer with real potential» at the Hans Gabor Belvedere Competition. The same year, he won the 2nd Prize at the Saint Petersburg Opera Competiton. He is also finalist of the 26th Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers 2014, at the Houston Grand Opera. He is a finalist of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition 2017, being the first Belgo-Bulgarian singer to reach the final rounds in the last 30 years.

 

Having started his career very young, Thirion has already sung several operatic roles and in several languages, proving his versatile artistry: Roderick Usher in Debussy’s The Fall of the House of Usher, Joseph in Schreker’s Der Schmied von Gent, The Officer in P. Glass’ The Penal Colony, Golaud in Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande, Sparck in Offenbach’s Fantasio, Belcore in Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore, Ping in Puccini’s Turandot, Knecht and Wirt in Prokofiev’s Firebird, Oronte in M. A. Charpentier’s Médée, Comte de Toulouse in Verdi’s Jerusalem, Grimbald and 3rd Man in Purcell’s King Arthur, among many others.

 

Since the beginning of his career, Ivan is regularly invited by Belgian opera houses such as Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège and Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, but also at important opera houses and festivals in France such as Opéra national de Lyon, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Opéra national du Rhin, Opéra national de Rouen Normandie, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Opéra national de Montpellier, Opéra Grand Avignon et Opéra de Tours. In Switzerland, he uses to collaborate with Grand Théâtre de Genève and Opernhaus Zürich. In Germany, with Oper Köln, Aalto Musiktheater Essen and Opernfestpiele Heidenheim.

In the 2025/26 season, he will sing Tonio in Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci, at the Sofia Opera & Ballet; Wagner in Gounod’s Faust, at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège; and David in Mascagni’s L'Amico Fritz, at the Opus Opéra Festival 2025, with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice, among others.

 

In the 2024/25 season, Ivan Thirion has sung Albert in Massenet’s Werther and Don Pedro de Hinoyosa in Offenbach’s La Périchole, at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège; and Guglielmo Wulf in Puccini’s Le Villi, with Opera Zuid on tour by The Netherlands.

 

Ivan Thirion’s 2023/24 season include roles such as Rodrigo in Verdi’s Don Carlo, at the Opernfestspiele Heidenheim; Somarone in Berlioz’ Béatrice et Bénédict, at the Opéra national de Lyon; Ramiro in L’Heure Espagnole and Horloge/Chat in L’Enfant et les Sortilèges by Ravel, at Opéra de Tours and Opéra Grand Avignon; Calabazas in C. Erlanger’s La Sorcière, at the Victoria Hall in Geneva; Fiorello in Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Dancaire in Bizet’s Carmen, at the Liège’s opera.

 

Highlights of I. Thirion’s 2022/23 season inlcude Messenger/Second Sailor in Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Tale of Tsar Saltan, at the Opéra national du Rhin in Strasbourg; Matteo in Jost’s Journey of Hope, at the Grand Théâtre de Genève; Somarone in Berlioz’ Béatrice et Bénédict, at the Teatro Carlo Felice of Genova.

 

Among his next engagements, he will sing Ramiro in L’Heure Espagnole and Horloge/Chat in L’Enfant et les Sortilèges, at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège; Marcello in Puccini's La Bohème, at the Zomeropera Alden Biesen; and Forester in Janacek's The Cunning Little Vixen, with the Nederlandse Reisopera, among others.