Ilker Arcayürek, a tenor born in Istanbul and raised in Vienna, won the Hugo Wolf Academy Song Competition, was a finalist in the 2015 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World, and served as a BBC 3 New Generation Artist.

After training at Zurich Opera House’s International Opera Studio, Ilker Arcayürek took on leading roles at Klagenfurt Municipal Theatre and Nuremberg State Theatre, and appeared as a guest at major venues such as Teatro Real de Madrid, the Munich Opera Festival, Salzburg Festival, Vienna Volksoper, and Graz Opera House.

He debuted in the US as Nadir in Les Pêcheurs de Perles at Santa Fe Opera. In 2022, he sang Ariel and Pater Ecstaticus in Schumann’s Scenes from Goethe’s Faust at Opera Vlaanderen. Notably, he has performed as Tamino with the Canadian Opera Company Toronto, at the International Edinburgh Festival 2023, and in 2024 at Bunkamura Tokyo with Bach Collegium Japan.

Ilker Arcayürek has worked alongside major orchestras such as the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Tokyo Philharmonic, RSO Wien, and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, collaborating with prominent conductors including Mariss Jansons, Ivor Bolton, Laurence Equilbey, and Marin Alsop.

Ilker Arcayürek specialises in lieder and frequently works with renowned pianists. He has sung at major venues and festivals, including Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, and the Edinburgh International Festival, with his US debut in New York and San Francisco. His award-winning CD recordings have received Recording of the Year nominations, such as Opus Klassik.

In the 2024/25 season, he made his role debut as Max in Der Freischütz at Opera Vlaanderen and joined Philippe Herreweghe for a European Beethoven’s 9th Symphony tour, with performances in Baden-Baden, Brussels, Hamburg, and more. In 2025/26, he will debut as Erik in The Flying Dutchman at Osnabrück Theatre and tour with Mendelssohn’s Die erste Walpurgisnacht and Beethoven’s Christus am Ölberge under Jordi Savall.