German basso cantante Marek Kalbus studied at the "Hanns Eisler" academy of music and was taught for 5 years Italian soprano Celestina Casapietra (Genoa). He was influenced by his work with renowned directors such as Harry Kupfer, Ruth Berghaus and Gennadi Bogdanov (The Russian Academy of the Arts, GITIS).
In the year 2000 – during his study period - Marek Kalbus became prizewinner at the International Belvedere Competition for Opera Singers in Vienna. Since then his acting quality, role interpretation, and his voluminous, warmly timbered basso cantante voice has been very much appreciated by the audience and press.
After several engagements as an opera singer appearing on the stages of German opera theatres in Berlin, Hamburg, Cottbus and Bamberg, Marek Kalbus began his international career at the Teatro Carlo Felice Genoa. Here he performed in cooperation with the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin in Harry Kupfer’s Parsifal production under the musical direction of Michail Jurowski. This was broadcasted live by Italian radio. His next performance brought him to Denmark where he appeared in Nabucco with the Odense Symphony Orchestra.
One of his favourite roles is the Salieri in the opera "Mozart and Salieri" composed by Rimski-Korsakow for Fjeodor Shaljapin. He made his debut with this exposed part in the Mozart Year 2006 at the Teatro dal Verme in Milan whereupon he was invited by the Bayerischer Rundfunk (Bavarian Broadcasting Radio) to record the opera with the Munich Radio Orchestra and to several performances in Munich. Also he sang this role at the opera houses in Monza, Padua and in December 2006 at the Teatro Massimo Palermo under the musical direction of Dmitri Jurowski.
The same year saw him perform the bass part in the spectacular world premiere of Tarnopolski's opera "Beyond the Shadows" at the Bonn Opera and he appeared as the Commendatore in „Don Giovanni“ at the Poznan Opera House in Poland. He was soloist in Verdi's Messa da Requiem in Antwerp at the International Arts Centre deSingel, and again gave guest performances at the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Philharmonie Berlin and the Beethoven Hall Bonn.
Highlights in 2007 included "La Damnation de Faust" in Prague's Rudolfinum performing with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra under Gerd Albrecht, as well as the "St. Matthew Passion" at the Beethoven Hall Bonn and his Sarastro in a new production by Blagoy Apostolov of "The Magic Flute" for the 25th anniversary of the Bavarian Chamber Opera. This production was broadcast worldwide by TechniSat via satellite and also released on DVD.
In 2008 Marek Kalbus sang in a new production by Eimuntas Nekrosius of “The Legend Of The Invisible City Of Kitezh” at Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, (a co-production with the Bolshoi Theatre Moscow) under the musical direction of Alexander Vedernikov. The premiere was broadcasted live by RAI to 19 countries and will be released on DVD (DYNAMIC) soon. He also performed Sarastro again, in Würzburg, and was soloist in Brahms' Deutsche Requiem at the International Music Festival Al Bustan in Beirut. In the summer of 2008 Kalbus sang the bass main part in the opera “The Blacksmith of Marienburg” by Siegfried Wagner with the Baltic Philharmonic under the musical direction of Frank Strobel. The world premiere live recording was released internationally by NAXOS.
2009 performances include the Chief of Police in Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District at Teatro Municipal de Santiago de Chile and Sarastro again in Würzburg. In September he sang in a Wagner Gala-Concert at the Konzerthaus Berlin and in October was heard in the role of Sobakin in ''The Tsar's Bride“ by Rimski-Korsakov at the Theater Osnabrück.
More CD-recordings of Marek Kalbus are available on the CAPRICCIO-Classics label. They include a solo performance alongside Marina Domashenko in the award winning world premiere recording of Prokofiev's Hamlet, and Boris Godunov featuring the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra; conducted by Michail Jurowski. Recently a second CD of this series was released featuring Marek Kalbus singing the title role in Prokofiev's Eugene Onegin.