Mark Kurmanbayev

Mark Kurmanbayev gained his experience in his home of Serbia, where he performed regularly with the Belgrade Philharmonic before moving to Austria. He has worked with conductors including Bassem Akiki, Enrique Mazzola, and Kirill Petrenko and studied with Dmitry Korchak, Lyubov Orfenova, Grace Bumbry, Barbara Frittoli, Freddie de Tommaso and Sergei Leiferkus.
In December 2021, he debuted in Ravel’s L’enfant et les Sortileges at the World Opera Workshop and later appeared as Narumov in Tchaikovsky’s Pique Dame at Baden-Baden under the baton of Krill Petrenko and completed a Summer Residency at the Aix-en-Provence Festival under Thomas Hengelbrock. Following this, Mark entered the Dutch National Opera studio, where he performed roles such as Joe (Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny), Doctor Grenvil (La Traviata), Second Priest and Second Armoured Man (Die Zauberflöte), The Messenger (Oedipus Rex), Sir Gualtiero Raleigh (Roberto Devereux) and Guccio (Gianni Schicchi).
In September 2024, Mark Kurmanbayev joined the ensemble of the Grand Theatre de Geneve and enjoyed success in roles such as Publio (La clemenza di Tito), Grech (Fedora) and Doctor Grenvil (La traviata). Alongside this, recent highlights have included successful house debuts at major European houses – Bayerische Staatsoper, and Teatro di San Carlo where he sung Capulet in their first ever production of Romeo et Juliette under the baton of Sesto Quatrini.
In the 2025/26 season, Mark Kurmanbayev makes his debut at Opéra Wallonie de Liege with Surin and Narumov (Pique Dame), led by Giampaolo Bisanti and debuts Gremin (Eugene Onegin) at The Grange Festival. He will continue in the ensemble at Geneva, singing roles such as Biterolf (Tannhäuser), Lo Zio Bonzo (Madama Butterfly), and Haly (L’italiana in Algeri). He will also appear as the bass soloist in Graals, a contemporary work for Baroque ensemble and live electronics at the Grand Theatre de Geneve. He will also appear as Assur in a concert performance of Semiramide with the Krakow Philharmonic Orchestra.