Biography

Baritone Biran Özgür Sariyer brings a strong sense of theatre to everything he sings. In summer 2026 he sang Sancio in Hans Werner Henze’s Don Chisciotte della Mancia at the Cantiere Internazionale d’Arte in Montepulciano under Marco Angius, and sings the role again in Cologne in November 2026. In 2027 he sings Stewart in Jonathan Dove’s Flight at Theater Rudolstadt and appears as soloist in the operetta gala Eine Nacht im Paradies at the Musikalische Komödie of Oper Leipzig.

His stage roles include Ser Matteo del Sarto in Busoni’s Arlecchino, Junius in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, John Styx in Offenbach’s Orpheus in der Unterwelt and Antonio in Le nozze di Figaro, as well as parts in two world premieres. On the concert platform he has sung Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen at the Aalto Theater Essen, Bach cantatas and Mozart’s Coronation Mass.

Born in Turkey and raised in Izmir, he only began singing at 18, yet won places at three state conservatories in Istanbul and Izmir. He chose Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University in Istanbul, where he was a member of the Young Ensemble of the Academy Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra. Erasmus+ scholarships took him to Graz and Saarbrücken before he completed his Bachelor’s degree at Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen with Prof. Martin Wölfel. He is currently studying for a Master’s degree in Opera with Prof. Nikolay Borchev at the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig. Masterclasses with Thomas Hampson, Ansi Verwey, Eva Mei, Vincenzo Scalera and Renato Bruson have shaped his work, and he has received the DAAD Prize and a Deutschlandstipendium.

For him, opera is above all teamwork, and acting matters as much as singing. Trained in body work and improvisation, he shapes a character with the whole body, and he has a particular gift for comedy.