BASSEM ALKHOURI, TENOR

The Damascus-born Bassem Alkhouri studied singing at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague and the Dutch National Opera Academy in Amsterdam. He made his operatic debut as Don José in George Bizet’s Carmen. Guest engagements have taken him to various opera houses in the Netherlands and France, as well as to his hometown in Syria. His roles include Lensky in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, Alfred in Johann Strauss’ Die Fledermaus, Count Almaviva in Gioachino Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, Rodolfo in Giuseppe Verdi’s Luisa Miller, and the Prince in Sergei Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges. After leaving his permanent engagement at the Staatstheater Kassel, he initially pursued a freelance career. Since the 2023/24 season, he has been a permanent ensemble member at Theater Vorpommern.

In addition to his operatic work, Bassem Alkhouri is an internationally sought-after concert singer. Furthermore, he is a master of the Syrian zither, the Qanun, performing both as a soloist in concerts with the Syrian National Symphony Orchestra and, since 2003, as a member of the New Ensemble and the Atlas Ensemble in Amsterdam under the direction of Ed Spanjaard. He specializes in contemporary music written specifically for the Qanun.