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Biography
Estonian countertenor Martin Karu is an opera singer active on international stages, recognized for his refined musicality and wide vocal range. He completed his Bachelor’s degree in 2022 and Master’s degree in 2023 at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London, following earlier studies in Estonia.
Karu’s repertoire ranges from Renaissance to contemporary music, with particular emphasis on Baroque opera and oratorio. His performances include major works by Bach and Handel, as well as music by Arvo Pärt and Leonard Bernstein. In 2023, he made his operatic debut at the Vanemuine Theatre in the title role of Handel’s Giulio Cesare, a role he has performed extensively since and which received strong critical response. In 2024, Karu appeared as a soloist in Bach’s St John Passion at the Grand Hall of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon. In 2025, he appeared in Henry Purcell’s semi-opera King Arthur, also to critical acclaim.
Recent highlights include ongoing performances in Handel’s Giulio Cesare and Purcell’s King Arthur, alongside frequent solo recitals.
His Cesare possessed magnanimity, empathy, and human warmth - qualities that clearly must characterize this stage figure.
