Born in Croatia, he is currently one of the most sought-after basses on the international stage.
In 2005, he won 1st prize at the 1st National Singing Competition in Zagreb, and in 2007 he represented his home country at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World.
From 2006 to 2018, he was a member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin ensemble, initially as a scholarship holder. He has remained closely associated with this house to this day.
Ante Jerkunica has made several guest appearances at the Salzburg Festival. He has sung at the state operas in Hamburg, Munich, Berlin and Vienna, as well as in Cologne, Leipzig and Frankfurt and at the Semperoper in Dresden. He has been a guest at the Opéra Lyon, Liceu Barcelona, Bilbao, Nederlandse Opera Amsterdam, Opéra Bastille Paris, Teatro Real Madrid, Opéra du Rhin Strasbourg, Colon in Buenos Aires, Bergen Opera, Zurich Opera and Theater an der Wien. He has close links with the Vlaamse Opera and the Monnaie in Brussels.
In 2017, he made his successful US debut at the Seattle Opera (Sarastro/“Die Zauberflöte”), and in 2022 he was able to make up for his debut at the Metropolitan Opera New York, which was canceled due to coronavirus.
In 2020, he was finally able to sing one of the most important roles for the first time – Gurnemanz/“Parsifal” at the Opéra du Rhin Strasbourg, a great personal success, also with audiences and the press.
He sang Dvořák’s “Requiem” at the Berlin Philharmonie under Ingo Metzmacher, as well as at the Liceu Barcelona. This was followed by Verdi’s “Messa da Requiem” in Basel. In August 2017, he made his debut under Semyon Bychkov at the Royal Albert Hall in London as part of the BBC Proms.
Future plans bring him back to the Vienna State Opera, Semperoper Dresden, the Metropolitan Opera New York and the Teatro Real Madrid. He will appear at the Bregenz Festival for the first time in summer 2025.