In 2007 he graduated with honours from the Academy Of Music in Gdańsk under Stanisław Daniel Kotliński, PhD, as well as from the Faculty of Sculpture at the Academy Of Fine Arts in Warsaw. He participated in masterclasses given by Ryszard Karczykowski, Rolando Paneraia, Salvatore Fisichella, Sylwia Geszta, Helena Łazarska and Claudio Desderi. In 2005 he received second prize at the Hariclea Darclee International Voice Competition in Braila (Romania). In 2013 he was nominated for Polityka’s Passports Award (Paszport Polityki).
He has an incredible musicality, outstanding narrative sense and an interesting timbre – wrote Robert Kamyk, a member of Polityka’s Passports Jury. Anna S. Dębowska added: He has a strong voice, which stands out amongst other National Opera singers by its projection, timbre and diction. His charisma and acting talent are unusual!
He began performing during his studies, as Don Curzio in The Marriage of Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at The Baltic Opera, conducted by Kai Bumann. Since then he has often performed in various opera theatres and concert halls including the Warsaw Philharmonic, the Polish Baltic Philharmonic, the Baltic Opera, the Opera at The Castle in Szczecin, and the Philharmonic Halls of Wrocław, Gdańsk and Kraków.
In 2004, during Nova Polska Season in France, he performed the role of Oebalus in Mozart’s Apollo and Hyacinthus at Theatre Montansier. He sang alongside Sylwia Geszta at Festival Musica Mallorca and during Bergedorfer Musiktage. He cooperated with several well-known conductors: Marco Balderi, Will Chrutchfield, Fabio Bonizzi, Łukasz Borowicz, Modest Pitrenas, and Jacek Kaspszyk.
In 2006 he performed on the stage of the Baltic Opera again, starring as Mozart in Rimski Korsakov’s opera entitled Mozart and Salieri. For this role, he received a nomination for the Storm Of The Year 2013 Prize given by a society of journalists.
Between 2007-2009 he was a soloist for the Wrocław Opera, where he had his début as Alfred in Strauss’ opera The Bat. In Wrocław he played the roles of:
- Tamin (Mozart’s Magic Flute),
- Count Almaviva (Rossini’s The Barber Of Seville),
- Cassio (Verdi’s The Otello),
- Archangel (Penderecki’s Paradise Lost).
Since 2009 he has been associated with the Polish National Opera. On its stage he performed as:
- Vitellozzo (Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia),
- Grześ (Moniuszko’s Haunted Manor/Straszny Dwór),
- Misaił (Musorgski’s Boris Godunov),
- Young Servant (Strauss’ Electra),
- Edrisi (Szymanowski’s King Roger/Król Roger).
In January 2011 he performed at Munich Staatstheater playing the role of Lindoro in Rossini’s The Italian Girl in Algiers. He continued his international career by performing at the Latvian National Opera in Ryga in Rossini’s The Barber Of Seville.
In 2012 he recorded his first album, on which he sang Schubert’s The Lovely Maid of the Mill (Die schöne Müllerin), which was published by a famous recording label, DUX.
Starting your career as a classical singer by recording Schubert’s song is a sign of the highest aspirations – wrote Ireneusz Janik in Ruch Muzyczny. It is unusual for a young musician to succeed interpreting this difficult material and Karol Kozłowski does it in a fascinating way. His credibility, intonation and lovely phrasing are simply stunning. I’m sure Schubert has dreamed of a ‘medium’ like this one. So far this is the best vocal album of 2012.
May 2011, update 1.13.2014 fl, translated with edits by W.O. January 2014