Biography

Valentin Ruckebier (*1997 in Wuppertal) received violin, piano and composition lessons as a child at the Remscheid Music and Art School. He also received his first singing lessons at the age of 10. From 2014 to 2023, he studied composition at the Robert Schumann University in Düsseldorf with Prof. Manfred Trojahn and Prof. Oliver Schneller. In the winter semester 2017/18, Ruckebier also began studying singing at the RSH Düsseldorf, initially with Prof. Ludwig Grabmeier and later with Prof. Konrad Jarnot. As part of his studies, he sang various opera roles, including Colline (La Bohéme), Betto (Gianni Schicchi), Sarastro (The Magic Flute), Comendatore (Don Giovanni) and others.He won 1st prize in the German National Singing Competition in 2022; in 2019 he was a finalist in the Walter and Charlotte Hamel Foundation competition. Since January 2022, he has been a member of the opera studio of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein (bass), where he has sung the roles of 1st Priest/Speaker & 2.Geharnischter (Magic Flute), Alessio (La Sonnambula), Sciarrone (Tosca), Hortensius (La Fille Du Regiment) and High Priest (Hérodiade). Guest engagements have taken him to the Cairo Opera Egypt (Magic Flute - Sarastro), the Hagen Theatre (Eötvös - Tri Sestry) and the Pforzheim Theatre (Britten - A Midsummer Night's Dream). In addition, he regularly appears in lieder and concert programmes as well as in vocal ensembles, where he increasingly devotes himself to new music. For example, he sang the bass part in the oratorio ‘Der Weise’ by Norbert Laufer at the Tonhalle Düsseldorf, the ‘Schlegel-Lieder’ by Manfred Trojahn and Luciano Berio's ‘Cries of London’ at the Palais Wittgenstein. In 2021, he gave his debut performance of Franz Schubert's ‘Schöne Müllerin’ as the opening concert of the Ruhr Song Festival at Borbeck Castle.His compositions have received numerous awards and have been premiered by renowned orchestras, ensembles and soloists at numerous festivals and concert series. In 2021, he was Artist-in-Residence at the Beethovenhaus Bonn. His opera ‘The Flight To Egypt’ was performed in 2021 and 2022 at the Teatro Comunale Luciano Pavarotti in Modena, the Landestheater Linz and the Serbian National Theatre Novi Sad.