Bosnian baritone Ejnar Čolak has quickly established himself as a versatile performer on both the operatic and concert stage. In the 2026/27 season, he joins the Ensemble of Staatstheater Cottbus, where he appears as Philipp in Fatima, the Third Elder in Wagner's Lohengrin, the baritone soloist in the new Weihnachtsprogramm, Petrus in Jesus Christ Superstar, and Mammon in Jedermann.
In recent seasons, Čolak has appeared in a wide range of operatic roles. In 2024, he made his role debut as Leporello in Mozart's Don Giovanni at the inaugural Wiener Opernsommer, an open-air production in front of Vienna's Belvedere Palace, performing with the Wiener Kammerorchester under the baton of Joji Hattori in a production directed by Dominik Am Zehnhoff-Söns. He returned to the festival in 2025 as Barone Douphol in Verdi's La Traviata.
His recent engagements further include Tarquinius in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia, the Father in Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel, the title role in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia, and Guglielmo in Mozart's Così fan tutte, both in the touring production Opera Re-told with the Tonkünstler Orchestra Niederösterreich under Jakob Lehmann and in his full role debut at the Schlosstheater Schönbrunn in a production directed by Roland Schwab with musical direction by Christoph M. He also sang the role of Bartolo in Paisiello's Il barbiere di Siviglia at the famous Schlosstheater Rheinsberg in a production directed by Georg Quander.
As a concert soloist, Čolak has performed Orff's Carmina Burana with the ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien and Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Quarta Philharmonie. He also made his debut in Thomas Jennefelt's Dixit Dominus – In the Name of God, a concert project honouring the Women in Black and commemorating the victims of the Srebrenica genocide. Since 2025, he has appeared regularly with the Schloss Schönbrunn Orchester under the baton of Guido Mancusi.
A prize winner of the International Singing Competition Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg in both 2024 and 2025, Čolak was also a scholarship holder of the Stiftung Home Suisse "Madeleine de Blaireville" for four consecutive years. In 2025, he received the "Artist of the Year" award from the Society of Bosnian Academics in Austria.
Čolak has studied Voice at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna since 2019 in the class of Laura Aikin. After graduating with honours from the Bachelor's programme in 2024, he continued his Master's studies in Vocal Performance under her guidance. He is also a member of the Lied class of Florian Boesch and the opera class led by Christoph Ulrich Meier and Roland Schwab. Prior to his studies in Vienna, he completed vocal studies at the Music Academy in Sarajevo and spent an Erasmus exchange year at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Vigo in Spain.
Alongside his performing career, Čolak is deeply committed to community outreach. Between 2022 and 2024, he gave more than 100 concerts in care homes throughout Vienna, a project that remains especially close to his heart.