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The 2020-2021 season is Andris Nelsons seventh as the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Ray and Maria Stata Music Director. In summer 2015, following his first season as music director, his contract with the BSO was extended through the 2021-22 season. In February 2018 Mr. Nelsons was also named Gewandhauskapellmeister of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. On October 5, 2020, the BSO and GHO jointly announced extensions to Mr. Nelsons current contracts. His contract with the BSO was extended until 2025, and his GHO contract until 2027. An evergreen clause in his BSO contract reflects a mutual intention for a long-term commitment between the BSO and Mr. Nelsons beyond the years of the agreement.
Mr. Nelsons’ two positions, in addition to his leadership of a pioneering alliance between the institutions, have firmly established the Grammy Award-winning conductor as one of the most renowned and innovative artists on the international scene today. In fall 2019 Mr. Nelsons and the BSO hosted the Gewandhausorchester in historic concerts at Symphony Hall that included two performances by the GHO as well as concerts featuring the players of both orchestras together.
In the 2019-20 season, Andris Nelsons led the BSO in repertoire ranging from favorites by Beethoven, Dvořák, Grieg, Mozart, Mahler, Ravel, and Tchaikovsky to world and American premieres of BSO-commissioned works from Eric Nathan, Betsy Jolas, and the Latvian composer Arturs Maskats. The season also brought the continuation of his complete Shostakovich symphony cycle with the orchestra and collaborations with an impressive array of guest artists. Mr. Nelsons’ work with the BSO resumes with his return to Boston at the start of 2021.
Andris Nelsons’ and the BSO’s ongoing series of recordings of the complete Shostakovich symphonies for Deutsche Grammophon has included the composer’s symphonies 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, and 11 (The Year 1905), and most recently a two-disc set pairing Shostakovich’s symphonies 6 and 7 (Leningrad). The cycle has earned three Grammy awards for Best Orchestral Performance and one for Best Engineered Album. The next installment, featuring symphonies nos. 1, 14, and 15 and the Chamber Symphony, Op. 110a (arr. Rudolf Barshai), is scheduled for release in summer 2021. Future releases will go beyond the symphonies to encompass the composer’s concertos for piano, violin, and cello, and his monumental opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District. Mr. Nelsons’ other recordings with the orchestra include the complete Brahms symphonies for the BSO Classics label and a Naxos release of BSO-commissioned world premiere works by four American composers: Timo Andres, Eric Nathan, Sean Shepherd, and George Tsontakis.
The fifteenth music director in the history of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons made his BSO debut at Carnegie Hall in March 2011, his Tanglewood debut in July 2012, and his BSO subscription series debut in January 2013. In November 2017, Mr. Nelsons and the BSO toured Japan together for the first time. They have so far made three European tours together: immediately following the 2018 Tanglewood season, when they played concerts in London, Hamburg, Berlin, Leipzig, Vienna, Lucerne, Paris, and Amsterdam; in May 2016, a tour that took them to eight cities in Germany, Austria, and Luxembourg; and, after the 2015 Tanglewood season, a tour that took them to major European capitals and the Lucerne, Salzburg, and Grafenegg festivals. A scheduled February 2020 tour to East Asia was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic emergency.
In his capacity as BSO Music Director and Gewandhauskapellmeister of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Mr. Nelsons brings the BSO and GHO together for a unique multi-dimensional alliance including a BSO/GHO Musician Exchange program and an exchange component within each orchestra’s acclaimed academy for advanced music studies. A major aspect of the alliance is a focus on complementary programming, through which the BSO celebrates “Leipzig Week in Boston” and the GHO celebrates “Boston Week in Leipzig,” highlighting each other’s musical traditions through uniquely programmed concerts, chamber music performances, archival exhibits, and lecture series. The two orchestras have jointly commissioned and premiered works from Latvian, American, and German and Austrian composers.
In addition to his Shostakovich recordings with the BSO, Mr. Nelsons’ exclusive partnership with Deutsche Grammophon includes two other major projects. With the Gewandhausorchester he continues his critically acclaimed Bruckner symphonic cycle under the Yellow Label, of which four volumes have been released to date. His recordings of Beethoven’s complete symphonies with the Wiener Philharmoniker were released by Deutsche Grammophon in October 2019.
Mr. Nelsons frequently leads such orchestras as the Berlin Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. As an opera conductor, he has made regular guest appearances at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and the Bayreuth Festival. Born in Riga in 1978 into a family of musicians, Andris Nelsons began his career as a trumpeter in the Latvian National Opera Orchestra before studying conducting. He was Music Director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (2008-2015), Principal Conductor of Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie in Herford, Germany (2006-09), and Music Director of the Latvian National Opera (2003-07).
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Andris Nelsons, conductor
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Kristine Opolais is one of the most sought after sopranos on the
international scene today, appearing at the Metropolitan Opera New
York, Wiener Staatsoper, Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, Bayerische
Staatsoper, Teatro alla Scala, Opernhaus Zürich and the Royal Opera
House Covent Garden. She is working with such conductors as Daniel
Barenboim, Antonio Pappano, Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Mark Elder,
Daniel Harding, Andris Nelsons, Fabio Luisi, Kirill Petrenko and
Semyon Bychkov.
In the 2017/18 season Opolais continues her notable
collaboration with the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, making her
role debut as Elsa in "Lohengrin", in a new production by David
Alden, starring opposite Klaus Florian Vogt. Previously in London,
Opolais has particularly cemented her title as "the leading Puccini
Soprano of today" (The Telegraph), appearing in Kent's 2014
production as Manon Lescaut, as well as starring as Cio-Cio San and
Floria Tosca. This season Opolais also looks forward to making her
debut at the Hamburg Staatsoper, in "Madama Butterfly", in two
special performance as part of the Italian Opera Festival. She also
returns for performances of this signature role at the Wiener
Staatsoper.
Kristine Opolais is particularly known for her notable
collaborations with the Metropolitan Opera, her performances
frequently broadcast in HD worldwide. She recently starred as the
title role in Zimmerman's 2017 production of "Rusalka", and she
received the highest critical praise for her "vocally lustrous and
achingly vulnerable performance" (NY Times). Opolais has maintained
this strong relationship with the Met since her debut as Magda in
"La Rondine" in 2013. Famously, in 2014 Opolais made history at the
Met, with two role debuts in 18 hours. She gave a renowned
performance in "Butterfly", only to step in for a matinee of "La
bohème" the next day, which was additionally cinema broadcast
worldwide and Opolais wowed audiences around the globe. She has
also forged a strong relationship with the Bayerische Staatsoper,
which began in 2010 when Opolais made her debut, to wide acclaim,
as Rusalka. Since this time Opolais has appeared in numerous titles
including "Manon Lescaut", "Madama Butterfly", Tatjana in "Onegin"
and Margherita in "Mefistofele".
In recent seasons, Opolais' concert performances have included
appearances at Salzburg Festival, BBC Proms and Tanglewood
Festival, where Opolais is a regular guest - this season headlining
closing weekend in opera gala, including Act II of "Tosca", with
Sir Bryn Terfel. Opolais has appeared with orchestras including the
Berliner Philharmoniker, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig,
Concertgebouworkest, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
and Filarmonica della Scala. Highlights of 2017/18 include Opolais'
joining an all-star cast, with Piotr Beczała and Rene Papé in
Dvorak's Stabat Mater, opening the Prague Festival. She also debuts
with the Wiener Philharmoniker, which stands as her third
consecutive season appearing at the prestigious Musikverein.
Opolais' forthcoming recording is a DVD of Tosca, from
Himmelmann's 2017 production in Baden-Baden, with the Berliner
Philharmoniker, conducted by Rattle. Further DVD recordings include
Royal Opera House's "Manon Lescaut", in which Opolais sings the
title role opposite Jonas Kaufmann, Prokofiev's "The Gambler" at
the Deutsche Staatsoper under the baton of Barenboim and "Rusalka"
from the Bayerische Staatsoper. CD recordings include those with
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln of "Suor Angelica", released with Orfeo
and nominated for a BBC Music Magazine Award, "Simon Boccanegra" on
the Decca label and collaborating with Jonas Kaufmann on his Grammy
recognised Puccini disc with Sony.
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Kristine Opolais, soprano (Mimì)
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The New York Times declares Jonathan Tetelman is “a total star.” He is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after rising tenors in the world. In the 2018/19 season he joins both Komische Oper Berlin and English National Opera as Rodolfo in La bohème. He also sings his first performances of Cavaradossi in Tosca with Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Werther with Opera del Teatro Solis in Uruguay, and Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with Virginia Opera. In the 2017/18 season Mr. Tetelman makes his debut at the Tanglewood Music Festival as Rodolfo in La bohème with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Maestro Andris Nelsons, and joins soprano Nadine Sierra in concert at Festival Napa Valley. He rounds up a busy summer as Duca in Rigoletto with Berkshire Opera festival. Earlier this season the tenor sang Marco in Chadwick and Barnet’s Tobasco with New Orleans Opera, a gala performance as Don Jose in Carmen at the French Embassy in Washington, D.C., both Dvorak’s Requiem and Verdi’s Requiem with the Greenwich Village Orchestra and St. George’s Choral Society, and joined the Metropolitan Opera for their new production of Norma.
Other recent performances include Rodolfo in La bohème with the Fujian Grand Theatre in China, Verdi’s Requiem with the Milan Festival Orchestra, Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius with the Orchestra Now, Mozart’s Coronation Mass in his Carnegie Hall debut with the New England Symphonic Ensemble, and Dvorak’s Stabat Mater with the St. Goerge’s Choral Society. Other recent roles for Mr. Tetelman include Alfredo in La Traviata, Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus, and Freddy Eynsford-Hill in My Fair Lady.
He won Second Place in the 2018 New York International Vocal competition, and First Prize in the 2016 New York Lyric Opera Competition, from which Mr. Tetelman performed concerts at both Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. The tenor was also a 2016 prize-winning finalist in the Mildred Miller (Opera Theater of Pittsburgh) Competition, and a semi-finalist in both the Giulio Gari International Vocal Competition and the Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition.
Mr. Tetelman completed the graduate performance studies program at The New School of Music, Mannes College and earned his undergraduate degree from Manhattan School of Music. He was born in Castro, Chile and grew up in central New Jersey.
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Jonathan Tetelman, tenor (Rodolfo)
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Alabama-born soprano Susanna Phillips, recipient of The
Metropolitan Opera's 2010 Beverly Sills Artist Award, continues to
establish herself as one of today's most sought-after singing
actors and recitalists. The 2016-17 season will see Ms. Phillips
return to the Metropolitan Opera for a ninth consecutive season
starring as Clémence in the Met premiere of Kaija Saariaho's
L'amour de Loin conducted by Susanna Mälkki, as well as a return of
her acclaimed Musetta in Puccini's La Bohème. In March 2017, Ms.
Phillips will make her Zurich Opera debut as Donna Anna in Don
Giovanni. She also appears as Cleopatra in Handel's Giulio Cesare
with Boston Baroque and Martin Pearlman.
2016-2017 orchestra engagements include a return to the San
Francisco Symphony with Michael Tilson Thomas conducting a program
of American songs, Mozart's "Exsultate Jubilate" and his Mass in C
Minor with Jane Glover and the Music of the Baroque, the Britten
War Requiem with Kent Tritle and the Oratorio Society of New York,
as well as Euridice in Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice with Robert Spano
leading the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Phillips will also
perform recitals at the Celebrity Series of Boston, the National
Museum for Women in the Arts, and her popular dual recital program
with Eric Owens at Carnegie Hall and the Washington Performing
Arts.
Last season saw Ms. Phillips return to the Metropolitan Opera
starring as Rosalinde in the Jeremy Sams production of Die
Fledermaus conducted for the first time by music director James
Levine, as well as a reprise of her house debut role of Musetta in
La Bohème. Additional engagements included a return to the stage of
Lyric Opera of Chicago as Juliette in Gounod's Romeo and Juliet
under the baton of Emmanuel Villaume. Additional engagements
included Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with Michael Tilson Thomas
leading the San Francisco Symphony, the Filas Requiem with Kent
Tritle leading the Oratorio Society of New York, Mahler's Fourth
Symphony with the St. Louis Symphony and David Robertson,
Beethoven's Missa Solemnis with David Robertson leading the Sydney
Symphony, as well as a recital at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
with Brian Zeger.
Highlights of Ms. Phillips' previous opera seasons include
numerous additional Metropolitan Opera appearances as Fiordiligi in
Così fan tutte in what the New York Times called a "breakthrough
night," Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni,
Pamina in Julie Taymor's production of The Magic Flute, Musetta in
La Bohème (both in New York and on tour in Japan), Antonia in Les
Contes d'Hoffmann, and as a featured artist in the Met's Summer
Recital Series in both Central Park and Brooklyn Bridge Park. She
also appeared at Carnegie Hall for a special concert performance as
Stella in Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire opposite Reneé Fleming
- a role she went on to perform, to rave reviews, at Lyric Opera of
Chicago and as Ellen Orford in Peter Grimes with the St. Louis
Symphony. She made her Santa Fe Opera debut as Pamina, and
subsequently performed a quartet of other Mozart roles with the
company as Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Countess Almaviva in Le
Nozze di Figaro, Arminda in La Finta Giardiniera, and Donna Elvira
in Don Giovanni. As a member of the Ryan Opera Center, Phillps sang
the female leads in Roméo et Juliette and Die Fledermaus.
Additional roles include Elmira in Reinhard Keiser's The Fortunes
of King Croesus, and the title roles in Lucia di Lammermoor and
Agrippina, as well as appearances with the Oper Frankfurt, Dallas
Opera, Minnesota Opera, Fort Worth Opera Festival, Boston Lyric
Opera and Opera Birmingham.
Highly in demand by the world's most prestigious orchestras, Ms.
Phillips has appeared with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic under
Alan Gilbert, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Orchestra,
Philadelphia Orchestra, Oratorio Society of New York, Santa Fe
Symphony, Santa Barbara Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Gulbenkian
Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke's, and Santa Fe Concert
Association.
A fervent chamber music collaborator, Ms. Phillips recently
teamed with bass-baritone Eric Owens for a recital of all Schubert
which they have taken on tour in Chicago with members of the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, at the Gilmore Festival, and
Philadelphia Chamber Music Society. Additional recital engagements
included chamber music concerts with Paul Neubauer and Anne Marie
McDermott, an appearance at the Parlance Chamber Music Series with
Warren Jones, the 2014 Chicago Collaborative Works Festival, the
Emerson String Quartet in Thomasville, Georgia with Warren Jones
and colleagues from the Metropolitan Opera, and at Twickenham Fest,
a chamber music festival she co-founded in her native Huntsville,
Alabama. The soprano also made her solo recital debut at Carnegie's
Weill Recital Hall with pianist Myra Huang.
Other recent concert and oratorio engagements include
Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Mahler's Fourth Symphony, Mozart's
Coronation Mass, the Fauré and Mozart Requiems, Carmina Burana, and
Handel's Messiah. She made her Carnegie Hall debut with Skitch
Henderson, Rob Fisher, and the New York Pops. Following her
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra debut under Marin Alsop, the Baltimore
Sun proclaimed: "She's the real deal."
In August 2011, Ms. Phillips was featured at the opening night
of the Mostly Mozart Festival, which aired live on Live From
Lincoln Center on PBS. The same year saw the release of Paysages,
her first solo album on Bridge Records, which was hailed as
"sumptuous and elegantly sung" (San Francisco Chronicle). The
following year saw her European debut as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte
at the Gran Teatro del Liceu Barcelona.
As resident artist at the 2010 and 2011 Marlboro Music
Festivals, she was part of Marilyn Horne Foundation Gala at
Carnegie Hall, made her New York solo recital debut at Lincoln
Center's Alice Tully Hall, and appeared at the Kennedy Center in
Washington, DC under the auspices of the Vocal Arts Society.
In 2005, Ms. Phillips won four of the world's leading vocal
competitions: Operalia (both First Place and the Audience Prize),
the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the MacAllister
Awards, and the George London Foundation Awards Competition. She
has also claimed the top honor at the Marilyn Horne Foundation
Competition, and has won first prizes from the American Opera
Society Competition and the Musicians Club of Women in Chicago. Ms.
Phillips has received grants from the Santa Fe Opera and the
Sullivan Foundation, and is a graduate of Lyric Opera of Chicago's
Ryan Opera Center. She holds both a Bachelor of Music and Master of
Music degree from The Juilliard School and continues collaboration
with her teacher Cynthia Hoffmann.
A native of Huntsville, Alabama, over 400 people traveled from
her hometown to New York City in December 2008 for Ms. Phillips'
Metropolitan Opera debut in La Bohème. She returns frequently to
her native state for recitals and orchestral appearances.
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Susanna Phillips, soprano (Musetta)
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Baritone Franco Vassallo is one of Italy's leading baritones and
has there been acclaimed at Teatro alla Scala di Milano, Teatro La
Fenice di Venezia, Teatro San Carlo di Napoli, Teatro Regio di
Torino, Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova, Teatro Comunale di Firenze,
Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Regio di Parma and at the Arena
di Verona.
He has also made several significant international debuts at the
Metropolitan Opera in New York, Royal Opera House at Covent Garden
in London, Bavarian State Opera in Munich, Vienna State Opera,
Deutsche Oper and Staatsoper in Berlin, Opernhaus Zürich, Grand
Théâtre de Genève, Baden-Baden Festival, Hamburg State Opera,
Semperoper Dresden, Teatro Real de Madrid, Teatro de São Carlos in
Lisbon as well as in Bilbao, Amsterdam, Paris, Washington, Los
Angeles and Philadelphia.
Highlights of the last seasons included a new production of
RIGOLETTO at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich as well as a new
staging of MACBETH at Teatro alla Scala under Valery Gergiev.
Franco Vassallo returned to the Metropolitan Opera in the fall of
2013 as Ford in the new production of FALSTAFF conducted by James
Levine. Besides that, he starred in Zurich Opera's revival of
Bellini's rarely heard LA STRANIERA along with Edita Gruberová. He
returned to the Arena di Verona as Amonasro in AIDA and starred as
Count Di Luna in IL TROVATORE at Teatro alla Scala in Milan and
again as RIGOLETTO in Munich and as well as in Hamburg.
He made his debut at the Teatro Real Madrid as Monforte in a
concert version of I VESPRI SICILIANI. Vassallo opened the 2014/15
season in Geneva in September as RIGOLETTO and made his debut at
Theater an der Wien in LA STRANIERA and returns to the Royal Opera
House Covent Garden as Germont in LA TRAVIATA, to Vienna State
Opera as Amonasro in AIDA and to the Bavarian State Opera as the
Duke of Nottingham in ROBERTO DEVEREUX.
In the last season (2015/16) he was heard as Amonasro in AIDA
and the title role of RIGOLETTO at the Bavarian State Opera in
Munich. At Teatro Felice in Genoa, Franco gave his role debut as
SIMON BOCCANEGRA. Also he sung the role of Don Carlo di Vargas in a
concert version of LA FORZA DEL DESTINO followed by the title role
of FALSTAFF at Grand Théâtre de Genève. With the title role of
RIGOLETTO he made his house debut at Opera Bastille in Paris.
Current and future engagements include RIGOLETTO at Hamburg
State Opera. He will return to the Bavarian State Opera to sing
MACBETH as well as Ford/FALSTAFF. At the Dutch National Opera in
Amsterdam he will be heard as Don Carlo/LA FORZA DEL DESTINO and
will return to Paris to sing Ford/FALSTAFF. In Munich he will sing
Don Alfonso/LUCREZIA BORGIA.
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Franco Vassallo, baritone (Marcello)
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Canadian baritone Elliot Madore has been praised for his "movie
star quality" (Merkur) and "exceptional" artistry (New York
Times).
In the 2017-2018 season, he returns to the San Francisco Opera
for the world premiere of John Adams' Girls of the Golden West
directed by Peter Sellars and the Zurich Opera as Germano in La
scala di seta. He will debut with the Berlin Philharmonic as The
Cat/Grandfather Clock in L'enfant et les sortilèges conducted by
Seiji Ozawa, with the Bremen Kammerphilharmonie in Pelléas et
Melisande conducted by Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla, and with the Los
Angeles Philharmonic singing Papageno's arias with Gustavo Dudamel.
He returns to the Tanglewood Music Festival to sing Bernstein's
Songfest with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
In his signature role of Pelléas in Pelléas et Melisande, he
made his Bayerische Staatsoper debut in a new production at the
Prinzregententehater. He has also sung Pelléas with the Croatian
National Opera in Stéphane Braunschweig's famous production, with
Franz Welser-Möst and the Cleveland Orchestra in a fully-staged
production by Yuval Sharon, at Opéra-Théâtre de Limoges, and with
the Sydney Symphony Orchestra under Charles Dutoit. Mr. Madore made
his Metropolitan Opera mainstage debut as Lysander in their
original baroque fantasy The Enchanted Island conducted by William
Christie, as well as singing the Novice's Friend in Billy Budd as a
member of Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. Since then,
he has appeared as Figaro in The Barber of Canadian baritone Elliot
Madore has been praised for his "movie star quality" (Merkur) and
"exceptional" artistry (New York Times).
In the 2017-2018 season, he returns to the San Francisco Opera
for the world premiere of John Adams' Girls of the Golden West
directed by Peter Sellars and the Zurich Opera as Germano in La
scala di seta. He will debut with the Berlin Philharmonic as The
Cat/Grandfather Clock in L'enfant et les sortilèges conducted by
Seiji Ozawa, with the Bremen Kammerphilharmonie in Pelléas et
Melisande conducted by Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla, and with the Los
Angeles Philharmonic singing Papageno's arias with Gustavo Dudamel.
He returns to the Tanglewood Music Festival to sing Bernstein's
Songfest with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
In his signature role of Pelléas in Pelléas et Melisande, he
made his Bayerische Staatsoper debut in a new production at the
Prinzregententehater. He has also sung Pelléas with the Croatian
National Opera in Stéphane Braunschweig's famous production, with
Franz Welser-Möst and the Cleveland Orchestra in a fully-staged
production by Yuval Sharon, at Opéra-Théâtre de Limoges, and with
the Sydney Symphony Orchestra under Charles Dutoit. Mr. Madore made
his Metropolitan Opera mainstage debut as Lysander in their
original baroque fantasy The Enchanted Island conducted by William
Christie, as well as singing the Novice's Friend in Billy Budd as a
member of Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. Since then,
he has appeared as Figaro in The Barber of Seville and Mercutio in
the new production of Roméo et Juliette conducted by Gianandrea
Noseda which was broadcast worldwide in HD. He made his San
Francisco Opera debut as Anthony in Sweeney Todd and returned to
the Bayerische Staatsoper as Harlekin in Ariadne auf Naxos under
music director Kirill Petrenko with performances in Munich and at
the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris. He debuted at Lyric Opera
of Kansas City as Belcore in L'elisir d'amore, Florida Grand Opera
debut as Reinaldo Arenas in Jorge Martin's Before Night Falls, and
at the Santa Fe Opera as Mercutio in a new production of Roméo et
Juliette conducted by Harry Bicket. He also debuted at the Dutch
National Opera as Prince Hérisson de Porc-Epic in Laurent Pelly's
new production of Chabrier's L'étoile which was recorded for
DVD.
He made his European operatic debut at the Glyndebourne Festival
in a new production of L'heure espagnole as Ramiro and L'enfant et
les sortilèges as The Cat/Grandfather Clock directed by Laurent
Pelly and conducted by Kazushi Ono. He was also seen in this same
Ravel double-bill at the Saito Kinen Festival conducted by Seiji
Ozawa and directed by Laurent Pelly which recently won a Grammy
Award for Best Opera Recording. He made his Salzburg Festival debut
as the Japanese Envoy in concert performances of Stravinsky's Le
rossignol with Ivor Bolton and Mozarteumorchester Salzburg. At the
Tanglewood Festival, Mr. Madore has been seen as Harlekin and the
Music Master in Ariadne auf Naxos under the baton of Christoph von
Dohnányi. He returned to the Glyndebourne Festival as the title
role in Mozart's Don Giovanni, a role he also sang at Opera
Philadelphia, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and at the Tanglewood
Festival with James Levine. Elliot was a member of the ensemble at
Opernhaus Zürich where he was seen as Valentin in a new production
of Faust, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte under Tomas Netopil,
Schaunard in La bohème conducted by Nello Santi, Andrei a new
production of Peter Eötvös's Three Sisters, Silvio in Pagliacci,
Silvano in Un ballo in maschera and Harlekin in Ariadne auf Naxos
under Fabio Luisi.
In concert, he opened the new Philharmonie Hall in Paris with
Les Arts Florissants as Adario in Rameau's Les Indes galantes
conducted by William Christie. He made his Baltimore Symphony debut
with Marin Alsop in Carmina Burana, was heard in concert with
Charles Dutoit and Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in L'heure
espagnole and L'enfant et les sortilèges, and debuted with the
Houston Symphony Orchestra in Carmina Burana under music director
Andrés Orozco-Estrada. He was heard in recital with the Cleveland
Art Song Festival and with Music Toronto, which was broadcast on
the CBC. Mr. Madore has also recently performed recitals in New
York, Winnipeg, and Philadelphia. He made his Carnegie Hall recital
debut at Weill Recital Hall as part of Marilyn Horne's The Song
Continues series and performed a solo concert with the Edmonton
Symphony in a program of opera arias and Lieder. His Canadian
recital debut took place at the National Arts Centre in Canada
which was recorded and broadcast on the CBC Radio Two's "Next!
Canada's Music Future" Series.
In addition to the Metropolitan Opera National Council
Auditions, Mr. Madore was the recipient of the 2010 George London
Award for a Canadian Singer from the George London Foundation, a
finalist in the 2010 Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers
in Houston and the recipient of the ARIAS Emerging Young Artist
Award from Opera Canada. He was also the winner of the 2009 Palm
Beach Vocal Competition. Elliot Madore is a graduate of the Curtis
Institute of Music where he studied with Marlena Malas.
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Elliot Madore, baritone (Schaunard)
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Italian bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni has established himself as
one of the most charismatic and versatile singers performing today.
Since his debut at age 26 with the Vienna Philharmonic at the
Salzburg Festival, led by Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Pisaroni has
continued to bring his compelling artistry to the world's leading
opera houses, concert halls, and festivals.
Pisaroni begins the 2017/18 season as Mahomet II in
Rossini's Le Siège de Corinthe in his first
performances at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, followed by
role debuts as Golaud in Debussy's Pelleas et
Melisande at Opera de Paris and Mustafà in
Rossini's L'Italiana in Algeriat the Wiener
Staatsoper. Mr. Pisaroni returns to the Metropolitan Opera stage as
Count Almaviva in Mozart's Le nozze di
Figaro and he sings Méphistophélès in
Gounod's Faust at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall
in Moscow. He will perform the roles of Alidoro in
Rossini's La Cenerentola and Leporello
in Don Giovanni at the Wiener Staatsoper, and he then
debuts in the role of Don Pizarro in
Beethoven's Fidelio at Teatro alla Scala, under the
baton of Myung-Whun Chung.
This season, Mr. Pisaroni's international concert appearances
include Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle at the
Konzerthaus Wien and with the Luxembourg Philharmonie;
Beethoven's C Major Mass with the Symphonierorchester
des Bayerischen Rundfunks, conducted by Mariss Jansons;
Beethoven's Missa Solemnis with the LSO and
Michael Tilson-Thomas;
Händel's Rinaldo (Argante) on tour with the
English Concert under the baton of Harry Bicket;
Schubert's Orchestrated Songs with the
Filarmonica della Scala, led by Fabio Luisi; Mozart's C
Minor Mass with the Concentus Musicus Wien at the
Musikverein; and a Rossini Gala with the Orchestra Sinfonica della
Rai with Maestro Luisi. Pisaroni also presents an all-Schubert
program of recitals with pianist Malcolm Martineau in Berlin and
Essen, and additionally he performs a program of Italian/American
songs in Firenze, Trento, and Philadelphia.
Luca Pisaroni's diverse operatic repertoire includes portrayals
of Méphistophélès in Gounod's Faust at Houston
Grand Opera; Enrico VIII in Anna Bolena at Opernhaus
Zürich; Conte Rodolfo in Bellini's La
Sonnambula at Wiener Staatsoper; Giorgio in I
Puritani and Caliban in The Enchanted
Island at the MET; Le nozze di Figaro at
Opéra National de Paris, San Francisco Opera, and at the Bayerische
Staatsoper; Leporello in Don Giovanni at Teatro
alla Scala, the Metropolitan Opera, Salzburg Festival, and at
Tanglewood with the Boston Symphony under James Levine; Guglielmo
in Così fan tutte at Glyndebourne and the
Salzburg Festival; Conte Dorval in Martin y Soler's Il
Burbero di Buon Cuore at Teatro Real; Maometto in
Rossini's Maometto II at the Canadian Opera
Company; and Tiridate in Radamisto at Santa Fe Opera.
He sang Argante in Rinaldo at Lyric Opera of Chicago;
the title role in Cavalli's Ercole Amante with De
Nederlandse Opera; Aeneas in Dido and Aeneas for the
Wiener Festwochen; and Don Fernando in
Beethoven's Fidelio with the San Francisco
Symphony.
In concert, Pisaroni has performed Berlioz' Roméo et
Juliette with Michael Tilson-Thomas,
Beethoven's Missa Solemnis with Jeffrey Tate;
Haydn's Die Jahreszeiten at the Musikverein
Wien, under the direction of Nikolaus Harnoncourt;
Rossini's Stabat Mater with Franz Welser-Möst;
Schumann's Das Paradies und die Peri with Sir Simon
Rattle and the Philadelphia Orchestra; and
Schumann's Faustszenen with Daniel Harding and the
Berlin Philharmonic. He has also been a featured soloist in
Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with Jaap van Zweden;
Mozart's Requiem with Gustavo Dudamel and the
Los Angeles Philharmonic; Brahms' Ein Deutsches
Requiem under the baton of Edo de Waart; Bach's B
Minor Mass with the Gewandhausorchester under Herbert
Blomstedt; Mendelssohn's Die erste Walpurgisnacht
with the Orchestra of St. Luke's at Carnegie Hall, led by Pablo
Heras-Casado; Hasse's I Pellegrini al Sepolcro di Nostro
Signore and Cherubini's Missa
Solemnis under Riccardo Muti; Haydn's Die
Schöpfung with Daniel Harding; and Testi's Sacrae
Symphoniae under the direction of Daniele Gatti, with the
Orchestre National de Radio France.
In addition to his extensive opera and concert appearances,
Pisaroni has presented critically lauded recitals at Carnegie Hall,
Wigmore Hall, the Teatro de la Zarzuela, the Concertgebouw,
Edinburgh Festival, Vienna's Musikverein, the Vancouver Recital
Society, and the Dortmund Konzerthaus, among other prominent
international venues.
Mr. Pisaroni has recorded for all major labels, and his
discography includes Don
Giovanni and Rinaldo from the
Glyndebourne Festival; Le nozze di Figaro with
the Opéra National de Paris; Così fan
tutte, Don Giovanni and Le nozze di
Figaro from the Salzburg Festival; and a recording
of Don Giovanni with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and
Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Additional releases include
Verdi's Simon Boccanegra, and most recently, the
title role in Le nozze di Figaro with the Chamber
Orchestra of Europe under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
Luca Pisaroni lives in Vienna with his wife, Catherine. Their
golden retriever Lenny 2.0 and miniature dachshund Tristan are the
singer's constant traveling companions.
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Luca Pisaroni, bass-baritone (Colline)
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View biography in full page >
Paul Plishka is a notable American bass singer, known for a wide
range of major and supporting roles. Both his parents were
American-born children of Ukrainian immigrants. As a boy, he was
interested in farming and football, but also took guitar lessons.
His teacher insisted that he learn to sing while playing, so he
would sing popular songs such as Love is a Many-Splendored Thing.
When his father moved to a new job in Paterson, New Jersey, Paul,
joined the school chorus. Soon, he was offered the part of Judd Fry
in the school production of Oklahoma! He was spotted by Armen
Boyajian, who was starting a local opera workshop. Plishka joined
Boyajian's Paterson Lyric Opera Theatre.
Paul Plishka sang major roles - Raimondo in Lucia di
Lamermoor, Guardiano in La Forza del Destino, and King Philip
in Don Carlos - when he was only 21. Meanwhile, Boyajian
taught him singing. Plishka was his first student, and Boyajian was
Plishka's only teacher. Plishka attended Montclair State College in
New Jersey, where he met his future wife, Judy. At the age of 23,
he won the Baltimore Opera Auditions, and then won a prize in the
Metropolitan Opera Regional Auditions. This earned him a contract
with the national touring company of the Met during what turned out
to be its final year. After that, they offered him a contract to be
a cover (understudy) singer in buffo parts. He accepted the offer,
becoming a member of the company in 1966 and debuting on-stage as
the Monk in La Gioconda in 1967, followed by "all these
real ham, basso-buffo roles" (Plishka's description), parts such as
the Sacristan in Tosca and Benoit in La
Bohème.
As a member of the Met company, Paul Plishka earned a reputation
as a "house singer," a term which, when the house is of the caliber
of the Met, is respectable, but which also carries an implication
that the singer somehow lacks some ingredient required for stardom.
He was reliable; he did 118 performances in his second season, with
Boyajian listening carefully to all of them and making needed
corrections at any sign of strain from this heavy schedule. The
roles were generally small ones, but each season Plishka got
opportunities the next season to sing roles of increasing
importance and depth, so he remained attached to the Met. The roles
he was singing included King Marke in Tristan, Oroveso
in Norma, and both Pimen and Varlaam in Boris Godunov.
Eventually, he got to sing more important parts, like Leporello
in Don Giovanni and King Philip.
After several years, Paul Plishka began appearing widely in other
houses, taking major parts. He appears regularly with major opera
companies in North American cities such as San Francisco, Chicago,
Philadelphia, Seattle, Baltimore, Houston, Pittsburgh, Dallas, San
Diego, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. In Europe, he has performed
in Geneva, Munich, La Scala, Hamburg, Barcelona,
Vienna, Berlin, Zürich, Paris, Lyon, Marseilles and Covent
Garden, London. He debuted as Mephistofeles in
Berlioz's Damnation de Faust in Strasbourg in 1974, and
began getting the more important bass parts. He made his Milan's La
Scala debut with the same role, also in 1974.
Paul Plishka has been admired in many important roles since his
debut at the Metropolitan Opera, where he sung well over 1,000
performances. The Met graduated him from Pimen and Varlaam to the
part of Tsar Boris in 1983. But his voice is most often
associated with Italian opera, especially Don
Carlo, Ernani, Simon
Boccanegra, Nabucco, Aida, I Vespri
Siciliani, Luisa Miller and La Forza del Destino.
During the 1992-1993 season, to mark his
25th anniversary as a principal member of the
company, he sang the title role of Falstaff there for the
first time. He is also renowned for his appearances in the title
role of Boris Godunov.
Among his many recent credits have been performances in San
Francisco of War and Peace and I Capuletti e i
Montecchiand appearances with the Metropolitan Opera in The
Flying Dutchman, La Bohème, L'Elisir
d'Amore, Parsifal, Khovanshchina, and Aida. His
concert appearances have included engagements with the New
York Philharmonic Orchestra, Houston Symphony
Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota
Orchestra and Boston Symphony Orchestra. He has travelled
to Geneva for Benvenuto Cellini, to Montréal for Nabucco,
to Barcelona for Simon Boccanegra and to Mexico City for
the Verdi Requiem. He has sung Boris Godunov in Kiev
and has toured with La Scala to Japan and Korea, singing
in Nabucco, Turandot, I Capuletti e i
Montecchi and the Verdi Requiem. He continues to perform,
and in the 2008-2009 season, he is appearing in La
bohème at the Met.
Paul Plishka has an extensive discography on Angel, ABC, Columbia,
Erato, London, RCA and Vox Records. His recording of the
Verdi Requiem with the Atlanta Symphony
Orchestra and Robert Shaw won a Grammy award for the
best classical album of 1988. He has also recently
recorded Luisa Miller and the Marriage of Figaro,
both with James Levineand the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for
Sony Classical, and L.v. Beethoven's Ninth
Symphony with the London Philharmonic
Orchestra under Andre Previn, for London/Decca.
Paul Plishka has sung in almost all the major bass parts in
several leading opera theaters. He is also a renowned concert
singer, and has sung with many leading symphony orchestras and
conductors. His extraordinary voice and impeccable artistry combine
to make him one of the world's foremost singers, praised by critics
for his smooth, beautifully produced bass and polished dramatic
skills. His singing and physical acting (including a daring fall)
electrified the audience. This distinguished American artist has
become one of the most widely acclaimed and sought-after singers of
our time.
Paul Plishka's artistry was recognized in 1992 when he received
the Pennsylvania Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts and
when, several years earlier, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame
for Great American Opera Singers in a celebration at the Academy of
Vocal Arts in Philadelphia.
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Paul Plishka, bass (Benoît/Alcindoro)
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View biography in full page >
Tenor Neal Ferreira, especially noted for his dynamic and
captivating stage presence, is quickly gaining national
recognition.
Mr. Ferreira opened last season with his Boston Symphony
Orchestra and Symphony Hall debut as Ein Tierhändler in Der
Rosenkavalierunder the baton of Maestro Andris Nelsons. He made
another company debut with Odyssey Opera in March 2017, singing the
role of Jack in Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco's setting of The
Importance of Being Earnest. The tenor will return to Odyssey Opera
in October 2017, singing the role of Giovanni d'Aire in Donizetti's
rarely heard L'assedio di Calais at the Huntington Avenue
Theatre. Upcoming engagements include performances with the
Shakespeare Concerts this fall, his role debut as Le Remendado
in Carmen with the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, and a
return to Boston Lyric Opera in May of 2018 as the Jazz Tenor
in Trouble in Tahiti.
His 2015-16 season was highlighted by a successful performance
as The Visitor in Boston Lyric Opera's production of Philip
Glass' In the Penal Colony, for which the Wall Street
Journal called him "poignant" and the Boston
Globe lauded his "firm yet sweet tenor." In addition to
performing roles in Otello with the Boston Youth Symphony
Orchestra and The Merry Widow with Boston Lyric Opera,
the tenor sang the role of Alan in Joseph Summer's The Tenor's
Suite with the Shakespeare Concerts at Jordan Hall.
In the 2014-15 season, Mr. Ferreira debuted the role of
Ferdinand in the world premiere of Joseph Summer's The
Tempest with the Shakespeare Concerts. He can be heard on the
original cast recording, recently released on Albany Records. He
returned to Syracuse Opera as Alfred in Die Fledermaus to
great acclaim and sang multiple roles with the Boston Youth
Symphony Orchestra in Un ballo in maschera.
Other recent engagements include Tancredi in John
Musto's The Inspector with Boston Lyric Opera, for which
Opera News praised his "moving performance" and "beautiful"
singing, Charlie Gould (Orlofsky) in Die Fledermaus with
Anchorage Opera, and Spoletta in Tosca with the Boston
Youth Symphony Orchestra. His performance as Basilio/Curzio
in Le nozze di Figaro with Syracuse Opera garnered him
the company's 2012-13 Artist of the Year Award.
Mr. Ferreira made his Opera Colorado debut performing Spalanzani
and Andres in Les Contes d'Hoffmann, roles he first performed
with Boston Lyric Opera under the direction of Maestro Keith
Lockhart and reprised with the Florida Grand Opera. Other
appearances have included Sheldon Segal in Later the Same
Evening and Charlie Davenport (cover) in Annie Get Your
Gun with Deborah Voigt at the Glimmerglass Festival.
The tenor was awarded the 2009 Stephen Shrestinian Award for
Excellence from Boston Lyric Opera, and has since performed there
in many roles including Monostatos in The Magic Flute,
Traveler in Clemency, as Spoletta in Tosca, Snout
in A Midsummer Night's Dream, the Gran Sacerdote in
Mozart's Idomeneo, re di Creta and Ein Officer
in Ariadne auf Naxos, in which he also covered the roles of
Tanzmeister and Brighella.
As an oratorio soloist, Mr. Ferreira has performed the role of
Uriel in Haydn's The Creation with world-renowned soprano
Jayne West, as well as noted performances in Orff's Carmina
Burana, Bach's Mass in B minor and Magnificat,
Mozart's Requiem, Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle, and
Dvořak's Stabat Mater throughout the New England area. He
is a regular guest soloist at his alma mater, Providence College,
where he most recently appeared in Handel's Messiah and
Dubois' Seven Last Words of Christ with the Providence
College Orchestra and Chorus.
Mr. Ferreira holds a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance
from New England Conservatory, graduating with Academic Honors in
2005. There he studied with international opera singer Patricia
Craig, and he sang the role of Tamino in The Magic
Flute as part of New England Conservatory Outreach Opera's
inaugural production.
As a recipient of the Roberts Music Scholarship for musical
aptitude and achievement, Mr. Ferreira completed his Bachelor of
Arts degree in Music from Providence College in 2002, graduating
cum laude. While at Providence College, he studied voice with David
Harper and appeared in many stage productions with both the Music
and Theater Departments. Mr. Ferreira has returned several times as
a guest artist to perform in recital as well as teach masterclasses
to undergraduate students.
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Neal Ferreira, tenor (Parpignol)
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Daniel Rigazzi, Stage Director
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