Stillwater, Minnesota native Jack Swanson is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after young tenors in the opera world. His distinctive high lyric voice is known for singing the acrobatic arias of Rossini and the legato melodies of Donizetti.
This season Jack Swanson makes his much-anticipated debut at the Metropolitan Opera in his signature-role of Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, will also make both a house and a role debut with the Staatsoper Hamburg as Ernesto in Don Pasqualeand will return to the Houston Grand Opera as Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola. He will also join Haymarket Opera for Artabano in Vinci’s Artaserse, to be recorded commercially. In concert he will make his Minnesota Orchestra debut as the tenor soloist in Mozart’s Requiem with Music Director Thomas Søndergård conducting and will perform in recital in Charlottesville, VA. Future projects include returns to the Metropolitan Opera, the Houston Grand Opera, Pesaro’s Rossini Opera Festival and debuts at the Opéra National de Paris, the English National Opera and the Grand Théâtre de Genève.
Last season Mr. Swanson made some extremely successfuldebuts with the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola, with the Houston Grand Opera as Fenton in Falstaff and the Arena di Verona as Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia. He returned to the Norwegian Opera for Ferrando in Così Fan Tutte and Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola, as well as to the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro for Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Count Belfiore in Il Viaggio a Reims (a role debut). Mr. Swanson was also heard in concert at the Festival de Paris and in recital in Montreal and with the Sag Harbor Song Festival.
Previously Mr. Swanson premiered the title-role in Paola Prestini’s Edward Tulane with the Minnesota Opera, madedebuts with the Austin Opera as Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, the Utah Opera as Tonio in La Fille du Régiment (a role debut, as well), the Atlanta Opera as the title-role in Candideand Opera Maine for Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola. In concert the tenor joined the Utah Symphony for Carmina Burana, the Mercury Chamber Orchestra in Houston for the tenor solo in Handel’s Messiah and performed in recitalwith Matinee musicale in Duluth, MN.
The previous season, Jack Swanson debuted with a number ofEuropean companies: first with the Teatro Regio in Torino as Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, then with the Opéra National de Lorraine in Nancy as Tamino in Die Zauberflöte (a role debut) and finally at the Opéra National du Rhin in Strasbourg as Ferrando in Così Fan Tutte (a role he had just debuted for his return to the Oper Frankfurt). He also sang a concert of Mozart, Bel Canto and Romantic Italian songs in Beirut, Lebanon. In the summer he returned to the Santa Fe Opera in his signature-role of Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Sivigliaand in recital before singing the title-role in Candide with the Lausitz Festival.
Prior to that Jack Swanson returned to the Norwegian Opera for Almaviva in a new production of Il Barbiere di Siviglia and to the Oper Köln for the same role before returning to the Garsington Opera for the title-role in Rossini’s Le Comte Ory. He then finished the season by making his Rossini Opera Festival debut as Florville in Il Signor Bruschino. In concert he was heard as the tenor soloist in Rossini’s Stabat Mater with the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome and Myung Whun Chung. He also appeared in solo recitals in Frankfurt and in Pesaro.
Previously, Mr. Swanson debuted with new companies in new roles: first in Frankfurt as Rodrigo in a new production of Rossini’s Otello, then as Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail with Opera Omaha. In concert, the tenor was heard in Paris in Rossini’s Messa di Gloria and at New York’s Alice Tully Hall for a concert of pieces by sons of J.S. Bach.
The previous season Jack Swanson made several role and company debuts, first as Nemorino in L’Elisir d’Amore with the Norwegian Opera, later as Sam Kaplan in Street Scene with Oper Köln. He returned to the title-role in Candide for concert performances in Paris and Marseille and to his celebrated portrayal of Count Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Portland Opera. In concert, he performed music by Leonard Bernstein at the Moab Music Festival and by John Musto (his Bastianello) with Festival Napa Valley.
Prior to that Mr. Swanson made notable debuts with Glyndebourne Opera as Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia, theLos Angeles Opera in the title role of Candide, the Lyric Opera of Kansas City as Almaviva, and his mainstage debut with the Santa Fe Opera as Lindoro in L’italiana in Algeri. On the concert stage, Mr. Swanson was heard in Bernstein on Broadwayconcerts with the Orchestre National de Lille and in Rossini’s Stabat Mater with the Choral Arts Society of Washington.
In 2016-2017, Mr. Swanson was heard as Camille in The Merry Widow with Winter Opera St. Louis, Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance with Opera Memphis, Ramiro in La Cenerentola with Opera Delaware, and Albazar in Il Turco in Italia with Garsington Opera. In concert he sang Messiah with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Bruckner’s Te Deum, with the Houston Symphony Orchestra, and Mozart’s Requiemwith the Oregon Symphony Orchestra. Other appearances included Washington Concert Opera’s 2017 gala, the Rising Stars of Opera concert series with the Richard Tucker Music Foundation, and on a recital program at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts.
In the 2015-2016 season, Mr. Swanson made his Des MoinesMetro Opera debut singing the role of Fenton in Verdi’s Falstaffand performed the role of Ramiro in La Cenerentola with Opera Fort Collins. Mr. Swanson earned a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Oklahoma, where he performed the roles of Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni and Nemorino in L’Elisir d’Amore. In May of 2016 he received his Masters of Music in Vocal Performance at Rice University. While at Rice, Mr. Swanson performed the roles of Almaviva in il Barbiere di Siviglia and Eurimaco in Monteverdi’s Il Ritornod’Ulisse in Patria. Additional opera roles include Tonio in LaFille du Régiment and Count Belfiore in Mozart’s LaFintaGiardiniera, and two years as an apprentice at the Santa FeOpera. Mr. Swanson spent two summers as a young artist with The Seagle Music Colony, where he performed the roles of Tobias Ragg in SweeneyTodd and the title role in Britten’s comedic opera Albert Herring.
Also known for his concert work, Mr. Swanson’s credits include Handel’s Messiah, Dubois’ The Seven LastWords of Christ, Mozart’s Requiem and Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana. Other engagements include Holiday Favorites with the Arizona Operaand Birmingham Opera, and the Houston Grand Opera’s 60thanniversary gala where Mr. Swanson performed alongside HGO’s studio artists and world-renowned mezzo-soprano, Joyce DiDonato. Swanson made his Kennedy Center debut singing selections from Schumann’s Dichterliebe.
Mr. Swanson is the competition winner and recipient of several prestigious awards including first place in Florida Grand Opera’sYoung Patroness Competition, The San Antonio Music Club Competition, The National Opera Association Competition and The Hal Leonard Art Song Competition. He twice received the Richard Tucker Memorial award from the Santa Fe Opera. He was a finalist in both Houston Grand Opera’s Eleanor McCollum competition and Fort Worth Opera’s McCammon Competition. Recently, Mr. Swanson was featured on National Public Radio’s Young Artist in Residence program, PerformanceToday.
For more information, please visit www.jackswansontenor.com.
Gianluca Macheda
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Stefania Ramacciotti
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“Swanson has the perfect Rossini tenor voice: light, flexible, and capable of stratospheric high notes, which he unleashed with gusto particularly in his second-act aria “Si, ritrovarla io guiro”. He strikes a handsome figure, and his demeanor suggests a man capable of both strong leadership and passionate love. We certainly hope to hear more from Swanson at Lyric Opera.”
Parterre Box
“Jack Swanson, a solar and youthful tenor, with a velocity that is never at fault, excels in a role made for him and in which he takes pleasure in evolving, from the suave “Ecco ridente” of the 1st act to the formidable but oh so intoxicating “Cessa di piu resistere” placed at the very end of the work.”
Concert Classic
“The tenors are perfectly distinct and characterized. Jack Swanson (Belfiore) has the seductive timbre, the elegance of the line and the fluidity of the vocalises.”
Forum Opera
“His performance in the demanding rondo finale, “Cessa di più resistere” (often cut because of its difficulty), is a standout. Swanson’s mastery of the coloratura, breath control, and secure high notes is impressive – a true tour de force.”
Playtosee
“Count Almaviva, Jack Swanson, with his crystal-clear, lyrical tenor, transports us to the spheres that he so longingly extols as Almaviva in „ecco ridente” in the very first aria of the evening. The youthful radiance of his voice bears witness to the Count’s impulsive love for Rosina and places his longing in the service of the true, the beautiful and the good. Full of virtuoso agility, he gradually builds up to the end of this cavatina, culminating in a virtuoso final allegro, which elsewhere would have been considered the highlight of the evening – „Oh, istante d’amore! Felice momento… Here too Jack Swanson is able to blow the audience’s minds with his outstanding coloratura, as there is no sign of fatigue. In ‘Ah il più lieto’, the chorus shows once again his grandiose sound quality and Jack Swanson’s voice flows with seemingly effortless elegance and ease through this parade ride to crown it with an almost magical high C and the words „non fugite, o lieti istanti della mia felicità”.
The Opera Blog
“Jack Swanson’s Count of Almaviva, Rossinian tenor voice – you can’t explain how it is, but just listen to two notes to understand it and it brings to mind the Rossinians of a recent, glorious past – effective stage presence in the youthful and irresistibly comic impulses that the Minnesota tenor offers to his character.”
Pierachille Dolfini