Aaron Sheehan (born 1975) is an American vocal

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors i ...

and professor of music who has been described as one of "the leading

Early Music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad musical era for the beginning of Western classic ...

singers in the world". He was one of the recipients of the 2015

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

for Best Opera Recording.

Early life and education

A native of

Janesville, Minnesota Janesville is a city in Waseca County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,256 at the 2010 census. U.S. Highway 14 serves as a main route in the community, running east–west, south of Janesville. County Road 3 runs north–south ...

, Sheehan began singing in 1994, his final year at

Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton High School Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton High School is a public school in Janesville, Minnesota, United States. JWP stands for Janesville, Waldorf, and Pemberton, the towns the school district covers. The school building holds all grades K-12. School colors ar ...

, after spending his early years as an instrumental musician. He continued singing at Luther College, where he earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

, and went on to receive a Master of Music in early music performance at

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship campus of Indiana University and, with over 40,000 students, its largest camp ...

Career

Following graduate school, Sheehan moved to Boston, Massachusetts, to launch his professional singing career. His opera debut came in 2005 when he appeared as Ivan in the Boston Early Music Festival's premiere of

Johann Mattheson Johann Mattheson (28 September 1681 – 17 April 1764) was a German composer, singer, writer, lexicographer, diplomat and music theorist. Early life and career The son of a prosperous tax collector, Mattheson received a broad liberal education ...

's ''Boris Goudenow''. Sheehan went on to tour and perform extensively in Europe, South America, and the United States. Sheehan performed on the Boston Early Music Festival's recording of Charpentier''’s

La descente d'Orphée aux enfers ''La descente d'Orphée aux enfers'' H.488 (English: ''The Descent of Orpheus to the Underworld'') is an incomplete chamber opera in two acts by the French composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier. It was probably composed in early 1686 and performed ...

'', which received the

Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by ma ...

in 2015. The following year he appeared on two recordings nominated for the Grammy for Best Opera Recording: ''

Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria ''Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria'' ( SV 325, ''The Return of Ulysses to his Homeland'') is an opera consisting of a prologue and five acts (later revised to three), set by Claudio Monteverdi to a libretto by Giacomo Badoaro. The opera was first ...

'' (with Boston Baroque) and ''

Niobe, regina di Tebe ''Niobe, regina di Tebe'' is an opera in three acts by Agostino Steffani Agostino Steffani (25 July 165412 February 1728) was an Italian ecclesiastic, diplomat and composer. Biography Steffani was born at Castelfranco Veneto on 25 July 165 ...

'' (with the Boston Early Music Festival). As of 2017, Sheehan is teaching at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original c ...

as lecturer in Music, Historical Performance, Voice. He also teaches voice at Wellesley College. According to Sheehan, he has been most inspired by

Aksel Schiøtz Aksel Schiøtz (1 September 190619 April 1975) was a Danish tenor and later baritone, who was considered one of Europe's leading lieder singers of the post-World War II period.Alan Blyth"Review: The Singer and His Art by Aksel Schiøtz" ''The Musi ...

and

Anthony Rolfe Johnson Anthony Rolfe Johnson (5 November 1940 – 21 July 2010) was an English operatic tenor. Early life Anthony Rolfe Johnson was born in Tackley in Oxfordshire. As a boy, he demonstrated musical ability and sang as a boy soprano, making a recor ...

Reception

Sheehan has been described as "one of the leading Early Music singers in the world" by Marion Dry, the director of

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficia ...

's music performance program. ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' has lauded Sheehan as "superb: his tone classy, clear, and refined, encompassing fluid lyricism and ringing force". In a review of the Boston Early Music Festival's 2015 staging of Monteverdi's ''

L'Orfeo ''L'Orfeo'' ( SV 318) (), sometimes called ''La favola d'Orfeo'' , is a late Renaissance/early Baroque ''favola in musica'', or opera, by Claudio Monteverdi, with a libretto by Alessandro Striggio. It is based on the Greek legend of Orpheus, ...

'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote that Sheehan "brought shining quality and deep sensitivity to the title role". During the Dallas Bach Society's performance of ''

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

'', the ''

Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the '' Galvest ...

'' called Sheehan the "best of the soloists", describing him as having an "agreeably fibrous tenor deployed to great expressive effect".

Selected recordings

Marc-Antoine Charpentier Marc-Antoine Charpentier (; 1643 – 24 February 1704) was a French Baroque composer during the reign of Louis XIV. One of his most famous works is the main theme from the prelude of his ''Te Deum'', ''Marche en rondeau''. This theme is still u ...

, ''

La Descente d'Orphée aux enfers ''La descente d'Orphée aux enfers'' H.488 (English: ''The Descent of Orpheus to the Underworld'') is an incomplete chamber opera in two acts by the French composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier. It was probably composed in early 1686 and performed ...

'' H.488, Aaron Scheehan, Orphée,

Amanda Forsythe Amanda Forsythe (born 1976) is an American light lyric soprano who is particularly admired for her interpretations of baroque music and the works of Rossini. Forsythe has received continued critical acclaim from many publications including ''Ope ...

, Eurydice, Teresa Wakim, Jesse Blumberg, Boston Early Music Festival, Vocal & Chamber Ensembles, conducted by Paul O’Dette &

Stephen Stubbs Stephen Stubbs (born 1951) is a lutenist and music director and has been a leading figure in the American early music scene for nearly thirty years. Born in Seattle, he studied harpsichord and composition at the University of Washington where, at ...

(CPO 2014) Grammy Award For Best Opera Recording 2015

Personal life

Sheehan has three siblings.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sheehan, Aaron American operatic tenors Boston University faculty Indiana University Bloomington alumni Luther College (Iowa) alumni Living people Singers from Minnesota People from Waseca County, Minnesota 21st-century American opera singers Grammy Award winners 1975 births Classical musicians from Minnesota 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American singers