Michael Fabiano (born 8 May 1984) is an American operatic
tenor
A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...
. Born in
Montclair, New Jersey
Montclair is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a commercial and cultural hub of North Jersey and a diverse ...
, he has performed in leading opera houses throughout the world, including the
San Francisco Opera
The San Francisco Opera (SFO) is an American opera company founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola (1881–1953) based in San Francisco, California.
History
Gaetano Merola (1923–1953)
Merola's road to prominence in the Bay Area began in 1906 wh ...
,
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...
,
Paris Opera
The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...
,
Sydney Opera,
Teatro alla Scala
La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was a church). The premiere performance was Antonio Salieri's ''Europa r ...
,
Canadian Opera Company
The Canadian Opera Company (COC) is an opera company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest opera company in Canada and one of the largest producers of opera in North America. The COC performs at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performin ...
,
The Royal Opera
The Royal Opera is a British opera company based in central London, resident at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. Along with English National Opera, it is one of the two principal opera companies in London. Founded in 1946 as the Covent G ...
, and
Teatro Real de Madrid among many others. Fabiano is the 2014
Richard Tucker Award winner and the 2014 Beverly Sills Artist Award winner, making him the first singer to win both awards in the same year.
Early years
Fabiano was a champion high school debater for
Benilde-St. Margaret's high school in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. Fabiano was also a baseball umpire from the ages of 14 to 24. After briefly considering a career in business, Fabiano decided to study vocal performance at
The University of Michigan. He graduated in just three years from the
University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance
The School of Music, Theatre, and Dance (SMTD) is the undergraduate and graduate school for the performing arts of the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States.
The school was founded in 1880 as the Ann Arbor School of Music ...
in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in Vocal Performance. During his time there, he studied under tenor
George Shirley
George Irving Shirley (born April 18, 1934) is an American operatic tenor, and was the first African-American tenor to perform a leading role at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.
Early life
Shirley was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and r ...
, and performed several roles with the University Opera Theatre, including Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi and Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni. He also studied extensively with soprano Julia Faulkner, with whom he still studies today. In the summer following graduation, he was an apprentice with the
Santa Fe Opera
Santa Fe Opera (SFO) is an American opera company, located north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. After creating the ''Opera Association of New Mexico'' in 1956, its founding director, John Crosby (conductor), John Crosby, oversaw the building of the f ...
, and in the autumn of that year he began his studies at the
Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, where he studied under Bill Schuman. To date, he collaborates with his coaches and mentors, Laurent Philippe, Gioacchino Li Vigni and
Neil Shicoff.
Professional career
Early career
Fabiano made his stage debut in 2007 at the
Stadttheater Klagenfurt as Alfredo in ''
La traviata''. In the same year, he made role debuts of Rinuccio in ''
Gianni Schicchi'' and the title role of Mavra in Stravinsky's ''
Mavra'' at the
Greek National Opera. 2006 marked Fabiano's concert debut at
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...
as Don Antonio in ''
Dom Sébastien'' with the
Opera Orchestra of New York and conductor
Eve Queler. In the beginning of 2008, Fabiano made his ''
La Scala
La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...
'' debut as Rinuccio in a production conducted by
Riccardo Chailly. Debuts with the
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription concerts, n ...
as Rodolfo in ''
La bohème
''La bohème'' ( , ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...
'', with the
Minnesota Orchestra
The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded originally as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, the Minnesota Orchestra plays most of its concerts at Minneapolis's Orchestra Hall.
History
Th ...
as Alfredo, and with Opera New Jersey as Alfredo followed. Fabiano has performed at the
Teatro di San Carlo
The Real Teatro di San Carlo ("Royal Theatre of Saint Charles"), as originally named by the Bourbon monarchy but today known simply as the Teatro (di) San Carlo, is a historic opera house in Naples, Italy, connected to the Royal Palace and ...
in Naples where he was seen as both Pinkerton in ''
Madama Butterfly
''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa.
It is based on the short story " Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Lu ...
'' and Alfredo in ''La traviata''. Il Duca in ''
Rigoletto
''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...
'' served as his role and opera house debut at English National Opera. January 2010 brought his debut at the
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...
in New York as Raffaele in ''
Stiffelio''. Additionally, Fabiano has performed Rodolfo in ''La bohème'' with the Kansas City Lyric Opera, Pinkerton in ''Madama Butterfly'' at
Opera Colorado, and the tenor soloist of Rossini's ''
Stabat Mater'' in Spoleto.
During the 2010/11 season he made several international debuts, most notably as the duke in ''Rigoletto'' at the Dresden
Semperoper
The Semperoper () is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden (Saxon State Opera) and the concert hall of the Staatskapelle Dresden (Saxon State Orchestra). It is also home to the Semperoper Ballett. The building is located on the Th ...
, Edgardo in ''
Lucia di Lammermoor'' at the
Vancouver Opera, Gennaro in ''
Lucrezia Borgia
Lucrezia Borgia (18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519) was an Italian noblewoman of the House of Borgia who was the illegitimate daughter of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei. She was a former governor of Spoleto.
Her family arranged ...
'' at the English National Opera in the world's first 3D LIVE Broadcast throughout Europe, and as Rodolfo in ''La bohème'' at the
Deutsche Oper Berlin
The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest opera house (after Munich's) and also home to the Berlin State Ballet.
Since 2004, the ...
and . In addition, Fabiano performed in his first
Verdi Requiem with the
Columbus Symphony. The season continued with debuts with the ABAO company in
Bilbao
Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...
as Edgardo and the
Paris Opéra
The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...
as Cassio in Verdi's ''
Otello
''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on William Shakespeare, Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the La Scala, Teatro alla Scala, M ...
''.
Appearances during the 2011/12 season
["Calendar: Performances"]
on michaelfabianotenor.com began with a debut at the
San Francisco Opera
The San Francisco Opera (SFO) is an American opera company founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola (1881–1953) based in San Francisco, California.
History
Gaetano Merola (1923–1953)
Merola's road to prominence in the Bay Area began in 1906 wh ...
singing Gennaro in ''Lucrezia Borgia'' opposite soprano
Renée Fleming
Renée Lynn Fleming (born February 14, 1959) is an American soprano and actress, known for performances in opera, concerts, recordings, theater, film, and at major public occasions. A recipient of the National Medal of Arts, Fleming has been nom ...
. Other debuts in the season included performances with the
Los Angeles Philharmonic
The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. The orchestra holds a regular concert season from October until June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from ...
as the Doctor in Shostakovich's newly discovered "Orango",
Oper Köln in the Verdi Requiem,
Teatro Real
The Teatro Real () is an opera house in Madrid, Spain. Located at the Plaza de Oriente, opposite the Royal Palace, and known colloquially as "''El Real''" (The Royal One). it is considered the top institution of the performing and musical arts ...
as Christian in ''
Cyrano de Bergerac
Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist.
A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th ce ...
'',
Wiener Symphoniker in Elgar's ''
Dream of Gerontius'', in concert with the
Cleveland Orchestra, and the
Florida Grand Opera as the Duke of Mantua in ''Rigoletto''. 2012/13 featured appearances at the
Seattle Opera
Seattle Opera is an American opera company based in Seattle, Washington. The company's season runs from August through late May, comprising five or six operas of eight to ten performances each, often featuring double casts in major roles to all ...
as Rodolfo in ''La bohème'', at Opera Lyra in the same role, in concert with the
Deutsche Oper Berlin
The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest opera house (after Munich's) and also home to the Berlin State Ballet.
Since 2004, the ...
for their annual AIDS gala, in concert with the
Oslo Philharmonic
The Oslo Philharmonic () is a Norwegian symphony orchestra based in Oslo, Norway. The orchestra traces its roots to the Philharmonic Society founded in 1847 and the Christiania Musical Association co-founded by Edvard Grieg in 1871, and was esta ...
in a televised performance of the Verdi Requiem, the
Festival Casals in performances of the Verdi Requiem, the
San Francisco Symphony
The San Francisco Symphony, founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley, San Francisco, Hayes Valley ne ...
in a series of Beethoven evenings featuring "An die ferne geliebte" and the "Missa Solemnis", and a duo of recitals with the "Jewel Series" in Kansas City alongside of pianist, Laurent Philippe and at the
Mondavi Center with pianist John Churchwell. He appeared as Alfredo in ''La traviata'' during
The Santa Fe Opera
Santa Fe Opera (SFO) is an American opera company, located north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. After creating the ''Opera Association of New Mexico'' in 1956, its founding director, John Crosby (conductor), John Crosby, oversaw the building of the f ...
's
summer 2013 festival season.
2013 to 2015
The following season, 2013/14,
featured his return to the Paris Opera as Edgardo in ''Lucia di Lammermoor'', a debut at the
Canadian Opera Company
The Canadian Opera Company (COC) is an opera company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest opera company in Canada and one of the largest producers of opera in North America. The COC performs at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performin ...
as Rodolfo in ''La bohème'', a concert performance of the Verdi Requiem at the San Francisco Opera in the conjunction with Teatro di San Carlo, a Kennedy Center Recital debut with pianist
Danielle Orlando, a new production of ''
Die Fledermaus
' (, ''The Bat'', sometimes called ''The Revenge of the Bat'') is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, which premiered in 1874.
Background
The original literary source for ' was ...
'' as Alfred at the Metropolitan Opera, the title role of Corrado in Verdi's rarely performed ''
Il corsaro'' with the Washington Concert Opera, a new production and professional debut as
Faust
Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...
with the
Netherlands Opera, and a new production of ''La traviata'' with the
Glyndebourne Festival
Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an annual opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England.
History
Under the supervision of the Christie family, the festival has been held annually since 1934, e ...
. In 2014 Fabiano won both the Beverly Sills Artist Award, presented by the Metropolitan Opera, and the
Richard Tucker Award.
In 2014 he sang Rodolfo, in a new production of ''La bohème'' at the San Francisco Opera, a role he also performed at the Metropolitan Opera. He also performed at a concert at
Avery Fisher Hall
David Geffen Hall is a concert hall at Lincoln Center on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The 2,200-seat auditorium opened in 1962, and is the home of the New York Philharmonic.
The facility, designed by Max Abramovitz, was o ...
during which he was presented with the Richard Tucker Award. Fabiano made his company debut with
Opera Australia
Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, New South Wales, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra runs for approximately eight months of the year, with t ...
in February 2015 in David McVicar's production of ''Faust''. He replaced an ailing colleague as Edgardo in ''Lucia di Lammermoor at'' the Metropolitan Opera on seven hours' notice, and opened the Glyndebourne Festival 2015, in Donizetti's ''
Poliuto'', in the first professional production of this opera in the UK. Fabiano is the recipient of Australia's
Helpmann Award in the "Best Male Performance in an Opera" category, for his portrayal of the title role in Gounod's ''Faust'' with Opera Australia.
In the 2015/2016 season, Fabiano debuted two roles at the San Francisco Opera to rave reviews, Rodolfo in Luisa Miller and the title role in Don Carlo. He also sang Rodolfo in ''La bohème'' at
Opernhaus Zürich,
Lensky at the Royal Opera Covent Garden, and the Duke in Rigoletto with the Paris Opera.
2016 to present
The 2016/2017 season brought his house debut with
Houston Grand Opera in the title role of Faust as well as his debut with the Royal Danish Opera in the Verdi Requiem. Additionally, Fabiano performed at the Metropolitan Opera as Rodolfo in ''La bohème'' and Alfredo in ''La traviata'', as well as returned to the San Francisco Symphony for an "all-Italian" program and Washington Concert Opera as John the Baptist in ''
Hérodiade''. In 2017, he also performed a recital tour which took him to seven cities in North America, and made his London recital debut at
Wigmore Hall
The Wigmore Hall is a concert hall at 36 Wigmore Street, in west London. It was designed by Thomas Edward Collcutt and opened in 1901 as the Bechstein Hall; it is considered to have particularly good building acoustics, acoustics. It specialis ...
.
In the 2017/2018 season, Fabiano performed in ''La bohème'' at both the Royal Opera and the Metropolitan Opera. Additional performances include Des Grieux in Massenet's Manon at both the San Francisco Opera and at ABAO-OLBE, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor at both Opera Australia and the Metropolitan Opera, and a recital for Oper Frankfurt. Fabiano will additionally be making his debut at
Los Angeles Opera
The Los Angeles Opera, originally called the Los Angeles Music Center Opera, is an American opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth-largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler P ...
as the Duke in Rigoletto.
ArtSmart Foundation
Along with John Viscardi, and Liz Letak, Fabiano co-founded ArtSmart in early 2016. ArtSmart is a nonprofit organization that provides free voice lessons to under-served students. The pilot program started in Newark, New Jersey in the autumn of 2016. In 2017, the organization expanded its service offerings to Philadelphia and San Francisco.
Personal life
Fabiano is openly gay. He married New York marketing and branding consultant Bryan McCalister at New York's Metropolitan Opera House on October 28, 2018. They have since divorced. He enjoys piloting small planes on his days off.
Videos
Streaming videos are available at
Met Opera on Demand of his performances in the following operas:
* Verdi's ''La traviata'' (11 March 2017)
* Puccini's ''La bohème'' (24 February 2018)
* Massenet's ''Manon'' (26 October 2019)
His 2015 performance of the title role of Donizetti's ''
Poliuto'' is available in HD video for streaming at Glyndebourne Encore and as a
Blu-ray
Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
disc on the
Opus Arte label.
Awards
* 2005: Grand Prize winner of the
Florida Grand Opera Competition
* 2006: First Prize winner in the
Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation Competition and a grand prize winner (and winner of the special Tenor Prize) in the
Julián Gayarre Competition in Pamplona, Spain.
* 2007: A Grand Prize winner of the
Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions
The Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition (formerly the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions) is an annual singing competition sponsored by the Metropolitan Opera. Established in 1954, its purpose is to discover, assist ...
, Fabiano appears in a 2007 feature documentary film, ''The Audition'', which tracked the lives and progress of the winners and participants of the Met's National Council Auditions.
* 2007: First Prize Winner of the Loren Zachary Competition and a Sarah Tucker Grant Recipient
* 2008: Winner of the First Prize of the Opera Index Awards
* 2009: Grand Prize winner from the Gerda Lissner Foundation
* 2014: The Beverly Sills Artist Award
* 2014:
Richard Tucker Award
Notes
Sources
* Serena Davies
"Michael Fabiano: A new breed of opera star" ''The Telegraph'' (London), 28 February 2015 on telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 1 March 2015
External links
*
* http://gmartandmusic.com/artist/michael_fabiano
* Spreng, Sebastian
"Tenor Michael Fabiano: 'Opera is my job, my love and passion: I choose music'" interview with Fabiano on knightarts.org, January 23, 2012
* , from ''La traviata'' (2007)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fabiano, Michael
1984 births
20th-century American LGBTQ people
21st-century American LGBTQ people
21st-century American male opera singers
21st-century American opera singers
21st-century American singers
Academy of Vocal Arts alumni
American gay musicians
American operatic tenors
American people of Italian descent
Classical musicians from New Jersey
Helpmann Award winners
LGBTQ classical musicians
Living people
Musicians from Montclair, New Jersey
Richard Tucker Award winners
Singers from New Jersey
University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumni
Winners of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions