Richard Troxell is an American operatic
tenor who has sung leading roles in the opera houses of North America, Europe, and Asia since his professional debut in 1993. His signature roles include Lt. Pinkerton, which he sang in
Frédéric Mitterrand's 1995 film ''
Madame Butterfly'' presented by
Martin Scorsese, and Don José in ''
Carmen
''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...
'' which he has sung at the
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...
, the
Teatro Petruzzelli
The Teatro Petruzzelli is the largest theatre of the city of Bari and the fourth Italian theatre by size.
History Origin and golden age
The history of the Teatro Petruzzelli of Bari begins when Onofrio and Antonio Petruzzelli, traders and ship b ...
in Italy, and the
National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing
Life and career
Troxell was born and raised in
Thurmont, Maryland.
He graduated from the
Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia in 1992 and made his professional debut in 1993 as Alfredo in ''
La traviata
''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on ''La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 18 ...
'' with
Cleveland Opera. His earliest roles included Tybalt in ''
Roméo et Juliette'' (
Théâtre du Capitole
The Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse is an opera house within the main administration buildings, the Capitole, of the city of Toulouse in south-west France. It houses an opera company, ballet company and symphony orchestra, Orchestre nation ...
, Toulouse and
Opéra-Comique
The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...
, Paris), Tamino in ''
The Magic Flute'' (
Virginia Opera), and the title role in ''
Faust'' (
Boston Lyric Opera).
In 1995, Troxell appeared as Lt. Pinkerton in
Frédéric Mitterrand's 1995 film ''
Madame Butterfly'', a role he had never sung before and had to learn for the audition. He went on to sing Pinkerton many times, including performances with
Washington Opera
The Washington National Opera (WNO) is an American opera company in Washington, D.C. Formerly the Opera Society of Washington and the Washington Opera, the company received Congressional designation as the National Opera Company in 2000. Perform ...
,
Opera Australia,
Calgary Opera,
National Theater (Taiwan),
Opéra de Montréal,
Los Angeles Opera
The Los Angeles 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 Pavilion, part of the Los Angeles Music Center.
Leadersh ...
,
Arizona Opera, and
Portland Opera. His filmography also includes ''
Cyrano de Bergerac'' (as Christian with
Roberto Alagna in the title role), filmed at the
Opéra national de Montpellier in 2003 and released on DVD by
Deutsche Grammophon; and ''
La rondine
''La rondine'' (''The Swallow'') is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Adami, based on a libretto by Alfred Maria Willner and . It was first performed at the Grand Théâtre de Monte Carlo (or the Théâtr ...
'' (as Prunier with
Ainhoa Arteta in the title role), filmed at Washington Opera in 1998, broadcast on
PBS and later released on DVD by Decca.
In the 2005/2006 season Troxell added the role of Don José in ''
Carmen
''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...
'' to his repertoire and has subsequently sung it with Portland Opera and at the
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...
, the
Teatro Petruzzelli
The Teatro Petruzzelli is the largest theatre of the city of Bari and the fourth Italian theatre by size.
History Origin and golden age
The history of the Teatro Petruzzelli of Bari begins when Onofrio and Antonio Petruzzelli, traders and ship b ...
in Italy, and the
National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing,
Vancouver Opera, and most recently at the "House of Strombo"
George Stroumboulopoulos
George Mark Paul Stroumboulopoulos (; Greek: Γεώργιος Μάρκος Παύλος Στρουμπουλόπουλος; born August 16, 1972) is a Canadian media personality. He is one of Canada's most popular broadcasters and best known as fo ...
in Toronto. His other roles in the mainstream tenor repertoire have included Rodolfo in ''
La bohème'', the title role in ''
The Tales of Hoffmann'', the Duke in ''
Rigoletto'', and Lensky in ''
Eugene Onegin''. He has also appeared in leading tenor roles in relative rarities such as Gounod's ''
La colombe
''La Colombe'' (''The Dove'') is an ''opéra comique'' in two acts by Charles Gounod with a libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré based on the poem ''Le Faucon'' by Jean de la Fontaine. It premiered in a one-act version at the Theater der St ...
'' with Opéra Français de New York (1997), Offenbach's ''
La Périchole'' with the
Opera Company of Philadelphia (2002),
Gluck's ''
L'île de Merlin'' in its US premiere at the
Spoleto Festival USA (2007),
Hérold's ''
Zampa'' at the Opéra-Comique (2008), and Philip Glass's ''
Galileo Galilei'' with Portland Opera (2012). He has sung in the world premieres of two late-20th century operas with
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis: in 1995 he created the role of Joel Edmund in the world premiere of
Stephen Paulus's ''The Woman at Otowi Crossing'', and in 2000 he created the role of To-no-Chujo in the world premiere of
Minoru Miki's ''
The Tale of Genji''.
Troxell made his
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
debut in 2003 in Bach's
Magnificat.
The role of Borsa in Verdi's ''Rigoletto'' in 2015 was his debut at the
Metropolitan Opera in New York. He sang the role of Pablo Neruda in ''
Il Postino'' for
Opera Saratoga in 2016.
Among Troxell's performances on the concert stage as tenor soloist are Weill's ''
The Seven Deadly Sins'' (
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...
, 2004), ''
Carmina Burana'' (
San Francisco Symphony
The San Francisco Symphony (SFS), 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 neighborhood. The San Fr ...
, 2005), and
Handel's ''Messiah'' (
Pittsburgh Symphony, 2009). He has also been a frequent performer at the
Ocean City Pops concerts.
Personal life
Troxell is married to the dancer and choreographer, Lisa Lovelace. The couple have two sons, Shane and Wilder, and reside in the countryside of
Chester County, Pennsylvania.
Richard Troxell's official biography
Retrieved 17 January 2013.
Recordings
Opera
* Puccini: ''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 Luther ...
'' – (as Pinkerton) Orchestre de Paris, James Conlon (conductor), 1995. Label: Sony Classical DVD and CD
* Alfano: '' Cyrano de Bergerac'' – (as Christian) Orchestre National de Montpellier, (conductor), recorded 2003, released 2005. Label: Deutsche Grammophon DVD and CD
* Puccini: ''La rondine
''La rondine'' (''The Swallow'') is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Adami, based on a libretto by Alfred Maria Willner and . It was first performed at the Grand Théâtre de Monte Carlo (or the Théâtr ...
'' – (as Prunier) Washington National Opera Orchestra, Emmanuel Villaume (conductor), recorded 1998, released 2009. Label: Decca DVD and CD
* Glass '' Galileo Galilei'' – (as Galileo) Portland Opera, Anne Manson Anne Manson (born 1961, Cambridge, Massachusetts) is an American orchestral and opera conductor.
Manson was music director of the Kansas City Symphony from 1999 until 2003, and is currently music director of the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra. (conductor), November 2013. Label: Orange Mountain Music, 2 CDs
Concert and song
* ''Classic Broadway'', Richard Troxell and the Czech National Symphony Orchestra with Steven Mercurio 2015. Label: Blue Sky Unlimited
* ''So in Love'', Richard Troxell with Tom Lawton (piano), John Conahan (piano), Harold Evans (piano), Lee Smith (bass), Dan Monaghan (drums), 2014. Label: Blue Sky Unlimited
* ''What a Wonderful World'', Richard Troxell with the Ocean City Pops, 1997. Label: Ocean City Pops
* Marvin David Levy: ''Masada'' – Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, 2004. Series: Milken Archive of Jewish Music. Label: Naxos CD
* David Amram: ''Symphony Songs of the Soul / Shir L'Erev Shabbat/ The Final Ingredient'' – Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin; Michigan University Symphony Orchestra, 2004. Series: Milken Archive of Jewish Music. Label: Naxos CD
* David Diamond: ''Ahava / Music for Prayer'' – Seattle Symphony, 2004. Series: Milken Archive of Jewish Music. Label: Naxos CD
* ''Seven Heavenly Halls'', Richard Troxell solo tenor, chorus and symphony orchestra, Czech National Symphony Orchestra, conductor Steven Mercurio
References
External links
*
Performance schedule
Operabase
*
Profile
Piper Anselmi Artists Management
Kathryn Morrison Management
{{DEFAULTSORT:Troxell, Richard
American operatic tenors
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Academy of Vocal Arts alumni
People from Frederick County, Maryland
Singers from Maryland
20th-century American male opera singers
21st-century American male opera singers
Musicians from Chester County, Pennsylvania
Singers from Pennsylvania
Classical musicians from Pennsylvania