Theo Lebow (born 1986) 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 ...

, based at the

Oper Frankfurt The Oper Frankfurt (Frankfurt Opera) is a German opera company based in Frankfurt. Opera in Frankfurt am Main has a long tradition, with many world premieres such as Franz Schreker's ''Der ferne Klang'' in 1912, ''Fennimore and Gerda, Fennimore ...

. He has performed leading roles in the United States and Europe, including world premieres such as Gordon's '' 27'' and Herrmann's '' Der Mieter''.

Career

Lebow was born in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

and grew up in Sierra Madre, where his father was a freelance cellist who played in the local opera orchestra and for Hollywood films. As a boy, he learned piano and clarinet, and sang in a church choir. He performed in the children's choir of the opera, including as a soloist a Boy in Mozart's ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...

''. He studied voice at the

Mannes School of Music The Mannes School of Music (), originally called the David Mannes Music School and later the Mannes Music School, Mannes College of Music, the Chatham Square Music School, and Mannes College: The New School for Music, is a music conservatory in T ...

in New York City. Lebow took part in operas studios in Seattle, San Francisco and 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 ...

. He appeared as

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

and

F. Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940), widely known simply as Scott Fitzgerald, was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and exces ...

in the world premiere of Gordon's '' 27'' at the

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

Opera in 2014, recorded on CD. He performed as Mr. Porcupine in Tobias Picker's '' Fantastic Mr. Fox'' at the

San Antonio Opera The San Antonio Opera was an American opera company located in San Antonio, Texas that produced 16 seasons of opera before filing for bankruptcy and dissolving in 2012. The company was founded as the Pocket Opera of San Antonio in 1997 by Mark Ric ...

and the Odyssey Opera in Boston, which won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for Best Opera Recording in 2020. Lebow became a member of the

in September 2016. His first roles there were Tamino in ''Die Zauberflöte'' and the title role Tom Rakewell in Stravinsky's ''

The Rake's Progress ''The Rake's Progress'' is an English-language opera from 1951 in three acts and an epilogue by Igor Stravinsky. The libretto, written by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman, is based loosely on the eight paintings and engravings '' A Rake's Prog ...

''. He took part in the world premiere of Herrmann's '' Der Mieter''. His portrayal of the merchant Sumers in a new production of Cimarosa's ''

L'Italiana in Londra ''L'Italiana in Londra'' (''The Italian Girl in London'') is one of eight comic operas, termed intermezzi, which Domenico Cimarosa wrote between 1777 and 1784 for the Teatro Valle, a handsome neo-classical Roman theatre built in 1726, which still ...

'' in 2021 was commended by ''Online Musik Magazin'' for demonstrating great comedic talent. In 2011, he performed as Contareno in Rossini's ''

Bianca e Falliero ''Bianca e Falliero, ossia Il consiglio dei tre'' ( English: ''Bianca and Falliero, or The Counsel of Three'') is a two-act operatic '' melodramma'' by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani. The libretto was based on Antoine- ...

'', among others. His performance as the toxic father Contareno was praised by Roland Dippel in '' Neue Musikzeitung'' for blending tenderness and energy; Dippel noted that Lebow was convincing and never short of breath while singing the long, furious

coloratura Coloratura ( , , ; , from ''colorata'', the past participle of the verb ''colorare'', 'to color') is a passage of music holding elaboration to a melody. The elaboration usually takes the form of runs, trills, wide leaps or other virtuoso ma ...

phrases, which make the part nearly as difficult as the female lead.

References

External links

Theo Lebow / Tenor
operabase.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Lebow, Theo 1986 births Living people Musicians from Santa Monica, California American operatic tenors 21st-century American singers