Sources
- Le guide de l'opéra, Mancini & Rouveroux, (Fayard, 1996), ISBN 2-213-59567-4
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Richard Leech (born March 26, 1957) is an American operatic tenor, recipient of the Richard Tucker Award in 1988, and particularly associated with lyric roles of the Italian and French repertories.
Raised and educated in Vestal, New York, he attended Eastman School of Music but dropped out after a semester. He began his career in the early 1980s, appearing with the Tri-Cities Opera.
Leech made his debut at the New York City Opera in 1984 as Rodolfo in La bohème . He soon added the roles of the Duke in Rigoletto and Alfredo in La Traviata .
On March 25, 1987, Leech began a two-decade affiliation with Cincinnati Opera with his debut as Hoffmann in Les contes d'Hoffmann . He went on to sing Roméo in Roméo et Juliette in 1989 and 1994, Riccardo in Un ballo in maschera in 1991, Cavaradossi in Tosca in 1993, Don José in Carmen in 2004, and the title role of Gounod's Faust in 2007. Cincinnati Opera presented him in a solo recital for its 75th anniversary in 1995.
For San Diego Opera, where he appeared in twelve seasons between 1988 and 2008, his roles included his first Don José ( Carmen ), Werther ( Werther ) and Turridu ( Cavalleria rusticana ).
He sang over 175 performances at The Metropolitan Opera where he made his debut in 1989 as Rodolfo. Other roles included Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly and Faust in Boito's Mefistofele. His last appearance at The Metropolitan Opera in 2012 in The Makropulos Affair.
He also appeared at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the San Francisco Opera, Los Angeles Opera, and Houston.
On the international scene, he made a sensational debut in Berlin, as Raoul in Les Huguenots , in 1987, and has since appeared at the Paris Opera, the Royal Opera House in London, La Scala in Milan, etc.
Leech established himself as one of the world's leading tenors in lyric roles such as Edgardo, Duke of Mantua, Alfredo, Faust, Roméo, Hoffmann, des Grieux, Werther, Pinkerton, et al. Possessing a beautiful clear voice with a thrilling upper register, was compared to Jussi Björling and Luciano Pavarotti by critics.
In 2015, he began a new affiliation with Michigan Opera Theatre as Director of Resident Artist Programs.
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Roberto Alagna is a French operatic tenor. He obtained French citizenship in 1981, while also retaining his previous Italian citizenship.
Alfredo Kraus Trujillo was a distinguished Spanish tenor from the Canary islands, particularly known for the artistry he brought to opera's bel canto roles. He was also considered an outstanding interpreter of the title role in Massenet's opera Werther, and especially of its famous aria, "Pourquoi me réveiller?"
Richard Verreau, was a French-Canadian operatic tenor, particularly associated with the French and Italian repertories.
André Turp was a Canadian tenor, particularly associated with the French and Italian repertories.
Neil Shicoff is an American opera singer and cantor and known for his lyric tenor singing and his dramatic, emotional acting.
Orville Harrold was an American operatic tenor and musical theatre actor. He began his career in 1906 as a performer in operettas in New York City, and was also seen during his early career in cabaret, musical theatre, and vaudeville performances. With the aid of Oscar Hammerstein I, he branched out into opera in 1910 as a leading tenor with Hammerstein's opera houses in New York City and Philadelphia. While his career from this point on primarily consisted of opera performances, he periodically returned to operetta and musical theatre throughout his career. He notably created the role of Captain Dick Warrington in the world premiere of Victor Herbert's operetta Naughty Marietta in November 1910.
John Alexander was an American operatic tenor who had a substantial career during the 1950s through the 1980s. He had a longstanding relationship with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, singing with that company every year between 1961 and 1987 for a total of 379 performances. He also periodically performed at the New York City Opera during his career and was a frequent presence at the Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company during the late 1950s and 1960s. Although he spent most of his career in New York City, Alexander occasionally traveled to perform as a guest artist with many of the world's leading opera houses, both in the United States and Europe. He was also an active concert singer throughout his career.
Arturo Chacón Cruz is a Mexican American operatic tenor. A winner of the Operalia competition in 2005, he went on to sing leading roles at many North American opera theatres, including Los Angeles Opera, Washington National Opera, San Francisco Opera, Carnegie Hall, and Houston Grand Opera. He has also appeared in many European opera houses, including the Teatro Real in Madrid, La Fenice in Venice, Bolshoi Theatre, Arena di Verona, Teatro alla Scala, the Theater an der Wien in Vienna and the Berlin State Opera.
Giacinto Prandelli was an Italian operatic tenor, particularly associated with the Italian and French repertoires.
Fernando de la Mora is a Mexican operatic tenor. He began his music education in the National Conservatory of Mexico and studied with Leticia Velázquez and Rosa Rimoch.
Kenneth (Ken) Neate was a renowned Australian operatic and concert tenor, opera producer and singing teacher, composer and author. He appeared at the Bayreuth Festival in 1963 as Loge in Rheingold and he was noted as a dramatic tenor in German, French, and Italian repertoire in opera houses in England, France, Italy, Austria, Germany, and Australia. His operatic career lasted 38 years, followed by ten years as lecturer in Voice and Opera Studies at the Richard Strauss Conservatorium in Munich.
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 which he has sung at the Sydney Opera House, the Teatro Petruzzelli in Italy, and the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing
Barry Morell was an American operatic tenor, particularly associated with the Italian and French repertoire.
James Valenti is an American operatic tenor with an active international career specializing in leading roles in the Italian and French repertoire. Born and raised in New Jersey, in the United States, he attended St. Helena School and North Hunterdon High School before becoming a graduate of West Virginia University and the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Valenti made his professional debut in 2003 as Rodolfo in La bohème at the Rome Opera, and was the 2010 winner of the Richard Tucker Award.
David Pomeroy is a Canadian operatic tenor.
Brian Jagde is an American operatic tenor. He has performed roles at leading opera houses throughout the world, including the San Francisco Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera House, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Wiener Staatsoper, Teatro Massimo, and the Teatro di San Carlo.
Arthur Davies was a Welsh tenor who had an active international performance career from the 1970s through the 1990s. He performed leading roles with The Royal Opera in London, the Welsh National Opera, the Scottish Opera, and the English National Opera.
Sébastien Guèze is a classical French tenor. He sings the French and Italian romantic repertory including Donizetti, Verdi, Puccini, Gounod, Bizet and Massenet.
Gaston Rivero is an Uruguayan-US American operatic tenor.
Marcus Haddock is an American opera singer and voice teacher who in the course of his 25-year stage career sang leading tenor roles throughout the United States and Europe. Born in Fort Worth, Texas and trained at the Boston University College of Fine Arts under Phyllis Curtin, Haddock began his career in the United States after winning the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 1984. From the late 1980s to the late 1990s he was primarily based in Europe where he sang in all the major opera houses, sometimes performing under the name Marcus Jerome-Haddock. He increasingly sang in American opera houses from 1998 and made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 2003 in the title role of Faust. His early roles were those of the tenore di grazia repertoire, but as his career progressed he also took on heavier lyric and spinto tenor roles such as Rodolfo in La bohème and Don José in Carmen, both of which he has recorded. Haddock retired from the stage in 2009 after suffering two serious strokes, and began a new career as a voice teacher in 2012.
