Stuart Skelton
Tenor
Stuart Skelton, winner of the 2014 International Opera Awards for Best Male Singer and 2 Helpmann Awards, is one of the finest heldentenors on the stage today.
His repertoire encompasses some of opera’s most challenging roles, from Wagner's Lohengrin, Parsifal, Rienzi, Siegmund and Erik to Strauss’s Kaiser and Bacchus, Janacek’s Laca, Saint-Saens’ Samson, Beethoven's Florestan and Britten’s Peter Grimes.
He has been critically acclaimed for his beautiful voice, outstanding musicianship and his intensely dramatic portrayals in performances on the leading concert and operatic stages of the world, including Berlin, Hamburg, London, Madrid, Munich, Paris, Vienna, Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Sydney, with Orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, L.A Philharmonic, London Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Vienna Philharmonic, the Radio Symphonies in Hamburg, Munich and Frankfurt, the Symphony Orchestras of Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne Tasmania and West Australia and with world renowned festivals, the BBC Proms and the Edinburgh Festival.
He has sung with such acclaimed conductors as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Daniel Barenboim, Jiři Bèlohlavek, James Conlon, Sir Andrew Davis, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Christoph Eschenbach, Asher Fisch, Mariss Jansons, Philippe Jordan, James Levine, Fabio Luisi, Lorin Maazel, Sir Charles Mackerras, Sir Simon Rattle, David Robertson, Donald Runnicles, Michael Tilson-Thomas and Simone Young.
Stuart’s recent operatic highlights include Ring Cycles (Metropolitan Opera, Seattle Opera, Paris Opera, Opera Australia); the title roles in Parsifal (ENO, Zurich Opera), Lohengrin (Semperoper Dresden) and Peter Grimes (Tokyo, BBC Proms, Oviedo, Opera Australia, ENO); Fidelio (ENO); The Drum Major: Wozzeck (Metropolitan Opera, Santa Fe Opera); Canio: Pagliacci (West Australian Opera). Recent concert engagements include Das Lied von der Erde with Berlin Philharmonic (Sir Simon Rattle), Mozarteum Salzburg (Mark Wigglesworth), San Francisco, Chicago, Netherlands Radio, Adelaide and Sydney Symphony Orchestras; Peter Grimes in concert with the London Philharmonic (Vladimir Jurowski); The Kingdom with the London Symphony (Mark Elder); Wagner concerts with the Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa; Oedipus Rex (New Zealand International Arts Festival); Hermann: Pique Dame with Sydney Symphony (Vladimir Ashkenazy) and concerts with the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs.
Engagements in 2014 included Stuart’s debut in the title role of Otello at English National Opera, Rachmaninov’s The Bells at the BBC Proms with Edward Gardner, The Dream of Gerontius with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Das Lied von der Erde at the Zurich Opera, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with both the Hamburg Philharmonic under Simone Young and the BBC Scottish Symphony under Donald Runnicles, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis under Philippe Jordan in La Scala’s annual televised Christmas concert, and a return to his signature role of Peter Grimes at ENO in David Alden’s acclaimed production. He has also appeared in the title role of The Dream of Gerontius with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Sir Andrew Davis, in concert performances of Act III of Siegfried with the Opéra National de Bordeaux under Paul Daniel, and of Peter Grimes under Michael Tilson Thomas and in concerts with Sir Antonio Pappano and the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia.
In 2015 Stuart makes a major role debut, singing Tristan in Tristan und Isolde with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra under David Robertson. He also returns to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra as Samson in Samson et Dalila and to the Bayerische Staatsoper and Opera de Oviedo as Siegmund in Die Walküre. Other engagements in 2015 include Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, concert performances of Peter Grimes with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Fidelio with the BBC Philharmonic, Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass and Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Das Lied von der Erde with the Minnesota Symphony Orchestra, The Kingdom with both the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest and the Royal Flemish Philharmonic, Fidelio in concert with the BBC Philharmonic and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 for Blossom Music Festival with the Cleveland Orchestra. In 2016 Stuart will open the Metropolitan Opera’s 2016/17 season, singing Tristan in a new production of Tristan und Isolde, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle.