Heralded internationally as an artist with “a remarkable future” (Opera World), American tenor Brian Jagde brings his dynamic vocalism and captivating stage presence to several of opera’s most iconic roles in the 2019/20 season.
In September, he makes his first appearance at the Dutch National Opera as Turiddu in a new Robert Carsen production of Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana. He returns to San Francisco Opera for his fifth role debut of 2019, singing Des Grieux in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut. He reprises the role in a return to the Deutsche Oper Berlin in December. Jagde starts the new year in Chicago, singing Pinkerton in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, followed by his debut at the Wiener Staatsoper in a signature role, Cavaradossi in Puccini’s Tosca. In April, he makes his greatly anticipated return to The Metropolitan Opera Stage to sing Cavaradossi . The summer continues with a return to Amsterdam to sing the Prince in a new production of Dvořák’s Rusalka. Following these performances, he travels to London for his fourth engagement at the Royal Opera House, as Cavaradossi, and then on to a debut solo concert at the Festival Castell de Peralada.
Those operas and others vanished with the final eight weeks of the Met’s season. So we asked some of the singers who had been waiting years to perform them to give us some musical phrases that they — and we — lost. Here are their voices, and edited excerpts from the conversation
Seattle Weekly called him a “heroic, Italian-style tenor to the marrow,” declaring his voice, “bold, bright, resonant and effortlessly hall-filling.” He’s easily among the top tenors on the operatic stage today with a voice that is expansive, powerful and full of color and depth. New York City native Brian Jagde is a supernova among the celestial bodies swirling about the operatic universe today.
Jagde’s voice, with its coppery ring, seemingly effortless high notes and extraordinary lyric spin given its heft, cannot help but please, even in phrases where his character is most heartless. His palpable pain as he discovers what his callousness has wrought is a top-drawer effort by an artist who seeks to humanize his character.
The first thing to know about Brian Jagde is that his name is pronounced "Jade," like the jewel. He is definitely sparkling, in personality and in talent. Though the prizewinning tenor's earlier education included computer science and business, Jagde seemed destined to be an opera singer.
