Biography

Tenor Jonathan Boyd continually performs throughout Europe, North America and South America. Upcoming engagements include his Seattle Opera debut as Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, a return to the Dallas Opera as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, his San Diego Opera debut in Jake Heggie’s Moby Dick as Ishmael, the title role of Candide at the Portland Opera, Alfredo in La Traviata at Opera Carolina, Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail at the Arizona Opera, and Handel’s Messiah with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra.

Noted European engagements over the past few seasons include debuts at Opéra de Nice and Opéra de Toulon as Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Teatro Colón in a live television broadcast as Werther; Opera Royal de Wallonie in Belgium as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni; Le Grand Théâtre de Limoges as Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail and Fenton in Falstaff; Malta National Theater and Festival Lyrique-en-mer de Belle Île as Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Opera Faber in Portugal, Théâtre de l’Athénée and St-Quentin en Yvelines in France as Tom Rakewell in The Rake’s Progress, and his role debut as Alfredo in La Traviata with Akouna, Opéra en plein air in France.

Most recent North American engagements from the past few seasons include Narraboth in Salome at the Dallas Opera; Roméo in Roméo et Juliette at the Utah Symphony & Opera, Nashville Opera and Michigan Opera Theater; Tamino in Die Zauberflöte at the Portland Opera and Lyric Opera of Kansas City; Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni at Opera Cleveland and Arizona Opera; Don Ottavio and Rodolfo in La Bohème at the Nashville Opera; and his role debut as Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor at Opera New Jersey. In concert, most recent performances are Rachmaninoff’s Vespers with the Choral Arts Society (DC), Handel’s Messiah with the Virginia Symphony, Haydn's Creation with the Flint Symphony and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Princeton Symphony.

The Corning, New York native has previously performed in San Francisco Opera’s productions of Falstaff, Turandot, The Merry Widow (released on DVD), and Mother of Us All. Since his apprenticeship with Florentine Opera of Milwaukee, Mr. Boyd has returned in numerous roles such as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni and Camille in The Merry Widow. In addition, Mr. Boyd made his role debuts as Sam in Street Scene with Portland Opera, Sam in Susannah with Opera Columbus and L’Opéra de Montréal, and several roles with the Sarasota Opera Nadir in Les Pêcheurs des Perles, Fenton in Falstaff, and Ferrando in Così Fan Tutte.

Mr. Boyd has an extensive repertoire in 20th century operas including Michigan Opera Theatre’s world premiere of Margaret Garner as George Hancock, and New York City Opera’s productions of Mother of Us All and Central Park. Composer Lee Hoiby personally chose Mr. Boyd for the role of Romeo in his opera Romeo and Juliet, which he subsequently sang in the semi-staged performances at the Opera America convention in Vancouver, as well as with New York City Opera, Stamford Symphony in Connecticut, and the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center.

Mr. Boyd has appeared in concert with the New York Philharmonic in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion conducted by Maestro Kurt Masur, the Philadelphia Orchestra in a recording of I Pagliacci with Maestro Riccardo Muti, the Choral Arts Society as Tenor Soloist in Haydn’s Creation at the Kennedy Center, at Carnegie Hall in Mozart’s Requiem, the Baltimore Symphony in Handel’s Messiah, as well as with Maestro Nicholas McGegan and Philharmonia Baroque, and returned for a Bach’s E flat Magnificat and Cantata 110. Additionally, Mr. Boyd was the tenor soloist for Dvorak’s Stabat Mater with Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal, tenor soloist in Finzi’s Dies Natalis and Britten’s Les Illuminations with with I Musici de Montréal, and made his debut with Virginia Symphony in the live television broadcast of Rimsky Korsakov’s Mozart and Salieri in the role of Mozart.

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Jonathan Boyd

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