American tenor Gregory Schmidt combines a ringing Italianate
sound with ease in the high tessituras of the Bel Canto repertoire. He is
equally at home with Mozart and the French lyric repertoire. Signature roles
include Edgardo, Don Ramiro, Don Ottavio, and Tamino.
Schmidt’s unusually beautiful voice and commanding stage
presence have brought him consistent critical acclaim. “Gregory Schmidt
[exhibits] bright and accurate sound, charged with genuine emotion...combining
credible acting with elegant style” wrote Jess Anderson for Opera News.
“Schmidt might be the finest tenor ever to tread the Skylight (Opera Theater)
stage,” enthused Tom Strini of the Milwaukee Journal (Lucia di Lammermoor).
“On top of that, he is a dashing, handsome fellow...Lucia could plausibly go
mad over Schmidt’s Edgardo.” Critic Christopher Weimer wrote “Schmidt...cut a dashing
figure on stage, acted very affectingly, and sang the entire role marvelously.
His arias stood out for their musicianship.”
Mr. Schmidt’s 2007 engagements include a Don Ramiro (La
Cenerentola) with Fresno Grand Opera and Bianchini in Anton Coppola’s Sacco
and Vanzetti with Opera Tampa. Recent engagements include Ferrando (Cosi
fan Tutte) with El Paso Opera, Tamino (Die Zauberflöte) with
Kalamazoo Symphony, Pang (Turandot) with Opera Pacific, a cover Des
Grieux (Manon) with Houston Grand Opera, Lamplighter (The Little
Prince) with Skylight Opera Theater, and Tebaldo (I Capuleti e i
Montecchi) with Tulsa Opera.
Other recent engagements include Alfredo (La Traviata)
with Tacoma Opera and Des Moines Metro Opera, and Edgardo with El Paso Opera,
Chattanooga Opera, Nevada Opera and Skylight Opera Theater. Schmidt has sung Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni) with Nashville Opera,
Opera Carolina, Skylight Opera Theater and Madison (WI) Opera.
In 1999-2000, Mr. Schmidt was Almaviva (Il Barbiere di
Siviglia) with Chicago Opera Theater, Tamino with Tulsa Opera, Ferrando
with Chattanooga Opera, and Chevalier (Dialogues of the Carmelites) with Tulsa Opera, among other engagements. Favorite oratorio repertoire
includes Britten’s Les Illuminations and The Roasted Swan in Orff’s Carmina
Burana.
Gregory Schmidt made his professional debut with Washington
D. C. Opera in 1996-97 in the role of Count Belfiore in Mozart’s La Finta
Giardiniera, returning to the Kennedy Center stage the following season as
Tamino. He apprenticed with Santa Fe Opera in 1993 and 1995, was a Metropolitan
Opera Audition National Finalist in 1994 and a Lyric Opera Center for American
Artists finalist for the 1995 season.
