Adam Smith (tenor)

Adam Smith is a British operatic tenor. He was a member of the ensemble at Opera Ballet Vlaanderen in Antwerp from 2014 to 2017. Smith is known for his interpretation of roles such as Don José in Carmen at the Royal Opera House, Cavaradossi in Tosca at the Staatsoper Hamburg, and Roméo in Roméo et Juliette at Washington National Opera.

Life and career

Born in Northern England, Smith began his musical studies as a child, studying violin, and playing in youth orchestras. He began his vocal studies at eighteen and studied singing at the Royal Northern College of Music and went on to gain a Master of Music with Distinction at the Guildhall School of Music, as well as completing their International Opera Course.[1]

In 2014, he joined the Young Artist programme at Opera Ballet Vlaanderen in Antwerp where he appeared in several roles including performed the roles of Ein junger Diener in Elektra, Basilio & Don Curzio in Le Nozze di Figaro, Walther von der Vogelweide in Tannhäuser, Eustazio in Armida, Cassio in Otello, Steuerman in Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer and as the Indian singer in Rimsky-Korsakov's Sadko.[2]

2020 saw Smith perform Rodolfo in La bohème with Opera Carolina, as well Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with English National Opera.[3]

Smith began the 2021/22 season with his South American debut performing the role of Cavaradossi in Tosca at the Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo in Colombia.[4] This was followed by performances as Don José in Carmen at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis[5] and his debut at La Monnaie de Munt as both Luigi and Rinuccio in a new Tobias Krazer production of Puccini's Il Trittico, conducted by Alain Altinoglu.[6] He also performed Luigi under the baton of Sir Mark Elder at the BBC Proms.[7]

In the 2022/23 season, Smith performed the role of Cavaradossi in Tosca with the English National Opera,[8] Erik in Der fliegende Holländer at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna[9] and returned to the role of Cavaradossi in Tosca at the Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo. He then made his debut as Boris in Káťa Kabanová at the Opéra National de Lyon[10] and Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with Cincinnati Opera.[11]

In his 2023/24 season, he made several house debuts including Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana with Lyric Opera of Kansas City (also his role debut),[12] Roméo in Roméo et Juliette with Washington National Opera alongside Rosa Feola,[13] The Prince in Christof Loy's production of Rusalka at Les Arts Valencia,[14] and Don José in Carmen at the Royal Opera House.[15] In addition, Smith performed Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly at San Diego Opera, and at the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence.[16]

Smith began his 2024/25 season with his role debut as Radamès in Aida at Opéra de Rouen,[17] which was broadcast live across France.

Over the course of his career, Smith has collaborated with conductors and directors such as Calixto Bieito, Christof Loy, Andrea Breth, Mariame Clément, Alexander Joel, Daniel Kramer, Emmanuel Villaume, Daniele Rustioni, Sir Jonathan Miller, Tomaš Netopil, Giacomo Sagripanti, and Alberto Zedda.[18]

Roles

Bizet:

Dvořák

Gounod:

Janáček:

Mascagni:

Offenbach:

Puccini:

Verdi:

Wagner:

Awards

  • 2015: Ferruccio Tagliavini International Singing Competition, "The Best Tenor", First Prize, Audience Prize, Critics’ Prize [6]
  • 2015: Ada Sari International Singing Competition, Third Prize
  • 2016: International Moniuszko Vocal Competition, Finalist

References

  1. ^ Staff, Operawire (2023-06-05). "Q & A: English Tenor Adam Smith on Finding & Following His Own Voice". OperaWire. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  2. ^ "Adam Smith - Opera Ballet Vlaanderen". Opera Ballet Vlaanderen - Discover our programme (in Dutch). Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  3. ^ "Adam Smith". English National Opera. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  4. ^ Salazar, David (2023-02-10). "Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo to Showcase 'Tosca'". OperaWire. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  5. ^ Callahan, Steve. "Review: CARMEN at Opera Theatre Of Saint Louis". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  6. ^ a b "Interview Adam Smith: Each artist has to decide what they are there for, on the stage". Operaversum (in German). Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  7. ^ Willson, Flora (2022-08-01). "Prom 19: Hallé/Elder review – programme full of drama gleams but doesn't quite spark". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  8. ^ "ENO's new Tosca has conceptual flaws, but delivers on the music". bachtrack.com. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  9. ^ "Der fliegende holländer | L'olandese volante - Stagione Opera 2023 - TCBO". Teatro Comunale di Bologna (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  10. ^ "A l'Opéra de Lyon, une « Katia Kabanova » féministe" (in French). 2023-05-05. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  11. ^ "Madame Butterfly". Cincinnati Opera. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  12. ^ "Cavalleria rusticana | Pagliacci". Lyric Opera of Kansas City. 2023-05-22. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  13. ^ "WNO Presents Romeo and Juliet | Kennedy Center". The Kennedy Center. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  14. ^ Martínez, Alejandro (2024-02-13). "Cornelius Meister dirige 'Rusalka' en Les Arts, en la propuesta escénica de Christof Loy". Platea Magazine (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  15. ^ "Adam Smith : « Je crois que Pinkerton est vraiment amoureux »". Forum Opéra (in French). 2024-07-04. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  16. ^ "Sobre Butterfly au Festival d'Aix-en-Provence - Actualités - Ôlyrix". www.olyrix.com. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  17. ^ "aida opera de rouen - Google Search". www.google.com. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
  18. ^ https://gmartandmusic.com/vocalists/adam-smith/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)