Greer Grimsley (born May 30, 1956) is an American bass-baritone who has had an active international

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

career for the last three decades. He has sung leading roles with all of America's leading opera companies, including the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is oper ...

, the

Lyric Opera of Chicago Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1954, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicola Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria ...

, the

Seattle Opera Seattle Opera is an opera company based in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1963 by Glynn Ross, who served as its first general director until 1983. The company's season runs from August through late May, comprising five or six operas of ...

, the

San Francisco Opera San Francisco Opera (SFO) is an American opera company founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola (1881–1953) based in San Francisco, California. History Gaetano Merola (1923–1953) Merola's road to prominence in the Bay Area began in 1906 when h ...

, the

Gran Teatre del Liceu Gran may refer to: People *Grandmother, affectionately known as "gran" * Gran (name) Places * Gran, the historical German name for Esztergom, a city and the primatial metropolitan see of Hungary * Gran, Norway, a municipality in Innlandet cou ...

of Barcelona, and the Houston Grand Opera. He has also performed on the stages of many important European

opera house An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets. While some venues are constructed specifically fo ...

s. Since 1987 he has been married to mezzo-soprano Luretta Bybee. From January 1983 to December 1985, he was married to the former Virginia Hancock. The couple married and divorced in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

Life and career

Born in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, Grimsley is a graduate of

Brother Martin High School Brother Martin High School is a private, Catholic, all-male college preparatory school run by the United States Province of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was established by the brothers in 1869 as St. Aloysius Col ...

. He studied voice at Loyola University New Orleans and at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. He made his professional opera debut in 1980 at the Houston Grand Opera as one of the Armed Men in

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

's ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a '' Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that in ...

''. Grimsley first drew wide attention in the mid 1980s when he portrayed Escamillo in the acclaimed international tour of the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

winning adaptation of Georges Bizet's '' Carmen'', ''La Tragédie de Carmen''. The production was directed by

Peter Brook Peter Stephen Paul Brook (21 March 1925 – 2 July 2022) was an English theatre and film director. He worked first in England, from 1945 at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, from 1947 at the Royal Opera House, and from 1962 for the Royal Sha ...

. This was soon followed by his first portrayal of Jochanaan in Richard Strauss's '' Salome'' at the

Scottish Opera Scottish Opera is the national opera company of Scotland, and one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Founded in 1962 and based in Glasgow, it is the largest performing arts organisation in Scotland. History Scottish ...

in 1988; a role with which he is now closely associated. His website, www.greergrimsley.com, says: "Grimsley is internationally recognized as an outstanding singing actor and one of the most prominent Wagnerian singers of our day. Continuing his reign as a leading interpreter of the god Wotan, he sang the eminent role for the Metropolitan Opera’s Ring Cycle in Robert Lepage’s landmark production, directly followed by Stephen Wadsworth’s production for Seattle Opera, his 3rd complete Cycle for the company in the last decade. The Huffington Post exclaimed: 'Grimsley commanded the stage in ‘Das Rheingold’ and ‘Die Walkure’ with his wide-ranging and handsome voice, and equally so in ‘Siegfried.’ He was fresh and powerful in all that he did. He sings…well…like a god... The world has waited for a very long time for a Wotan who can sing without barking or rasping, and he has arrived.' "

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grimsley, Greer 1956 births Living people American operatic bass-baritones Juilliard School alumni Brother Martin High School alumni Loyola University New Orleans alumni Singers from Louisiana Musicians from New Orleans 20th-century American male opera singers 21st-century American male opera singers Classical musicians from Louisiana