Michael Fabiano (born 8 May 1984) is an American operatic

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

. Born in

Montclair, New Jersey Montclair () is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a wealthy and diverse commuter town and suburb of New York City within the New York metropolitan area. ...

, he has performed in leading opera houses throughout the world, including 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 ...

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 ...

, Paris Opera, Sydney Opera, Teatro alla Scala,

Canadian Opera Company The Canadian Opera Company (COC) is an opera company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest opera company in Canada and one of the largest producers of opera in North America. The COC performs in its own opera house, the Four Seasons Cent ...

The Royal Opera The Royal Opera is a British opera company based in central London, resident at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. Along with the English National Opera, it is one of the two principal opera companies in London. Founded in 1946 as the Cove ...

, and Teatro Real de Madrid among many others. Fabiano is the 2014

Richard Tucker Award The Richard Tucker Music Foundation, founded in 1975, carries the name of Richard Tucker. The foundation is a "non-profit cultural organization dedicated to perpetuating the artistic legacy of the great American tenor through the support and advan ...

winner and the 2014 Beverly Sills Artist Award winner, making him the first singer to win both awards in the same year.

Early years

Fabiano was a champion high school debater for Benilde-St. Margaret's high school in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. Fabiano was also a baseball umpire from the ages of 14 to 24. After briefly considering a career in business, Fabiano decided to study vocal performance at

The University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. He graduated in just three years from the

University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance The University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance is an undergraduate and graduate institution for the performing arts in the United States. It is part of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. The school was founded by Calvin Brainerd ...

in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in Vocal Performance. During his time there, he studied under tenor

George Shirley George Irving Shirley (born April 18, 1934) is an American operatic tenor, and was the first African-American tenor to perform a leading role at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Early life Shirley was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and r ...

, and performed several roles with the University Opera Theatre, including Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi and Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni. He also studied extensively with soprano Julia Faulkner, with whom he still studies today. In the summer following graduation, he was an apprentice with the

Santa Fe Opera Santa Fe Opera (SFO) is an American opera company, located north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. After creating the ''Opera Association of New Mexico'' in 1956, its founding director, John Crosby, oversaw the building of the first opera house on a newl ...

, and in the autumn of that year he began his studies at the

Academy of Vocal Arts The Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA) is a school dedicated to providing higher education to aspiring opera singers. It is the only tuition-free institution in the world devoted solely to operatic training and performance. The school was founded in 1934 ...

in Philadelphia, where he studied under Bill Schuman. To date, he collaborates with his coaches and mentors, Laurent Philippe, Gioacchino Li Vigni and Neil Shicoff.

Professional career

Early career

Fabiano made his stage debut in 2007 at the

Klagenfurt Klagenfurt am WörtherseeLandesgesetzblatt 2008 vom 16. Jänner 2008, Stück 1, Nr. 1: ''Gesetz vom 25. Oktober 2007, mit dem die Kärntner Landesverfassung und das Klagenfurter Stadtrecht 1998 geändert werden.'/ref> (; ; sl, Celovec), usually ...

Stadttheater as Alfredo in '' La traviata''. In the same year, he made role debuts of Rinuccio in ''

Gianni Schicchi () is a comic opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano, composed in 1917–18. The libretto is based on an incident mentioned in Dante's ''Divine Comedy''. The work is the third and final part of Pucci ...

'' and the title role of Mavra in Stravinsky's ''

Mavra ''Mavra'' is a one-act comic opera composed by Igor Stravinsky, and one of the earliest works of Stravinsky's neo-classical period. The libretto, by Boris Kochno, is based on Alexander Pushkin's ''The Little House in Kolomna''. Mavra is about ...

'' at the Greek National Opera. 2006 marked Fabiano's concert debut at Carnegie Hall as Don Antonio in ''

Dom Sébastien ''Dom Sébastien, Roi de Portugal'' (''Don Sebastian, King of Portugal'') is a French grand opera in five acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The libretto was written by Eugène Scribe, based on Paul Foucher's play ''Don Sébastien de Portugal'' which pre ...

'' with the

Opera Orchestra of New York The Opera Orchestra of New York (also known as OONY) specializes in the performance of opera in concert form. It is particularly known for its work in presenting rarely performed repertory. Among the numerous American premieres it has presented are ...

and conductor

Eve Queler Eve Queler (born January 11, 1931) is an American conductor and the '' emerita'' Artistic Director of the Opera Orchestra of New York (OONY). She founded the OONY in 1971, after having worked on the staff of the Metropolitan Opera and the New Yo ...

. In the beginning of 2008, Fabiano made his '' La Scala'' debut as Rinuccio in a production conducted by Riccardo Chailly. Debuts with the Philadelphia Orchestra as Rodolfo in ''

La bohème ''La bohème'' (; ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '' quadri'', '' tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giusep ...

'', with the Minnesota Orchestra as Alfredo, and with Opera New Jersey as Alfredo followed. Fabiano has performed at the

Teatro di San Carlo The Real Teatro di San Carlo ("Royal Theatre of Saint Charles"), as originally named by the Bourbon monarchy but today known simply as the Teatro (di) San Carlo, is an opera house in Naples, Italy, connected to the Royal Palace and adjacent ...

in Naples where he was seen as both Pinkerton in '' Madama Butterfly'' and Alfredo in ''La traviata''. Il Duca in ''

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had co ...

'' served as his role and opera house debut at English National Opera. January 2010 brought his debut at the

in New York as Raffaele in ''

Stiffelio ''Stiffelio'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, from an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. The origin of this was the novel ''Le pasteur d’hommes'', by Émile Souvestre, which was published in 1838. This was adapted into the ...

''. Additionally, Fabiano has performed Rodolfo in ''La bohème'' with the Kansas City Lyric Opera, Pinkerton in ''Madama Butterfly'' at

Opera Colorado Opera Colorado is an opera company located in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1981, it presents an annual season of three to four fully staged productions. Its primary performance venue is the Ellie Caulkins Opera House. History The company was founde ...

, and the tenor soloist of Rossini's '' Stabat Mater'' in Spoleto. During the 2010/11 season he made several international debuts, most notably as the duke in ''Rigoletto'' at the Dresden

Semperoper The Semperoper () is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden (Saxon State Opera) and the concert hall of the Staatskapelle Dresden (Saxon State Orchestra). It is also home to the Semperoper Ballett. The building is located on the ...

, Edgardo in ''

Lucia di Lammermoor ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel '' The Bride of Lammermoo ...

'' at the

Vancouver Opera Vancouver Opera is the second largest performing arts organization in British Columbia and the largest opera company in western Canada. Its mainstage performances occur in the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, other venues in Vancouver and occasionally els ...

, Gennaro in '' Lucrezia Borgia'' at the English National Opera in the world's first 3D LIVE Broadcast throughout Europe, and as Rodolfo in ''La bohème'' at the

Deutsche Oper Berlin The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest opera house (after Munich's) and also home to the Berlin State Ballet. Since 2004, the D ...

and . In addition, Fabiano performed in his first

Verdi Requiem The ''Messa da Requiem'' is a musical setting of the Catholic funeral mass ( Requiem) for four soloists, double choir and orchestra by Giuseppe Verdi. It was composed in memory of Alessandro Manzoni, whom Verdi admired. The first performance, at ...

with the Columbus Symphony. The season continued with debuts with the ABAO company in

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

as Edgardo and the

Paris Opéra The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be k ...

as Cassio in Verdi's '' Otello''. Appearances during the 2011/12 season"Calendar: Performances"
on michaelfabianotenor.com began with a debut at the

singing Gennaro in ''Lucrezia Borgia'' opposite soprano

Renée Fleming Renée Lynn Fleming (born February 14, 1959) is an American soprano, known for performances in opera, concerts, recordings, theater, film, and at major public occasions. A recipient of the National Medal of Arts, Fleming has been nominated for ...

. Other debuts in the season included performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic as the Doctor in Shostakovich's newly discovered "Orango", Oper Köln in the Verdi Requiem,

Teatro Real The Teatro Real (Royal Theatre) is an opera house in Madrid, Spain. Located at the Plaza de Oriente, opposite the Royal Palace, and known colloquially as ''El Real'', it is considered the top institution of the performing and musical arts in the ...

as Christian in ''

Cyrano de Bergerac Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th cen ...

'',

Wiener Symphoniker The Vienna Symphony (Vienna Symphony Orchestra, german: Wiener Symphoniker) is an Austrian orchestra based in Vienna. Its primary concert venue is the Vienna Konzerthaus. In Vienna, the orchestra also performs at the Musikverein and at the The ...

in Elgar's ''

Dream of Gerontius ''The Dream of Gerontius'', Op. 38, is a work for voices and orchestra in two parts composed by Edward Elgar in 1900, to text from the poem by John Henry Newman. It relates the journey of a pious man's soul from his deathbed to his judgment b ...

'', in concert with the

Cleveland Orchestra The Cleveland Orchestra, based in Cleveland, is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the " Big Five". Founded in 1918 by the pianist and impresario Adella Prentiss Hughes, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Se ...

, and the

Florida Grand Opera Florida Grand Opera (FGO) is an American opera company based in Miami, Florida. It is the oldest performing arts organization in Florida and the seventh oldest opera company in the United States. FGO was created in 1994 from the consolidation of ...

as the Duke of Mantua in ''Rigoletto''. 2012/13 featured appearances at 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 ...

as Rodolfo in ''La bohème'', at Opera Lyra in the same role, in concert with the

for their annual AIDS gala, in concert with the

Oslo Philharmonic The Oslo Philharmonic (Oslo-Filharmonien) is a Norwegian symphony orchestra based in Oslo, Norway. The orchestra traces its roots to the Philharmonic Society founded in 1847 and the Christiania Musical Association co-founded by Edvard Grieg in 18 ...

in a televised performance of the Verdi Requiem, the Festival Casals in performances of the Verdi Requiem, the San Francisco Symphony in a series of Beethoven evenings featuring "An die ferne geliebte" and the "Missa Solemnis", and a duo of recitals with the "Jewel Series" in Kansas City alongside of pianist, Laurent Philippe and at the

Mondavi Center The Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts venue located on the UC Davis campus in unincorporated Yolo County, California. It is named for arts patron and vineyard operator Robert Mondavi, who donated US$1 ...

with pianist John Churchwell. He appeared as Alfredo in ''La traviata'' during The Santa Fe Opera's summer 2013 festival season.

2013 to 2015

The following season, 2013/14, featured his return to the Paris Opera as Edgardo in ''Lucia di Lammermoor'', a debut at the

as Rodolfo in ''La bohème'', a concert performance of the Verdi Requiem at the San Francisco Opera in the conjunction with Teatro di San Carlo, a Kennedy Center Recital debut with pianist Danielle Orlando, a new production of ''

Die Fledermaus ' (, ''The Flittermouse'' or ''The Bat'', sometimes called ''The Revenge of the Bat'') is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, which premiered in 1874. Background The original li ...

'' as Alfred at the Metropolitan Opera, the title role of Corrado in Verdi's rarely performed ''

Il corsaro ''Il corsaro'' (''The Corsair'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, from a libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on Lord Byron's 1814 poem '' The Corsair''. The first performance was given at the Teatro Grande in Trieste on 25 Octob ...

'' with the Washington Concert Opera, a new production and professional debut as

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...

with the

Netherlands Opera The Dutch National Opera (DNO; formerly De Nederlandse Opera, now De Nationale Opera in Dutch) is a Dutch opera company based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its present home base is the Dutch National Opera & Ballet housed in the Stopera building, a m ...

, and a new production of ''La traviata'' with the

Glyndebourne Festival Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an annual opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England. History Under the supervision of the Christie family, the festival has been held annually since 1934, e ...

. In 2014 Fabiano won both the Beverly Sills Artist Award, presented by the Metropolitan Opera, and the

. In 2014 he sang Rodolfo, in a new production of ''La bohème'' at the San Francisco Opera, a role he also performed at the Metropolitan Opera. He also performed at a concert at

Avery Fisher Hall David Geffen Hall is a concert hall in New York City's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The 2,200-seat auditorium opened in 1962, and is the home of the New York Philharmonic. The facility, desi ...

during which he was presented with the Richard Tucker Award. Fabiano made his company debut with

Opera Australia Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra runs for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder ...

in February 2015 in David McVicar's production of ''Faust''. He replaced an ailing colleague as Edgardo in ''Lucia di Lammermoor at'' the Metropolitan Opera on seven hours' notice, and opened the Glyndebourne Festival 2015, in Donizetti's ''

Poliuto ''Poliuto'' is a three-act ''tragedia lirica'' (or tragic opera) by Gaetano Donizetti from the Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, which was based on Pierre Corneille's play ''Polyeucte'' written in 1641–42. It reflected the life of the e ...

'', in the first professional production of this opera in the UK. Fabiano is the recipient of Australia's Helpmann Award in the "Best Male Performance in an Opera" category, for his portrayal of the title role in Gounod's ''Faust'' with Opera Australia. In the 2015/2016 season, Fabiano debuted two roles at the San Francisco Opera to rave reviews, Rodolfo in Luisa Miller and the title role in Don Carlo. He also sang Rodolfo in ''La bohème'' at Opernhaus Zürich, Lensky at the Royal Opera Covent Garden, and the Duke in Rigoletto with the Paris Opera.

2016 to present

The 2016/2017 season brought his house debut with Houston Grand Opera in the title role of Faust as well as his debut with the Royal Danish Opera in the Verdi Requiem. Additionally, Fabiano performed at the Metropolitan Opera as Rodolfo in ''La bohème'' and Alfredo in ''La traviata'', as well as returned to the San Francisco Symphony for an "all-Italian" program and Washington Concert Opera as John the Baptist in ''

Hérodiade ''Hérodiade'' is an opera in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Paul Milliet and Henri Grémont, based on the novella ''Hérodias'' (1877) by Gustave Flaubert. It was first performed at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels ...

''. In 2017, he also performed a recital tour which took him to seven cities in North America, and made his London recital debut at

Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadi ...

. In the 2017/2018 season, Fabiano performed in ''La bohème'' at both the Royal Opera and the Metropolitan Opera. Additional performances include Des Grieux in Massenet's Manon at both the San Francisco Opera and at ABAO-OLBE, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor at both Opera Australia and the Metropolitan Opera, and a recital for Oper Frankfurt. Fabiano will additionally be making his debut at Los Angeles Opera as the Duke in Rigoletto.

ArtSmart Foundation

Along with John Viscardi, and Liz Letak, Fabiano co-founded ArtSmart in early 2016. ArtSmart is a nonprofit organization that provides free voice lessons to under-served students. The pilot program started in Newark, New Jersey in the autumn of 2016. In 2017, the organization expanded its service offerings to Philadelphia and San Francisco.

Personal life

Fabiano is openly gay. He married New York marketing and branding consultant Bryan McCalister at New York's Metropolitan Opera House on October 28, 2018. They have since divorced. He enjoys piloting small planes on his days off.

Videos

Streaming videos are available at Met Opera on Demand of his performances in the following operas: * Verdi's ''La traviata'' (11 March 2017) * Puccini's ''La bohème'' (24 February 2018) * Massenet's ''Manon'' (26 October 2019)

Awards

*2005: Grand Prize winner of the

Competition *2006: First Prize winner in the

Licia Albanese Licia Albanese (July 22, 1909 – August 15, 2014) was an Italian-born American operatic soprano. Noted especially for her portrayals of the lyric heroines of Verdi and Puccini, Albanese was a leading artist with the Metropolitan Opera from 1940 ...

Puccini Foundation Competition and a grand prize winner (and winner of the special Tenor Prize) in the Julián Gayarre Competition in Pamplona, Spain. *2007: A Grand Prize winner of the

Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions The Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition (formerly the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions) is an annual singing competition sponsored by the Metropolitan Opera. Established in 1954, its purpose is to discover, assist ...

, Fabiano appears in a 2007 feature documentary film, ''The Audition'', which tracked the lives and progress of the winners and participants of the Met's National Council Auditions. *2007: First Prize Winner of the Loren Zachary Competition and a Sarah Tucker Grant Recipient *2008: Winner of the First Prize of the Opera Index Awards *2009: Grand Prize winner from the Gerda Lissner Foundation *2014: The Beverly Sills Artist Award *2014:

Notes

Sources

*Serena Davies
"Michael Fabiano: A new breed of opera star"
''The Telegraph'' (London), 28 February 2015 on telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 1 March 2015

External links

* *http://gmartandmusic.com/artist/michael_fabiano *Spreng, Sebastian
"Tenor Michael Fabiano: 'Opera is my job, my love and passion: I choose music'"
interview with Fabiano on knightarts.org, January 23, 2012 *, from ''La traviata'' (2007) {{DEFAULTSORT:Fabiano, Michael 1984 births People from Montclair, New Jersey American operatic tenors University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumni Academy of Vocal Arts alumni Living people American people of Italian descent Richard Tucker Award winners Helpmann Award winners Winners of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Singers from New Jersey 21st-century American opera singers Classical musicians from New Jersey 21st-century American male opera singers 21st-century American singers American gay musicians 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people