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Paul Appleby

Admired for his interpretive depth, vocal strength and range of expressivity, rising star tenor Paul Appleby is one of the sought-after voices of his generation. A versatile artist, Appleby is equally in demand on the world’s leading concert, recital, and opera stages.

Following a summer season that introduced Paul Appleby to Glyndebourne in a new production by Barrie Kosky of Händel’s Saul, the tenor’s 2015-2016 season included a return to the Metropolitan Opera stage as Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail conducted by James Levine and a San Francisco Opera debut as Tamino in The Magic Flute.  Concert performances featured collaborations with Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony in Händel Messiah and Mozart’s Coronation Mass, Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic with performances of the Mozart Requiem, and with Jane Glover and the New York Philharmonic in Händel’s Messiah.  Profoundly committed to the art of song, the tenor makes a Wigmore Hall recital debut accompanied by Malcolm Martineau and tours North America with pianist Ken Noda presented in performances by Carnegie Hall, Boston’s Celebrity Series, Friends of Chamber Music of Miami, and the University of Notre Dame.  With Steven Blier, Appleby serves a unique program at the New York Festival of Song offering the exquisite lyricism of Franz Schubert and The Beatles.

Appleby closed his 2014-2015 season “in spectacular form” (The New York Times) as Tom Rakewell in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of The Rake’s Progress (Stravinsky) conducted by James Levine. Earlier in the season, Appleby was seen and heard there as David in Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.

Additional engagements included his role debut as Don Ottavio with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in concert, his San Diego Opera debut in the same role in Don Giovanni, and performances with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center on tour, and with the National Symphony Orchestra in Mendelssohn’s Lobegesang at the Kennedy Center.

Other recent performance highlights include the lead role of Brian in the Metropolitan Opera’s 2013-2014 North American premiere of American composer Nico Muhly’s Two Boys conducted by David Robertson, and Ferrando in Mozart’s Così fan tutte with Oper Frankfurt.  Company debuts included the Santa Fe Opera singing Fritz in Offenbach’s The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, the Canadian Opera Company in Così fan tutte, and Washington National Opera as Tamino in Mozart’s The Magic Flute.  Concert appearances include performances of works by Benjamin Britten as part of Carnegie Hall’s “Britten Discovery Day,” an art song recital with the Voce at Pace recital series in New York City with pianists Ken Noda and Brian Zeger, and a joint recital with baritone Joshua Hopkins and pianist Natalia Katyukova presented by the Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Appleby’s discography includes albums for Delos, Virgin Classics, EMI’s Juilliard Sessions and Nonesuch.  Nico Muhly’s opera, Two Boys, released by Nonesuch was recorded live during the Metropolitan Opera’s 2013 production with conductor David Robertson and mezzo-soprano Alice Coote.  In April 2014, Delos released Dear Theo; the first album dedicated solely to works by American composer Ben Moore features Appleby’s performance of the song cycle from which the album takes its name accompanied by Brian Zeger, as well as the bonus track, Mr. Mooore’s widely performed setting of W.B. Yeats poem, “The Lake Isle of Innisfree.”

Appleby is a graduate of Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program and received the 2012 Leonore Annenberg Fellowship in the Performing and Visual Arts.  Other awards include the 2012 Top Prize by the Gerda Lissner Foundation, 2012 Martin E. Segal Award from Lincoln Center, 2011 Richard Tucker Career Grant and George London Foundation Award, and National Winner of the 2009 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.  A recipient of an Artist Diploma in opera studies at The Juilliard School, he has also received a master’s degree from Juilliard and a bachelor’s degree in English literature and in music from the University of Notre Dame.