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The Australian lyric coloratura tenor, Henry Choo, was raised in the cultural city of Melbourne and originally trained as a pianist, violinist and boy soprano. He studied at Melbourne High School (1991-1994). He achieved an Associate Diploma in Singing under the tutelage of Noel Ancell OAM, and furthered his operatic studies at the Melba Conservatorium and the Australian National Academy of Music, as well as with late French repertoire specialist Susan Falk. Henry is an alumnus of both the Young Artist Program of Opera Queensland and the Moffatt Oxenbould Young Artist Development Program of Opera Australia. He has received multiple Green Room Award nominations, most recently for his portrayal of Robert Leicester in Melbourne Opera's production of Maria Stuarda.
Henry Choo is freelance lyric coloratura tenor since January 2001. He is regarded as one of Australia's finest lyric coloratura tenors with a voice that displays great versatility across a range of styles. He made his career debut in the role of Ernesto in Opera Queensland's production of Don Pasquale, and his principal debut with Opera Australia as the Italian Singer in Der Rosenkavalier. Other roles for Opera Australia have included Nemorino in L'elisir D'amore, Gerald in Lakmé, Nadir in Georges Bizet's Les pêcheurs de perles, Tamino in W.A. Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Don Ottavio in W.A. Mozart's Don Giovanni, Ferrando in W.A. Mozart's Così Fan Tutte, Count Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Lysander in Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Tebaldo in I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Acis in Acis and Galatea, Oronte in George Frideric Handel's Alcina, Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi, Hotel Porter in B. Britten's Death in Venice, Camille du Rossillon in The Merry Widow, The Defendant in Trial By Jury, Faninal Major-Domo in Der Rosenkavalier, Herald in G.F. Handel's Rinaldo, as well as tenor soloist in Ralph Vaughan Williams' The Pilgrim's Progress, W.A. Mozart's Requiem and excerpts from W.A. Mozart's Mitridate re di Ponto.
His roles for other companies include Cassio in Otello, Don Ottavio in W.A. Mozart's Don Giovanni and Nadir in Les pêcheurs de perles for West Australian Opera, Count Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia for State Opera South Australia, Robert Leicester in Maria Stuarda for Melbourne Opera, Ferrando in Così Fan Tutte for Harbour City Opera, Martin in The Tender Land for Lyric Opera of Melbourne, Lord Riccardo Percy in Anna Bolena and Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos for OperaBox, Prince Ramiro in La Cenerentola and Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos for Citiopera, Ralph Rackstraw in HMS Pinafore, Nanki-Poo in The Mikado, Frederick in The Pirates of Penzance, and Gabriel von Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus. Henry Choo has also premiered the roles of Aldo/Nigel Clunes in Bliss at the Edinburgh International Festival for Opera Australia, and the role of Russell in Busking Hugs for OzOpera. He has also appeared as Borsa in Rigoletto for the Macau International Music Festival.
Henry Choo's concert and corporate profile has been impressive and varied. He has performed with Susan Graham (under the baton of Edo de Waart), the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Orchestra Wellington, Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Darwin Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria, Australian Youth Orchestra, The Australia Ensemble, Australian Army Band, Zelman Symphony, Three Australian Tenors, and the Three Chinese Tenors.
Henry Choo has performed at many operatic concert-style events including Opera in the Rainforest, Opera in the Arboretum, Opera in the Vineyard, the launch of Melbourne's Food and Wine Festival, and the opening concert of the Australian International Guitar Festival held in Adelaide where he teamed up with internationally acclaimed guitarists Oliver Fartach-Naini and Lee Song-Ou to present excerpts from Schubert's Der Winterreise.
Henry Choo has also been broadcast on local and international television and radio on numerous occasion, appears in several operatic CD/DVD recordings, and features as a sung voice-over in the P.J. Hogan film Mental, starring Toni Collette.
On a more traditional front, Henry Choo has performed soloist in many oratorio and symphonic works including Gustav Mahler's Symphony No 8, W.A. Mozart's Requiem, G.F. Handel's Messiah, L.v. Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, J.S. Bach's St John Passion (BWV 245), St Matthew Passion (BWV 244) and Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248), and Felix Mendelssohn's Elijah to name but a few. He has performed recitals for various organisations including Opera Australia, National Gallery of Victoria, Opera Society of Victoria, The Australian Robert Stolz Society and The Lieder Society of Victoria.
2014 saw Henry Choo perform the role of Cassio in Otello for West Australian Opera, Martin in The Tender Land for Lyric Opera of Melbourne (for which he received a Green Room Award nomination for Best Male Operatic Lead), Sailor/Shepherd in Tristan Und Isolde for Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, and the premiere performance of An Australian War Requiem by Christopher Bowen OAM in commemoration of the centenary of World War I. It also saw Henry embark upon a concert tour of China, followed by performances of Haydn's Harmony Mass with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Carmina Burana with Orchestra Wellington, and performances of Messiah with Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Choral, and the Collegium Symphonic Chorus in Perth.
2015 saw Henry Choo perform the role of Lord Riccardo Percy in Anna Bolena for OperaBox (Western Australia). This was the first time the opera had been performed in Australia in 140 years. This was followed closely by a premiere performance with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra of The Trillion Souls, by Australian composer Gordon Hamilton. Other engagements included the role of Prince Ramiro in La Cenerentola for CitiOpera, L.v. Beethoven's Choral Fantasy with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, J.S. Bach's Magnificat (BWV 243) with Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, ChorusOz with Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, and J.S. Bach's Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248) with Bach Musica NZ.
Anna Bolena and Ariadne auf Naxos have dominated Henry Choo's operatic performances for 2016, whilst his concert performances have included J.S. Bach's St Matthew Passion (BWV 244) for Melbourne Bach Choir, Opera in the Orchard (Shepparton Arts Festival), and performances with Darwin Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Symphony Or, and Orchestra Wellington. He has recently returned from a successful sojourn with the Radiance of the Seas - Bravo Performing Arts Cruise, where he performed several recitals and concerts to much appreciation of those on board, and didn't get sea-sick! He will soon be off to Wellington for a performance of Messiah to mark his debut performance with New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. This will be followed by Christmas concerts with Royal Melbourne Philharmonia. 2017 looks to be an exciting year for Henry Choo , including performances with the Melbourne and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, though much information about future engagements currently remains under embargo.
Finally, when not performing or learning new music, Henry Choo's other interests include photography (Henry Choo Photography sincer Januasry 2008), massage therapy practice (Massage Therapist at Bright Poet Massage since January 2015), running, and playing violin in an amateur orchestra named Squawkestra. |
