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The American lyric tenor, Alek Shrader, was a winner of the 2007 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and was the recipient of a Sarah Tucker grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation. He is also an alumna of the San Francisco Opera’s prestigious Adler Fellowship Program.
Alek Shrader made his professional debut as Almaviva at the Opera Theater of St. Louis, where he had spent the previous two summers as a young artist. He has appeared in Rossini’s Il Signor Bruschino with the Gotham Chamber Opera, in William Bolcom’s A Wedding at the Music Academy of the West, and participated in Renata Scotto’s Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Opera Studio. His roles in previous seasons have included the title role in Le Comte Ory, Fenton in Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor, Tony in West Side Story, and Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola.
American tenor Alek Shrader has developed an outstanding reputation both for his beautiful lyric vocalism and his expressive characterizations. He has appeared with many of the world’s most prestigious opera companies including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Seattle Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Dallas Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Minnesota Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Pittsburgh Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Canadian Opera Company, Opera de Oviedo, Bayersische Staatsoper, Hamburgische Staatsoper, Opera de Lille, Opera National de Bordeaux, Theatre du Capitole de Toulouse, and the Salzburg and Glyndebourne festivals. His many roles include Alfredo in La Traviata, Count Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Lindoro in L’Italiana in Algeri, Tamino in W.A. Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Ferrando in W.A. Mozart's Così fan tutte, Belmonte in W.A. Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Nemorino in L’Elisir d’Amore, Tonio in La Fille du Regiment, Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola, Ernesto in Don Pasquale, Oronte in G.F. Handel's Alcina, Jupiter & Apollo in G.F. Handel's Semele, Emilio in G.F. Handel's Partenope, David in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Camille in The Merry Widow, Tom Rakewell in Igor Stravinsky's The Rake’s Progress, the title roles in Leonard Bernstein's Candide and Benjamin Britten's Albert Herring, Tony in L. Bernstein's West Side Story, and Ferdinand in Ades‘ The Tempest.
As a concert singer, Alek Shrader has appeared with the Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. Also an avid recitalist, he has been presented by Carnegie Hall, San Francisco Performances, the Broad Stage in Santa Monica, California, Oberlin College, and at the Wigmore Hall in London.
Alek Shrader, a former Adler Fellow with the San Francisco Opera, made a spectacular mainstage debut in the San Francisco 2008-2009 season, replacing an indisposed Ramon Vargas as Nemorino in two performances of L’elisir d’amore. Additional performances with the San Francisco Opera have included Korngold’s Die tote Stadt, the role of Arbace in W.A. Mozart's Idomeneo, and Nemorino in student performances. Other opera highlights have included Almaviva at Opera Cleveland and W.A. Mozart's Il re pastore with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. He was also a featured soloist in the 2009 Metropolitan Opera Concert in the Park series. Highly acclaimed by the San Francisco press as a recitalist who is “natural and effortless, so different from just about everybody else”, Alek Shrader was featured in two “On Wings of Song” recitals in the spring of the 2009-2010 season; at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara and also at Santa Monica College for the Performing Arts (Broad Stage), both sponsored by The Marilyn Horne Foundation. Concert appearances this season included G.F. Handel's Messiah with the Cleveland Orchestra and W.A. Mozart's Requiem with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra.
Highlights of the 2010-2011 season included the title role in L. Bernstein's Candide in concert performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Egeo in Medea in Corinto, Belmonte in Die Entfuehrung aus dem Serail, and Tamino in Die Zauberflöte at the Bavarian State Opera. On the concert stage, he gave a recital in Santiago, Spain, and made his Wigmore Hall Recital debut with pianist Roger Vignoles. Alek Shrader also appeared as Lindoro in L’italiana in Algeri with Opéra National de Bordeaux and as Almaviva with Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse. He closed the season at the Salzburg Festival, where he debuted as Ferrando in Così fan Tutte. Alek Shrader opened the 2011-2012 season as Tom Rakewell with Opæera de Lille, followed by Don Ramiro at the Hamburg Opera. He sang Tamino in Lyric Opera of Chicago’s production of Die Zauberflöte, and the title role in B. Britten's Albert Herring with the Los Angeles Opera. He appeared as Oronte in David Alden’s highly-acclaimed new production of G.F. Handel's Alcina at the Opéra National de Bordeaux and returned to San Francisco Opera for Tamino. He closed the season as Gonzalve in Ravel’s L’heure espagnole at the Glyndebourne Festival.
In 2012-2013 season, Alek Shrader made his Metropolitan Opera debut in Adès’ “modern masterpiece”, I conducted by the composer himself, and returned to sing Almaviva in the English version of The Barber of Seville. He sang Don Ramiro at the Hamburgische Staatsoper and then returned to the USA for a North American recital tour, including San Francisco performances, Oberlin University, and his Carnegie Weill Hall debut. Baltimore audiences had the opportunity to hear him in a gala performance of bel canto arias and ensembles in the spring. Later in the season, he was featured in an opera gala, sponsored by the San Antonio Opera. He closed the season with the tenor solo in the W.A. Mozart's Requiem at the Cincinnati May Festival with James Conlon conducting, followed by his role debut as Ernesto in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale at the Glyndebourne Festival. Alek Shrader began the 2013-2014 season singing Almaviva with the San Francisco Opera, followed by reprises of the role at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and Dallas Opera. The season also included engagements as Tamino in Die Zauberflöte at the Metropolitan Opera and Ernesto in Don Pasquale at Santa Fe Opera. He was also heard as Ferdinand in Thomas Adès’ The Tempest for his San Francisco Symphony Orchestra debut in the fall and as Ferrando in the Christopher Alden/Gustavo Dudamel Così fan tutte with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra at Disney Hall.
After that, Alek Shrader performed the role of Emilio in G.F. Handel's Partenope at the San Francisco Operfollowed by a return to the Metropolitan Opera for Camille in a new production of Lehár’s The Merry Widow. Other engagements included Jupiter and Apollo in G.F. Handel's Semele with the Seattle Opera, singing one of his signature roles, Count Almaviva at the Canadian Opera Company, and a return to Santa Fe Opera for Donizetti’s La fille du régiment. In concert, he sang the title role in Candide with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Alek Shrader’s 2015-2016 season began with performances of Alfredo in La traviata with Opera Philadelphia, followed by a return to the San Francisco Opera to sing David in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Later in the season he sang Count Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia at Baltimore Lyric Opera and Tom Rakewell in The Rake’s Progress with the Pittsburgh Opera.
Alek Shrader continues to impress audiences with the “luxury of his phrasing, the clarity of his diction and the sensitivity and expressiveness of his characterizations”. He made several debuts in the 2016-2017 season, including at Wigmore Hall in a recital with pianist Roger Vignoles, with Opera de Oviedo in Spain performing Ferrando in Così fan tutte, and with the Minnesota Opera as Endimione in a production of Vicente Martín y Soler’s Diana’s Garden. He then returned to the Arizona Opera for performances of Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola and to the Santa Fe Opera to sing Oronte in G.F. Handel's Alcina conducted by Harry Bicket (July-August 2017). Future projects include returns to San Francisco Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Seattle Opera, and Opera de Oviedo.
Alek Shrader has recently ventured into the world of stage directing, making his directorial debut with a production of Dido & Aeneas as part of the Green-wood Cemetery’s acclaimed performance series “Concerts in the Catacombs”. He also co-wrote and co-directed Mercy, a film based on W.A. Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito which will be released by the Curtis Institute of Music in the fall of 2021.
In 2020-2021 season, Alek Shrader appeared on tour in the USA with The English Concert and returned to the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis for Harvey Milk. During the season, he Shrader was a member of the Atlanta Opera’s Company players where he will be appear in various opera productions, concerts, and educational outreach events. |
