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The American tenor, voice teacher and stage director, Steven Tharp, obtained both his Bachelor of Music degree in Voice Performance (1976-1980), and his Master of Music degree in Voice (1980-1982) from Wichita State University in Kansas.
Steven Tharp began his career as opera singer, concert soloist and recitalist in 1987. Career highlights: 1987: Winner, Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Avery Fisher Hall debut (W.A. Mozart: Mass in C minor); 1988: Carnegie Hall debut (George Frideric Handel: Messiah); 1990: New York City Opera debut (The Mikado); 1991: European Debut, Badisches Staatstheater, Karlsruhe (Barbiere di Siviglia); 1994: Chicago Symphony Orchestra debut (Die Meistersinger), Cleveland Orchestra debut (Alban Berg: Wozzeck); 1997: Stage Directing debut, Manhattan School of Music Handel Project. (G.F. Handel: Alcina); 2002: Debut, Metropolitan Opera. (Prokofiev: War and Peace); 2006: Debut, Philadelphia Orchestra (L.v. Beethoven: Symphony No. 9); 2009: South American debut (recital, Buenos Aires); 2010: Debut, Boston Symphony Orchestra (Felix Mendelssohn: Elijah).
Steven Tharp has appeared in concert with orchestras worldwide, including the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, American Bach Soloists, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Colorado Symphony, Houston Symphony Orchestra, Music of the Baroque, Chicago, Philadelphia Orchestra, Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Mexico. His concert repertoire extends from Monteverdi to John Musto, includes the masterpieces of the 18th and 19th century - the J.S. Bach passions, the masses of W.A. Mozart, L.v. Beethoven, and Schubert, the oratorios of G.F. Handel, Haydn, and F. Mendelssohn - and extends to Edward Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius, Arnold Schoenberg’s Gurre-Lieder, Verdi’s Requiem, and Benjamin Britten's War Requiem.
Opera credits in the USA include performances with the Metropolitan Opera, Bel Canto at Caramoor, Dallas Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Opera Memphis, Minnesota Opera, New York City Opera, Opera Omaha, Seattle Opera, and Skylight Opera. Internationally he has appeared with de Nederlandse Opera, the Nationale Reisopera (Netherlands), Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, and Teatro Massimo (Palermo). In addition to the major tenor parts of W.A. Mozart and G.F. Handel, his more than 60 operatic roles include Jaquino in L.v. Beethoven's Fidelio, Nemorino in L’Elisir d’Amore, David in Die Meistersinger, and Lysander in B. Britten's Midsummer Night’s Dream. His his keen interest in 18th and early 19th century opera has led to roles in Gluck’s Les Pèlerins de la Mecque, Haydn’s L’Isola Disabitata and L’Infedeltà Delusa, Alessandro Scarlatti’s Gli Equivoci nel Sembiante, Conti’s Don Quixote in Sierra Morena, Gassmann’s L’Opera Seria, Grétry’s Zémire et Azor and Schubert’s Alfonso und Estrella.
Recitals have also been a constant and important feature of Steven Tharp’s career. At the New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art he collaborated with Will Crutchfield in two series, The World of Schubert’s Songs and The World of Heinrich Heine. He has also appeared in recital at the 92nd Street Y, Carnegie’s Weill Hall, the Bard Festival, Caramoor, Newport Chamber Music Festival, Carmel Bach Festival, the New York Festival of Song and venues in Europe, Japan and South America.
Steven Tharp has been praised by Opera News for the "bel canto flexibility and sweetness" of his voice, while the New Yorker has described his voice as “strong, free, and forward in tone, verbally sure, lyrical in utterance.” In the 2017-2018 season he sang as soloist in G.F. Handel's Foundling Hospital Anthem with the Grand Rapids Symphony and in Haydn’s The Creation with the Wichita Symphony Orchestra. Recently he sang B. Britten's War Requiem with the Winnipeg Symphony, Verdi’s Requiem under the auspices of the Defiant Requiem Foundation in New York and Oklahoma City, and L.v. Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Wyoming Symphony.
Steven Tharp has recorded for Decca, Delos, Newport, Albany and Naxos. His world-premiere recording of the complete songs of Edward MacDowell, accompanied by the late James Barbagallo, earned a Grammy Award nomination, and his recording of Frank Martin’s Le Vin Herbé was an “Editor’s Choice” in Opera News. Albany released his recording of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ On Wenlock Edge with the Ciompi Quartet, and he can be heard on a Delos release of G.F. Handel’s Messiah with the American Bach Soloists (Director: Jeffrey Thomas). His live recording of Schubert’s Schwanengesang, with the Dutch pianist Jan-Paul Grijpink, was released in 2011, and an album of Gabriel Fauré songs with Rachelle Jonck accompanying was recently released..
In recent seasons, Steven Tharp has added stage direction to his accomplishments, with productions for the Manhattan School of Music’s G.F. Handel Project (Alcina, Ariodante) and for Caramoor (W.A. Mozart's Così Fan Tutte, H.M.S. Pinafore, Pauline Viardot’s Cendrillon, and Donizetti’s Linda di Chamounix). Since September 1998, he is also active as a private voice teacher for opera and musical theater. He serves as Associate Professor of Voice at he University of Missouri: School of Music. He currently lives in Columbia, Missouri. |
