Eric Fennell
Tenor
Lyric tenor Eric Fennell has firmly established himself as a young professional in the world of opera and classical music. Born into a musical family, his father, a conductor, and mother, a pianist instilled in him a strong sense of musicality at an early age. Standing at 6' 3", he's known for his dominant stage presence and sympathetic acting which the Boston Globe has described as "touchingly vulnerable and his sweet lyric tenor is not only capable of great nuance but ready and able to trumpet out thrilling high notes." A Metropolitan Opera National Counsel regional finalist and prize winner in the Licia Albanese Competition, Mr. Fennell's versatile tenor voice has allowed him to perform leading roles with some of North America's top companies. He is most closely associated with New York City Opera where he has sung six seasons and 13 roles. Operatic highlights include Rodolfo in La Bohème with New York City Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Lake George Opera Festival, Pensacola Opera, and Baz Luhrman's La Bohème on Broadway; Alfredo in La Traviata with New York City Opera, Green Mountain Opera Festival, and Annapolis Opera; Tamino in Die Zauberflöte for Sarasota Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, and Wichita Grand Opera; Roméo in Roméo et Juliette for Toledo Opera and Opera North (USA); The Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto for Granite State Opera, Chattanooga Opera, and the Spokane Symphony; Don José in Carmen for Arizona Opera; Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly for Austin Lyric Opera and Lake George Opera; Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor for Des Moines Metro Opera and Granite State Opera; Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi for the Macau International Music Festival (China); Nadir in The Pearl Fishers for Madison Opera; and Gerald in Lakmé for Sarasota Opera. Mr. Fennell has also sung with San Francisco Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Seattle Opera, Washington Concert Opera, Tulsa Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Central City Opera, and the Spoleto Festival USA.
A distinguished concert performer, Eric Fennell has the performed the tenor solos in Beethoven's 9th Symphony for National Chorale at Avery Fisher Hall, Tokyo City Orchestra (Japan), Buffalo Philharmonic Symphony, Virginia Symphony, and Allentown Symphony; Verdi's Requiem for the Latvian National Symphony, The Paul Hill Chorale in Washington, D.C. and in concert and recording with the Smith College Orchestra; Händel's Messiah for National Chorale at Avery Fisher Hall, Virginia Symphony, Allentown Symphony, and Tucson Symphony; Mozart's Requiem for the New Haven Symphony, Dartmouth Glee Club, and National Chorale at Avery Fisher Hall; Puccini's Messa di Gloria with the Eugene Concert Choir; and William Maselli's JFK Requiem at Carnegie Hall.
In 2008/2009, Eric Fennell sang Sam in Street Scene for Chautauqua Opera (August 2008) before creating the role of Tony in the world premiere of Paul Salerni's Tony Caruso's Final Broadcast also in recording for the Naxos label. He made his Dallas Opera debut as the title character in Roberto Devereux in January 2009 and his China debut as Rinuccio in Il Trittico for The Macau International Music Festival. Mr. Fennell returned to Opera Roanoke for Fenton in Falstaff (October 2008) and Chattanooga Opera for Rodolfo in La Bohème (February 2009). In May 2009 he traveled to Latvia to sing Verdi's Requiem with the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, followed by Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly (July 2009) for Lake George Opera.
The 2009/2010 began with Mr. Fennell making his debut with Deutsche Oper am Rhein (Düsseldorf) singing Camille in Die Lustige Witwe (December 2009 - March 2010) before singing Lucas Wardlaw in Carlisle Floyd's The Passion of Jonathan Wade for Salzburger Landestheater (May/June 2010) and The Duke in Rigoletto for Nickel City Opera (June 2010).
2010/2011 begins with Mr. Fennell singing Fenton in Falstaff for Festival de Opera de Tenerife (September 2010), Rodolfo in La Bohème for Edmonton Opera (October 2010), and Symon in Der Bettelstudent for Mecklinburgisches Staatstheater Schwerin (January - May 2011).
Originally from Allentown, PA, he received a BA in music from Gettysburg College and a Masters in Voice and Artist Diploma from Boston University where he was a member of the Opera Institute. Eric now lives in Berlin, Germany, but remains a proud student of Arthur Levy.