Stephen Owen
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Bass-baritone Stephen Owen was born in Kunming, China, and grew up in California. After acquiring degrees in philosophy (Wheaton College) and theology (Princeton Theological Seminary), he sang for several years in the United States.He began his international career in 1990 in Salzburg as Gunther in Götterdämmerung. The German repertoire has remained central to his career. He has sung the role of Don Pizarro in Fidelio in ten productions (including Graz, Darmstadt, Klagenfurt, Pisa, Syracuse, Tours and Reims). He has also appeared as Don Fernando in the same opera in Rio de Janeiro and at Carnegie Hall, New York City. He has sung the title role in Der fliegende Holländer in several productions, including Graz, Kassel, Aachen and Rostock. He sang his first Jochanaan in Salome in Las Vegas and repeated the role in Nantes and Graz. His first appearance in Tours was as Kaspar in Der Freischütz. He sang the roles of Kurwenal in Tristan und Isolde, Orest in Elektra, and Peter in Hänsel und Gretel in Graz, and the Herald in Lohengrin in Spoleto, Italy.
Alban Berg's Lulu has played a significant role in Mr. Owen's career. He debuted at Teatro Colòn, Buenos Aires as the Animal Trainer/Athlete. In 2001 he moved up to the leading role of Dr. Schön at Teatro Massimo, Palermo. Additional twentieth-century repertoire has included Bluebeard in Bluebeard's Castle (Graz, Salzburg), Kissinger in Nixon in China (English National Opera), Grandpa Moss in Copland's The Tender Land (BBC Symphony) and Creon/Messenger in Oedipus Rex. In 1999 he sang the principal role of the Teufel in Gerd Kühr's Tod und Teufel, composed for the centenary of the Graz Opera, and in 2004 the role of the Conductor in Battistelli's Prova d'Orchestra in Linz.
Mr. Owen's Italian repertoire includes both bass and baritone roles. He portrayed both Schaunard and Colline in La Bohème in Graz, where he also sang Amonasro, Sharpless, Alfio, Leporello, Sparafucile and Raimondo. His Scarpia in Tosca in Aachen was televised nationally in Germany. His French repertoire includes Escamillo (Graz, Kuala Lumpur) and the Four Villains (Klagenfurt, Aachen).
His 2005 season included two concert productions of Der fliegende Holländer (Rennes and Schloss Neuschwanstein), a return to Palermo as Jochanaan, his first Alberich (Das Rheingold) in Dortmund, and Pizarro in Leonore in Weimar. In 2006 he again sang the Conductor in Prova d'Orchestra, this time in Italian in Antwerp and Ghent, a production documented on a Stradivarius CD.
In September 2005 Mr. Owen began a three-year contract in Kassel, where he has repeated the roles of Kurwenal and the Four Villains and added the roles of Paolo (Simone Boccanegra) and Musiklehrer (Ariadne auf Naxos) to his repertoire. In the 2007-2008 season he will sing the roles of Tod (Kaiser von Atlantis) and Balstrode (Peter Grimes) for the first time.