LONG BIO. (short Bio Below)
JOHN TESSIER, Tenor
On the international stages of opera, concert, and recital, Canadian John Tessier garners praise and attention for the beauty and honesty of his voice, a refined style and creative versatility, and his handsome presence in the lyric tenor repertoire.
During the 2025-26 season John Tessier returns to Calgary Opera to reprise his acclaimed portrayal of Conte Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia and makes a role debut as Mime at Edmonton Opera in the Jonathan Dove reduction of Wagner’s Siegfried.
Last season John Tessier bowed as Alfred at Edmonton Opera in a new production of Die Fledermaus directed by Artistic Director Joel Ivany and joined Calgary Opera as Ernesto in Don Pasquale directed by Stefania Panighini led by Jacques Lacombe. The tenor also appeared with the Calgary Philharmonic and Music Director Rune Bergmann in a presentation of the Mozart Coronation Mass in C Major, K. 317.
Highlights of past opera seasons include productions of Il barbiere di Siviglia, La fille du Régiment, and I Puritani at the Wiener Staatsoper, a debut at Teatro alla Scala in a new production directed by Sir David McVicar of Cavalli’s La Calisto led by Christophe Rousset, a role debut as Steve Wozniak in Mason Bates’ The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs at Calgary Opera, Die Fledermaus in a fully-staged production at the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy with Diego Matheuz leading the Saito Kinen Orchestra,
Mozart’s classic Don Giovanni as directed and with a new English libretto by Joel Ivany presented by Edmonton Opera, and Cherubini’s Médée at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées conducted by Christophe Rousset in a new production by Krzysztof Warlikowski.
Additional appearances on leading international opera stages include Les pêcheurs de perles and Maria Stuarda led by Carlo Montanaro at Seattle Opera, a new Jonathan Miller production of The Elixir of Love at English National Opera and the New York City Opera, Der fliegende Holländer under the baton of Jeffrey Tate at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Il barbiere di Siviglia with New Zealand Opera, and both a role debut as Massenet’s Werther and his acclaimed portrayal of Prince Ramiro in Rossini’s La cenerentola for Manitoba Opera.
Concert appearances included the world premiere of the Jonathan Leshnoff oratorio, Sacrifice of Isaac with Robert Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra,
Handel’s Messiah with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and with Emmanuelle Haïm and Le Concert d'Astrée on tour in Vienna, Paris, Frankfurt, Cologne, and Milan,
Berlioz’ Roméo et Juliette with the Taiwan Philharmonic and Te Deum under the direction of Charles Dutoit at the Philadelphia Orchestra, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with Iván Fischer and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Carnegie Hall, Mozart’s Requiem with Hervé Niquet leading the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and Carmina Burana with Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony. Additional highlights of past seasons feature Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Paavo Järvi and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Haydn’s “Mass in the Time of War” with Bernard Labadie and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, and Rossini’s Stabat Mater and Schumann’s Scenes from Goethe’s Faust with the Cleveland Orchestra under the direction of Franz Welser-Möst.
John Tessier’s extensive recording catalogue includes Mozart’s Requiem both with Sir Donald Runnicles and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and with Bernard Labadie and Les Violons du Roy, John Corigliano’s A Dylan Thomas Trilogy with Leonard Slatkin and the Nashville Symphony, Stephen Paulus’ To Be Certain of the Dawn with Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein’s A Quiet Place with Kent Nagano and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and Haydn’s The Creation with Dame Jane Glover leading Music of the Baroque.