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 2023-24 season John Tessier returns to Edmonton Opera to sing Don Ottavio in Mozart’s classic Don Giovanni as directed and with a new English libretto by Joel Ivany and he joins Robert Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for the world premiere of the Jonathan Leshnoff oratorio, Sacrifice of Isaac.
Last season John Tessier returned to Manitoba Opera to reprise his acclaimed portrayal of Prince Ramiro in Rossini’s La cenerentola; and with Calgary Opera he gave a role debut as Steve Wozniak in Mason Bates’ The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs. His international concert schedule included performances of Handel’s Messiah with the Victoria Symphony Orchestra, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Mendelssohn Elijah with the Richard Eaton Singers, and Berlioz’ Roméo et Juliette with the Taiwan Philharmonic.
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, Die Fledermaus in a fully-staged production at the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy with Diego Matheuz leading the Saito Kinen Orchestra, 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, Il barbiere di Siviglia with New Zealand Opera, and a role debut as Massenet’s Werther in a new production for Manitoba Opera.
John Tessier gave the world première of Robin de Raaff’s Waiting for Miss Monroe at the Netherlands Opera and has sung Der fliegende Holländer under the baton of Jeffrey Tate at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and Don Giovanni for a South American debut at the Teatro Colón conducted by John Neschling. He also has bowed in The Merry Widow at Vancouver Opera and in Rossini’s comic masterpiece Le comte Ory with Edmonton Opera.
On the concert stage, the tenor has been heard in performances of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with Iván Fischer and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Carnegie Hall, Rossini’s Stabat Mater and Schumann’s Scenes from Goethe’s Faust with the Cleveland Orchestra under the direction of Franz Welser-Möst, Mozart’s Requiem with Hervé Niquet leading the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Mendelssohn’s Elijah both with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and the Charlotte Symphony, and Carmina Burana with Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony. Other concert appearances 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 Berlioz’ Te Deum under the direction of Charles Dutoit at the Philadelphia Orchestra. He has sung 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.
John Tessier’s vibrant 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.
SHORT BIO.
The Juno Award-winning Tenor, John Tessier, has garnered international attention and praise for the beauty and honesty of his voice, for a refined style and artistic versatility, and for his handsome, youthful presence in the lyric tenor repertoire. He has worked with many of the most notable musicians of our day including Plácido Domingo, Lorin Maazel, Emmanuel Haim, Valery Gergiev, Charles Dutoit, Leonard Slatkin, Bryn Terfel, Sir Thomas Allen, Thomas Hampson, Pinchas Zukerman, Itzhak Perlman, Deborah Voigt, Samuel Ramey, Bobby McFerrin, John Nelson, Franz Welser-Möst, Donald Runnicles, Robert Spano, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Dame Gwyneth Jones, Carlos Alvarez and Bernard Labadie. Appearances of the recent past and near future include performances at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Wiener Staatsoper, Carnegie Hall, Teatro Colon, Oper Frankfurt, Grand Théâtre de Genève, English National Opera, Washington National Opera, Seattle Opera, the New York Philharmonic, Wiener Musikverein, National Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Orchestre National de Lyon, Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Equally comfortable in the genres of opera, oratorio and recital, Mr. Tessier is also an award-winning professor at the University of Alberta and is in high demand for coaching, master classes, and private consultations. His discography includes recordings on the Decca, Naxos, Telarc, BIS, Challenge Records and Dorian labels.