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Simon O’Neill
2006 Laureate
Opera Singer
One of the most gifted and distinguished singers of his generation, Simon O’Neill has rapidly established himself as a tenor in great demand on the international stage, being described as "A magnificent new tenor” by The Telegraph, London. A New Zealander, he is a principal artist with the Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and the Salzburg Festival appearing with many illustrious conductors.
Commencing his post-graduate study Simon received merit scholarships from New York’s Manhattan School of Music and the Juilliard Opera Center accompanied by a Fulbright Award. He also received a Metropolitan Opera Audition Competition Encouragement Award, the 2001 Circle 100 Career Grant; the Tower Opera Award; a Creative New Zealand Professional Development Award; the Sullivan Foundation Award of New York and the United Kingdom Wagner Society Prize. He was the inaugural Young Artist in Residence with Opera New Zealand and grand finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Auditions.
He made his Metropolitan Opera debut as the Gran Sacerdote in Mozart's Idomeneo (with James Levine), his Covent Garden debut as Jenik in Smetana’s The Bartered Bride (with Sir Charles Mackerras) followed by Florestan Fidelio (with Antonio Pappano) and Salzburg Festival in Die Zauberflöte (with Riccardo Muti). Simon toured Japan with the Metropolitan Opera covering Plácido Domingo in the role of Siegmund. Other roles include Mitch in Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire at Theater an der Wien, Rodolfo La Boheme in the New Orleans, Grand Rapids and San Francisco, Don Jose Carmen and Tito La clemenza di Tito at Wolftrap, Chairman Mao in John Adam’s Nixon in China with Minnesota Opera, Dimitri Boris Godunov with New Zealand Opera, Skuratov in Janacek’s From the House of the Dead in New York, Canio Pagliacci in concert with the Auckland Philharmonia, Sam in Floyd’s Susannah at the Wexford Festival, Chevalier de la Force Dialogues of the Carmelites at Juilliard and recorded the role of Lancelot in Chausson’s Le Roi Arthus with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
Most recently (2008) Simon performed he title role of Parsifal at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome conducted by Daniele Gatti and made debuts as Siegmund in Die Walküre at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden with Antonio Pappano and at the Metropolitan Opera with Donald Runnicles, both received to wide critical acclaim. He was described as "the star"..."an exemplary Siegmund, terrific of voice"..." the finest I've heard"..."a towering presence" and "a turbo-charged tenor". In the same month he sang with fellow Laureate Helen Medlyn, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and Jonathan Lemalu in the Sealord Opera in the Park, Nelson, debuted with the Hong Kong Philharmonic and reprised Siegmund in Die Walküre at Opera National du Rhin in Strasbourg.
Upcoming engagements include; BBC Proms debut as soloist for the Glagolitic Mass with Pierre Boulez, the title role of Lohengrin at Covent Garden and his Australian Opera debut as Sergei in Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. Simon will also tour Europe with Daniel Barenboim and the East West Divan Orchestra for performances of Die Walküre. Looking further to the future Simon will perform the title role of Lohengrin and Florestan in Fidelio at Houston Grand Opera, Max in Die Freischütz at Theater an der Wien, Parsifal at Barcelona's Teatro Liceu, the Bayreuth Festival, Boris in Katya Kabanova at Opera de Oviedo and Die Walküre at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and Hamburg State Opera.
On the concert stage Simon performs Caesar in Barber's Antony and Cleopatra with New York City Opera at Carnegie Hall, Ferdinand in Martin's Der Sturm at Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, Mahler's Eighth Symphony in Montreal with Kent Nagano and returns to the Bundaleer Festival in Adelaide.
Simon will also record his debut CD of operatic arias for EMI with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
Simon records for Decca, EMI and Telarc records and appeared on the 1998 New Zealand one-dollar performing arts postage stamp.
He holds degrees from the University of Otago, Victoria University of Wellington, the Manhattan School of Music, and the Juilliard Opera Center. For the past five years Simon has studied Helden-tenor repertoire with the great Wagnerian and Arts Foundation Icon Sir Donald McIntyre.
An impressive list of performance details is available on Simon’s website:
http://www.simononeill.com
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