Greer Grimsley

American Bass-Baritone, Greer Grimsley, is internationally recognized as an outstanding singing actor and one of the leading interpreters of the Wagnerian repertoire. Commenting on Seattle Opera’s recent Der Ring des Nibelungen, the Seattle Times said, “Grimsley’s big, resplendent voice is the right size and color for this vital role; as Wotan, he sounds like a singer who has found his true home. He’s an adept actor, too, never overplaying his hand and relating to the rest of the cast with unflagging intensity.” Grimsley made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Captain Balstrode in Peter Grimes, and subsequently performed Escamillo in Carmen, Jokanaan in Salome, Scarpia in Tosca, Telramund in Lohengrin and Amfortas in Parsifal. He first came to international attention as Escamillo in the Peter Brook production of La tragédie de Carmen, which he has sung in venues around the world, including his Italian debuts at the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto and the Teatro Comunale di Bologna.

In the fall 2008, Grimsley performed Don Pizzarro in Fidelio with Opera Company of Philadelphia, Portland Opera, and at the Portuguese National Opera São Carlos. In the spring of 2009 he performed Scarpia in Tosca with San Diego Opera; Kurwenal in Tristan und Isolde at Lyric Opera of Chicago; Jokanaan in Salome at the Vancouver Opera; Wotan in Das Rheingold in concert with the Indianapolis Symphony; and Wotan in Der Ring des Nibelungen with the Seattle Opera. In the 2009-2010 Season, he performs Jokanaan in Salome at the San Francisco Opera and Arizona Opera; Scarpia in Tosca with L’opera de Montreal and Opera Colorado; the title role of Macbeth with Opera Lyra Ottawa; Iago in Otello at the Cincinnati Opera; Kurwenal in Tristan und Isolde with Seattle Opera; and Wotan in Der Ring des Nibelungen with Oper der Stadt Koeln and on tour in Shanghai.

Engagements from the 2007-2008 Season included Amonasro in Aida with Portland Opera; Scarpia in Tosca and the title role in The Flying Dutchman with the Seattle Opera; Mephistopheles in Faust with New Orleans Opera; and Don Pizzarro in Fidelio with the Saint Louis Symphony. The 2006-2007 Season included the title role in Macbeth with Vancouver Opera; the title role in The Flying Dutchman in Lithuania; High Priest in Samson et Dalila with San Diego Opera; Claggart in Billy Budd with Pittsburgh Opera; and Wotan in Siegfried in Venice. Additional recent engagements include Jokanaan in Salome with Michigan Opera Theatre and Santa Fe Opera; Jack Rance in Girl of the Golden West and Telramund in Lohengrin with Seattle Opera; Scarpia in Tosca and title role in The Flying Dutchman with Pittsburgh Opera; the title role in Bluebeard’s Castle with Montreal Opera; his debut as Wotan in Stephen Wadsworth’s Der Ring des Nibelungen with Seattle Opera in Summer 2005; Scarpia in Tosca with Portland Opera; and Wotan in Die Walküre in Venice. In concert, he recently performed Verdi’s Requiem with the Atlanta Symphony at Carnegie Hall and Scarpia in Tosca with Deborah Voigt and the Minnesota Orchestra.

Previous European engagements have included the title role in The Flying Dutchman at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna under Maestro Gatti’s baton; Telramund in Lohengrin, and Mandryka in Arabella with the Royal Danish Opera; Kurwenal in Tristan und Isolde with the Prague National Theatre, the Royal Danish Opera, and the Opera de Bellas Artes in Mexico; the title role in The Flying Dutchman in Nancy, France; Mephistopheles in Faust in Oviedo, Spain; Jokanaan in Salome with the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Aarhus-Den Jyske Opera in Denmark, the Scottish Opera, and the Opera de Bellas Artes in Mexico; Don Pizarro in Fidelio with the Scottish Opera; the title role in Don Giovanni and Scarpia in Tosca with the Stadttheater Basel in Switzerland; the Villains in Tales of Hoffmann with New Israeli Opera; and Amonasro in Aïda with Opera de Caracas in Venezuela.

Mr. Grimsley has performed Escamillo in Carmen with the Seattle Opera, Baltimore Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Vancouver Opera, Edmonton Opera, Saint Louis Symphony, Teatro Real, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Scottish Opera, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and at the Bergenz Festival in Austria. He created the role of Canyka in the world premiere of Ashoka’s Dream with Santa Fe Opera and performed Count de Luna in the American premiere of Verdi’s French-language version of Il trovatore, Le Trouvère. He has also performed at the Wexford Festival in Ireland as Richard Lionheart in Marschner’s Der Templer und Die Juden. Mr. Grimsley made his New York Philharmonic debut as Don Pizzaro in Fidelio with conductor Kurt Masur at the inaugural season of the Lincoln Center Festival.