Christian Van Horn
Christian Van Horn (born 1978 in Rockville Centre, New York) is an American operatic bass-baritone and has appeared with many of the world's most prestigious opera companies, including San Francisco Opera, The Metropolitan Opera Lyric Opera of Chicago, Bayerische Staatsoper, Salzburg Festival, Los Angeles Opera, The Grand Théâtre du Genève, and Canadian Opera Company. His roles include the title role in Le nozze di Figaro, the Four Villains in Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Mephistopheles in Faust, Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Banquo in Macbeth, Colline in La Bohème, and Claudio in Aggrippina. Van Horn has also appeared as a concert soloist with the Berlin Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic among others.
Biography
During the 2012/13 season, Van Horn traveled to Perm, Russia, where he recorded the title role in Le nozze di Figaro with conductor Teodor Currentzis for Sony Classical Records (due for release in early 2014). He continued to Amsterdam to make his house and role debuts as Gessler in Rossini's Guillaume Tell with De Nederlandse Opera, followed by another house debut with Dallas Opera as Timur in Turandot. Van Horn continued the season with a significant role debut, singing his first Four Villains in Les Contes d'Hoffmann with San Francisco Opera. “Bass-baritone Christian Van Horn's resonant vocalism and suave, menacing presence animated Lindorf, Coppélius, Dr. Miracle and Dapertutto; the latter's 'Scintille, diamant' yielded an episode of focused brilliance.” (Opera News, August 2013)[1] The summer then saw him back across the ocean with the Gothenburg Symphoniker in Sweden for a concert performance of Ça Ira, written by Roger Waters.
To open the 2013/14 season, Van Horn returned to Canadian Opera Company as Colline in La Bohème. Most recently, he made his Metropolitan Opera debut under the baton of James Levine as Pistola in the Met's new Falstaff which was presented around the globe as part of the HD Broadcast series. Van Horn then sang more performances of Colline in the Met's beloved Zeffirelli production, showcasing his "sturdy voice and commanding presence." (New York Times, January 2014)[2] He rounds out the season with a return to Lyric Opera of Chicago as Publio in La Clemenza di Tito. This production marks Van Horn's tenth outing with the company, having most recently delivered triumphant performances of Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor in 2011. Opera News proclaimed that Van Horn "contributed some of the most beautiful singing of the evening." (December 2011)[3]
Van Horn will spend much of the 2014/15 season with San Francisco Opera where he will be seen in six different productions, including the company's season opening performances of Norma (Oroveso) under Maestro Nicola Luisotti. San Francisco will also hear Van Horn in two role debuts: Alidoro in La Cenrentola and Narbal in Les Troyens, conducted by Donald Runnicles. The remainder of his San Francisco season includes Colline and the world premiere of SFO-commissioned La Chociara by Marco Tutino. Van Horn makes his San Diego Opera debut as Colline in early 2015 and also returns to the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich as Offenbach's Four Villains. The season is completed with concert performances and a recording of composer Joseph Summer's new opera, The Tempest, which Van Horn will headline as Prospero.
In addition to the upcoming release of Sony Classical's Figaro, Van Horn can also be heard on several previously-released commercial recordings. These include Bizet's Carmen with Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic for EMI, a live recording of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra, and the world premiere of David Carlson's Anna Karenina for Signum Classics with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Maestro Stewart Robertson. Van Horn may be seen on DVD in the Salzburg Festival's production of Roméo et Juliette, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin (Deutsche Grammophon) as well as in Christoph Loy's production of Lucrezia Borgia with the Bayerische Staatsoper for Medici Arts.
Other past season highlights have included appearances with the Santa Fe Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Oper Stuttgart, Chicago Opera Theater, and the Seattle Symphony, to name a few. Van Horn studied with Richard Cross (bass-baritone) at Yale University School of Music where he received a Masters Degree in Voice and Opera[4] in 2003. Van Horn was a member of the Ryan Opera Center for two years with Lyric Opera of Chicago and spent two seasons on the ensemble roster of the Bayerische Staatsoper. He is originally from Long Island, New York, and currently makes his home between engagements near Richmond, Virginia. Van Horn is represented by Caroline Woodfield of Opus 3 Artists.
Opera Roles
| 4 Villains, Les Contes d'Hoffmann (Offenbach) | Narbal, Les Troyens, (Berlioz) | |
| Alidoro, Cenerentola (Rossini) | Nourabad, Pearl Fishers (Bizet) | |
| Banco, Macbeth (Verdi) | Oroveso, Norma (Bellini) | |
| Biterolf, Tannhäuser (Wagner) | Publio, La Clemenza di Tito (Mozart) | |
| Claudio, Agrippina (Handel) | Raimondo, Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti) | |
| Colline, La Bohème (Puccini) | Sprecher, Die Zauberflöte (Mozart) | |
| Escamillo, Carmen (Bizet) | Timur, Turandot (Puccini) | |
| Angelotti, Tosca (Puccini) | ||
| Pistola, Falstaff (Verdi) | Figaro, Le nozze di Figaro (Mozart) | |
| Friar, Romeo et Juliette (Gounod) | ||
| Mephistopheles, Faust (Gounod) |
Discography
- Figaro in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro with Conductor Teodor Currentzis and the Musica Aeterna, released 2013, SONY [1]
- Karenin in Carlson's Anna Karenina with Conductor Stewart Robertson and the St Louis Symphony Orchestra, released 2009, Signum Classics[5]
- Zuniga in Bizet's Carmen with Conductor Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic, released 2012, EMI Classics
- Beethoven's 9th Symphony with Conductor Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra, released 2011, Live Recording
- So Many Journeys, Songs of Joseph Summer, released 2009, Albany Records
- Astolfo in Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia with Conductor Bertrand de Billy and Bayerische Staatsoper Orchestra, director Christof Loy, released 2009, EuroArts DVD
- Le Duc in Gounod's Romeo and Juliette with Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg, released 2009, Deutsch Grammaphon
References
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- http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/30/arts/music/30anna.html?scp=2&sq=Christian+van+horn+karenin&st=nyt
- http://query.nytimes.com/search/sitesearch/#/christian+van+horn
- http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2003/04/27/arts/7839486.txt?viewmode=default
- http://www.laphil.com/philpedia/christian-van-horn
- http://sfopera.com/Profile-Bios/Artists/Christian-Van-Horn.aspx
- http://www.operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/2012/3/Departments/Sound_Bites_—%C2%A0Christian_Van_Horn.html
- http://www.metoperafamily.org/uploadedFiles/MetOpera/auditions/national_council_auditions/past_winners/MONC%20Winners%20-%20website.pdf
- http://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/en/news-media/discography/detailview/recording/bizet-carmen/
- http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/16/arts/music/how-to-get-to-spontaneity-practice.html?_r=0
