Brett Polegato
Encyclopedia
Brett Polegato is an opera
tic baritone
. In 1999 he made his Lyric Opera of Chicago
debut as Peter Niles in Levy's Mourning Becomes Electra
followed by his La Scala
debut in 2000 as Ned Keene in Britten's Peter Grimes
. He is particularly known for his interpretation of the title role in Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande
which he has performed with many companies including the Bavarian State Opera
, Opéra National de Paris, Oper Leipzig
, and Opéra National du Rhin
among others. Other European appearances include Ubalde in Gluck's Armide
at Opéra de Nice
, the title role in Monteverdi's Orfeo
at Opéra d'Avignon, and Frère Lèon in Messaien's Saint François d'Assise at Opéra National de Paris. He has sung numerous roles with Flanders Opera, including Guglielmo in Mozart's Così fan tutte
, Albert in Massenet's Werther
, and the Steward in Jonathan Dove
's Flight
. In his native Canada, Polegato has sung Papageno in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Figaro in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia, and Zurga in Bizet's Les pêcheurs de perles
with Vancouver Opera
. In the United States, he has sung with New York City Opera
, Houston Grand Opera
, and Michigan Opera Theatre
as well as making many concert appearances and recordings with American orchestras. He made his Seattle Opera
debut in 2005 as Henry Miles in Jake Heggie
's The End of the Affair
and returned to the company in 2007 as Orestes in Gluck's Iphigenia in Tauris.
Polegato joined the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus
to produce a version of Vaughan Williams
: A Sea Symphony (Symphony No. 1)
which won two Grammy Award
s in 2003: Best Choral Performance
and Best Classical Album
.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
. In 1999 he made his Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1952, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicolà Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria Callas's American debut in Norma...
debut as Peter Niles in Levy's Mourning Becomes Electra
Mourning Becomes Electra (opera)
Mourning Becomes Electra is an opera in 3 acts by composer Marvin David Levy. The work uses an English language libretto by Henry W Butler after the play of the same name by Eugene O'Neill. It premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City on March 17, 1967 with Zubin Mehta conducting...
followed by his La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
debut in 2000 as Ned Keene in Britten's Peter Grimes
Peter Grimes
Peter Grimes is an opera by Benjamin Britten, with a libretto adapted by Montagu Slater from the Peter Grimes section of George Crabbe's poem The Borough...
. He is particularly known for his interpretation of the title role in Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande
Pelléas et Mélisande (opera)
Pelléas et Mélisande is an opera in five acts with music by Claude Debussy. The French libretto was adapted from Maurice Maeterlinck's Symbolist play Pelléas et Mélisande...
which he has performed with many companies including the Bavarian State Opera
Bavarian State Opera
The Bavarian State Opera is an opera company based in Munich, Germany.Its orchestra is the Bavarian State Orchestra.- History:The opera company which was founded under Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy has been in existence since 1653...
, Opéra National de Paris, Oper Leipzig
Oper Leipzig
Oper Leipzig is an opera house and opera company in Leipzig, Germany.The Leipzig Opera traces its establishment to the year 1693, making it the third oldest opera venue in Europe after La Fenice and the Hamburg State Opera...
, and Opéra National du Rhin
Opéra national du Rhin
LOpéra national du Rhin is an opera company which performs in Alsace, eastern France, and which includes the Opéra in Strasbourg, the company's ballet in Mulhouse , and the "Opéra Studio" , a training centre for young singers, in Colmar...
among others. Other European appearances include Ubalde in Gluck's Armide
Armide
Armide is the French and English form of the name Armida, a witch in Torquato Tasso's epic poem "Jerusalem Delivered" . The sequence of the poem recounting her love affair with the Christian knight Renaud inspired many operas, which are listed under the names of their respective composers in the...
at Opéra de Nice
Opéra de Nice
The Opéra de Nice is the principal opera venue in Nice, France.The théâtre municipal of Nice was inaugurated 7 February 1885 with a performance of Verdi's Aida. In 1902 the théâtre municipal became the Opéra de Nice.-References:...
, the title role in Monteverdi's Orfeo
Orfeo
L'Orfeo , sometimes called L'Orfeo, favola in musica, is an early Baroque opera by Claudio Monteverdi, with a libretto by Alessandro Striggio. It is based on the Greek legend of Orpheus, and tells the story of his descent to Hades and his fruitless attempt to bring his dead bride Eurydice back to...
at Opéra d'Avignon, and Frère Lèon in Messaien's Saint François d'Assise at Opéra National de Paris. He has sung numerous roles with Flanders Opera, including Guglielmo in Mozart's Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti K. 588, is an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart first performed in 1790. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte....
, Albert in Massenet's Werther
Werther
Werther is an opera in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann based on the German epistolary novel The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe....
, and the Steward in Jonathan Dove
Jonathan Dove
Jonathan Dove is a British composer of opera, choral works, plays, films, and orchestral and chamber music. He has arranged a number of operas for English Touring Opera and the City of Birmingham Touring Opera , including in 1990 a famous 18-player two-evening adaptation of Wagner's Der Ring des...
's Flight
Flight (opera)
Flight is an English opera in three acts, with music by Jonathan Dove and libretto by April De Angelis. The work was commissioned by Glyndebourne Opera and premiered on 24 September 1998 by Glyndebourne Touring Opera...
. In his native Canada, Polegato has sung Papageno in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Figaro in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia, and Zurga in Bizet's Les pêcheurs de perles
Les pêcheurs de perles
Les pêcheurs de perles is an opera in three acts by the French composer Georges Bizet, to a libretto by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. It was first performed on 30 September 1863 at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris, and was given 18 performances in its initial run...
with Vancouver Opera
Vancouver Opera
Vancouver Opera is the second largest performing arts organization in British Columbia and the largest opera company in western Canada.It performs in the Queen Elizabeth Theatre accompanied currently by the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, one of two specialized opera orchestras in Canada...
. In the United States, he has sung with New York City Opera
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
, Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera was founded in 1955 through the joint efforts of Maestro Walter Herbert and cultural leaders Mrs. Louis G. Lobit, Edward Bing and Charles Cockrell...
, and Michigan Opera Theatre
Michigan Opera Theatre
Michigan Opera Theatre is Michigan's principal opera company. The company is based in Detroit, where it performs in the Detroit Opera House. Each year it presents an opera and dance season. The company usually presents five operas in their original language with English supertitles and hosts five...
as well as making many concert appearances and recordings with American orchestras. He made his Seattle Opera
Seattle Opera
The Seattle Opera is an opera company located in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1963 by Glynn Ross, who served as the company's first general director through 1983, Seattle Opera's season runs from August to late May, with five or six operas offered and with eight to ten performances each, often...
debut in 2005 as Henry Miles in Jake Heggie
Jake Heggie
Jake Heggie is an American composer and pianist.Jake Heggie is the composer of the operas Dead Man Walking , The End of the Affair , At The Statue of Venus , To Hell and Back , and Moby-Dick , as well as the stage work For a Look or a Touch...
's The End of the Affair
The End of the Affair (opera)
The End of the Affair is a chamber opera with music by Jake Heggie and a libretto by Heggie and Leonard Foglia.Based on the Graham Greene novel of the same title, it is set in London in 1944 and 1946 and focuses on Maurice and Sarah, who vows to end their illicit affair if his life is spared in a...
and returned to the company in 2007 as Orestes in Gluck's Iphigenia in Tauris.
Awards and recognition
During the early stages of his career, he was a finalist at the 1995 Cardiff Singer of the World Competition.Polegato joined the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Robert Spano has been its music director since 2001...
to produce a version of Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
: A Sea Symphony (Symphony No. 1)
A Sea Symphony (Vaughan Williams)
A Sea Symphony is a choral symphony by Ralph Vaughan Williams, written between 1903 and 1909. Vaughan Williams's first and longest symphony, it was first performed at the Leeds Festival in 1910, with the composer conducting. The symphony's maturity belies the composer's relative youth when it was...
which won two Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s in 2003: Best Choral Performance
Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance has been awarded since 1961. There have been several minor changes to the name of the award over this time:*In 1961 the award was known as Best Classical Performance - Choral ...
and Best Classical Album
Grammy Award for Best Classical Album
The Grammy Award for Best Classical Album was awarded from 1962 to 2011. The award had several minor name changes:*From 1962 to 1963, 1965 to 1972 and 1974 to 1976 the award was known as Album of the Year - Classical...
.