Paul Appleby

Admired for his interpretive depth, vocal strength, and range of expressivity,
tenor Paul Appleby is one of the most sought-after voices of his generation.
He graces the stages of the world’s most distinguished concert halls and
opera houses and collaborates with leading orchestras, instrumentalists, and
conductors. Opera News writes, “[Paul’s] tenor is limpid and focused, but with
a range of color unusual in an instrument so essentially lyric… His singing is
scrupulous and musical; the voice moves fluidly and accurately.”

Paul Appleby’s concert calendar for the 2024-25 season includes the title role
of Berlioz’ La damnation de Faust with Hannu Lintu leading the Gulbenkian
Orchestra and Choir, Haydn’s The Creation with Martin Pearlman and Boston
Baroque, concert performances of Puccini’s La Rondine with Sir Antonio
Pappano and the London Symphony Orchestra, John Corigliano’s captivating
Poem in October, inspired by a rich and imaginative poem by Dylan Thomas,
with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and Evangelist in Bach’s
Matthäus-Passion with Kent Tritle at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. The
tenor returns to the stage of the Metropolitan Opera for the company premiere
of John Adams’ Antony and Cleopatra, reprising the role of Caesar which was
written for him, in a staging by groundbreaking director Elkhanah Pulitzer.

Last season Paul Appleby made his debuts at La Monnaie in the world
premiere of Cassandra, written by Bernard Foccroulle and Matthew Jocelyn
under the baton of Kazushi Ono, and at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in the
European premiere of Antony and Cleopatra, and he returned to
Glyndebourne singing Tamino in Die Zauberflöte led by Constantin Trinks in
a production by Barbe & Doucet. Igor Stravinsky featured prominently in the
American tenor’s concert diary with performances of Les Noces led by
Esa-Pekka Salonen both with the San Francisco Symphony and Orchestre
de Paris, Pulcinella with Music Director Gustavo Gimeno and the Toronto
Symphony Orchestra, and in the title role of Œdipus Rex with Santtu-Matias
Rouvali leading the Munich Philharmonic. Assaying the role of the
Evangelist in Schmidt’s seldom-heard oratorio Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln,
he achieved great success with Music Director Fabio Luisi leading the
Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

Paul Appleby gave the world premiere of Antony and Cleopatra at San
Francisco Opera conducted by Music Director Eun Sun Kim and other
highlights of the recent past include the title role of Bernstein’s Candide for
the Opéra de Lyon, Los Angeles Philharmonic performances of John
Adams’ Girls of the Golden West under the baton of the composer as well
as Die Zauberflöte with Music Director Gustavo Dudamel, Handel’s Samson
with the Dunedin Consort at the Edinburgh International Festival, Elgar’s
The Dream of Gerontius with David Zinman and the Bamberger
Symphoniker, Bach’s Matthäus-Passion both with the New York
Philharmonic and Hong Kong Philharmonic conducted by Jaap van Zweden,
Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Marin Alsop leading the Chicago
Symphony Orchestra, Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings with
the Met Chamber Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, and a wide range of repertoire
and on numerous occasions in North America and Europe with his frequent
musical partner Manfred Honeck.

A leading artist of the Metropolitan Opera, where his association with the
company has yielded critically acclaimed performances, Paul Appleby has
bowed in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg led both by Sir Antonio Pappano
and James Levine, Rodelinda conducted by Harry Bicket, the title role of
Pelléas et Mélisande conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, The Rake’s
Progress under the baton of James Levine, and the North American
premiere of Nico Muhly’s Two Boys with David Robertson. Celebrated as a
distinguished Mozartean, he has bowed at the Metropolitan Opera in the
leading tenor roles of Don Giovanni and Die Entführung aus dem Serail.

Operatic performances span both world premieres and beloved classics and
have included Pelléas et Mélisande at Dutch National Opera led by
Stéphane Denève; the world premiere of John Adams and Peter Sellars’
Girls of the Golden West at the Dutch National Opera and San Francisco
Opera; Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence,
Oper Frankfurt, and Dutch National Opera; Handel’s Saul directed by Barrie
Kosky at Glyndebourne and Houston Grand Opera; and Die Zauberflöte at
Teatro Real, San Francisco Opera, and Washington National Opera.
Closely affiliated with the title role of Béatrice et Bénédict, he has been
lauded in performances at Glyndebourne directed by Laurent Pelly and
conducted by Antonello Manacorda, at the Opéra de Paris under the
direction of Philippe Jordan, and in a new production for his debut with Oper
Köln conducted by François-Xavier Roth.

Respected as a consummate recital artist, Paul Appleby has presented solo
appearances at the Wigmore Hall with Malcolm Martineau, toured North
America extensively with pianists Natalia Katyukova, Ken Noda, and Conor
Hanick, and has given his Tanglewood debut in a performance of Janáček’s
The Diary of One Who Vanished with Emanuel Ax. With pianist Wu Han, he
has sung Schubert’s masterpiece, Winterreise, under the auspices of The
Schubert Club.

Paul Appleby’s recording catalogue includes Nico Muhly’s opera Two Boys,
recorded live by the Metropolitan Opera and released by Nonesuch; DVDs
of Glyndebourne’s acclaimed presentation of Handel’s Saul and Berlioz’s
Béatrice et Bénédict released commercially by Opus Arte; Dear Theo, the
first album dedicated solely to works by American composer Ben Moore
released by Delos; and Songs and Structures, a portrait album of recent
vocal and chamber works by composer Harold Meltzer released on Bridge
Records; in addition to other recordings by Virgin Classics, and EMI’s
Juilliard Sessions.

Mr. Appleby is a founding core member of the American Modern Opera
Company (AMOC) and is a graduate of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann
Young Artist Development Program. A recipient of an Artist Diploma in
Opera Studies at The Juilliard School, he also earned a Master’s Degree
from Juilliard and a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature and in Music
from the University of Notre Dame.