Kurt Lehmann, Tenor

Pacific Opera Victoria
Flamand in Capriccio
February - March, 2010

Kurt Lehmann makes his role debut as the composer Flamand in Pacific Opera Victoria's February 2010 Canadian stage premiere of Richard Strauss' Capriccio. He performed Lieutenant Pinkerton in POV's February 2008 production of Madama Butterfly, the role in which he made his 1999 POV debut. His POV engagements have also included Lucentio in The Taming of the Shrew and Alfredo in La traviata (2001), Barinkay in The Gypsy Baron (2002), and Lenski in Eugene Onegin (2005). In February 2007 he returned to POV to sing the role of Leukippos in the Canadian premiere of Daphne.

The bilingual Winnipeg native has been hailed for beautiful and lyrical singing ... impassioned in keeping with the text, soaring to seemingly effortless high 'b' flats.

His international career has taken him to Carnegie Hall for Verdi's Requiem as well as engagements in Toronto, Montreal, Dallas, Calgary, Vancouver, Naples, Pittsburgh, Victoria, and Detroit in repertoire ranging from Lenski in Eugene Onegin to Barinkay in Der Zigeunerbaron.

Highlights of Mr. Lehmann's 2008-2009 season included an “Opera Stars Under the Stars” concert, a New Year's Eve Gala and Rodolfo in La Bohème for Opera Naples, a return to Manitoba Opera as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly and performances of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Winnipeg Symphony and the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony.

Puccini and Verdi dominated Mr. Lehmann's 2007-2008 season with Pinkerton for Pacific Opera Victoria and Orchestra London and Alfredo in La traviata for Opera Lyra Ottawa and Manitoba Opera. He was also heard with the Calgary Philharmonic in Beethoven's 9th.

Of particular note in the summer of 2007 was his debut engagement at Glimmerglass Opera as the violin-playing Orpheus in Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld. Mr. Lehmann was selected for this role after a continent-wide search for lyric tenors who were also virtuoso violinists. Cassio in Otello returned to his repertoire for productions with Opera Lyra Ottawa, Manitoba Opera and Opéra de Québec. He was then back in British Columbia for Pacific Opera Victoria's Daphne as Leukippos. Engagements on the concert stage included Mozart's Mass in C minor in Winnipeg and Ruggiero in La Rondine for Toronto's Opera in Concert. In a lighter vein, he was in Detroit and Hamilton for the New Year's “Salute to Vienna” concerts, with the Hamilton Philharmonic in “Fest Italia” and with Orchestra London in a concert devoted to Viennese hits.

Other highlights include The Male Chorus in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia for L'Opéra de Montréal, Mozart's Krönungsmesse with the Edmonton Symphony, Lenski in Eugene Onegin for Pacific Opera Victoria, Tybalt in Roméo et Juliette for Calgary Opera. For Dallas Opera he appeared as Pong in Turandot, Gastone in La traviata and Pylade in Ermione. Further credits include Carlson in Floyd's Of Mice and Men for Vancouver Opera as well as Chevalier de la Force in Dialogues des Carmélites and Boucher in the Canadian Premiere of Dead Man Walking for Calgary Opera.

Past seasons include Tamino in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte for Opera Lyra Ottawa, Alfred in Die Fledermaus, Prince Edwin in Kalman's Die Czardasfürstin for Toronto Operetta Theatre, Rodolfo in La Bohème with the Newfoundland Symphony and for Ottawa's National Arts Centre Orchestra Strauss' Der Ziegunerbaron with Franz Paul Decker on the podium. For l'Orchestre symphonique de Québec, he was tenor soloist in Elijah and sang the part of John in Victor Davies' Revelation.

A protégé of the legendary soprano Virginia Zeani, Mr. Lehmann was engaged by the Toronto Symphony for a work written and conducted by Bramwell Tovey and performed at the symphony's “Last Night at the Proms” concerts at Roy Thompson Hall. Mr. Lehmann has also performed with the Pecs Symphony Orchestra of Hungary.

Winnipeg's very own Kurt Lehmann is a singer that you know is going to nail whatever he sings. His honey toned tenor voice is always a pleasure to hear, displaying a beautiful ease and fluid expressiveness even in his top-most register.
Holly Harris, Winnipeg Free Press (Stories that Sing, Manitoba Opera Gala, 2006)

Kurt Lehmann was a tall, dark and handsome Alfredo, with the ardent vocal lyricism of a truly smitten - and most persuasive - suitor.
Robert Jordan, Opera Canada Magazine
on Verdi's La traviata (Pacific Opera Victoria, 2001)

December 2009