| Stephen Salters | |
| Baritone | |
| New England First Place Winner 1996 |
review
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“Not only does he sound like God on a good day, but he’s intensely imaginative and adventurous, navigating repertoire that would make most singers creep into the wings and weep.”
–The Washington Post
Stephen Salters’ passionate and impeccably articulated performances of a wide range of repertoire have won him acclaim throughout Europe, the UK, Asia and the United States. He works regularly with leading conductors including Christoph Eschenbach, James Conlon, Seiji Ozawa, Robert Spano, Nicholas McGegan, Keith Lockhart, Ivor Bolton, Will Crutchfield, Leonard Slatkin, Hugh Wolff, Bobby McFerrin, Jane Glover, Jeff Tyzik, and Martin Haselboeck.
On the opera stage, he excels equally in contemporary works and standard repertory. He received superlative praise in the role of the Minotaur in the world premiere of Philippe Fenelon’s Les Rois for Opera National in Bordeaux, and when he created the title role in Elena Ruehr’s Toussaint Before the Spirits for Opera Boston, The Boston Globe called his performance “Astounding…Salters is a fearless and exhaustingly honest performer and a thrilling singer.” He has been acclaimed in Mozart roles (Don Giovanni, Count Almaviva and Guglielmo), Rossini (Malatesta/Don Pasquale), Handel (Melisso/Alcina), Donizetti (Belcore/L’Elisir d’Amore), and as Captain Balstrode in Britten’s Peter Grimes at Tanglewood on the occasion of the 50 th anniversary of the piece’s American premiere. In the 2006-07 season he returns to Opera Boston as Bill in Kurt Weill’s The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.
Mr. Salters has demonstrated his versatility on the concert stage in such diverse works as Bach’s St Matthew Passion and Mahler’s Symphony No. 8. This past season alone saw performances of Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer, Copland’s Old American Songs, Vaughan-Williams’ Sea Symphony, Britten’s War Requiem, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah. Other recent performances have included a concert performance of Der Freischutz (Gaspard); Szymanowski’s Stabat Mater, Zemlinsky’s Symphonic Songs, and the Brahms Requiem as well Handel’s Messiah. He has appeared with symphonies in Baltimore, Cleveland, Detroit, Houston, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco and with the Chicago Symphony at Ravinia, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris, the National Orchestra of Belgium, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Radio Symphony Orchestra Frankfurt, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, and the Tokyo Philharmonic. A versatile stylist, he also appears in Pops programs, including with the Boston Pops on their national holiday tour and twice at Bravo! Vail with the Rochester Philharmonic.
A celebrated recitalist, Mr. Salters has thrilled and moved audiences all over the world and is a much sought-after interpreter and advocate of ‘New Music’. His most recent collaborations include a dance/recital program under the combined auspices of Ravinia and the Luna Negra Dance Theatre, featuring the world premiere of a song cycle by Ana Lara; the commission of a cycle by William Bolcom; and another by French composer Pierre Ruscher. He enjoys conducting masterclasses for young singers as well.
His recordings include French mélodie, German lieder and spirituals with pianist Sheila Kibbe for Cypres, and Telarc’s award-winning recording of Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride. Toussaint Before the Spirits will be released in 2006.
Stephen Salters first gained wide attention in 1996, when he took first place in Belgium’s Queen Elisabeth International Competition of Singing; first place in the International Puccini-Licia Albanese Competition; was a Metropolitan Opera Council Auditions National Finalist; and received a George London Foundation Award in memory of Bruce Yarnel. Shortly thereafter he won the prestigious Walter N. Naumburg Prize and was well on his way to becoming one of the most sought-after singers of his generation.
Mr. Salters is represented by Schwalbe & Partners.
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