Eric Owens, Bass-Baritone

Friday, December 9, 2011 at 7:30 pm
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center

Songs of Hugo Wolf, Robert Schumann, Franz Schubert, Claude Debussy, Henry Duparc, Maurice Ravel, Richard Wagner. Full program >

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Acclaimed for his commanding stage presence and inventive artistry, American bass-baritone Eric Owens has carved a unique place in the contemporary opera world as both an esteemed interpreter of classic works and a champion of new music. Equally at home in concert, recital and opera performances, Owens continues to bring his powerful poise, expansive voice and instinctive acting faculties to stages around the world.

The 2010-2011 season saw Owens' Ring cycle debut as Alberich in Wagner's Das Rheingold in Robert Lepage's new production at the Metropolitan Opera, conducted by James Levine on the opening night of the Metropolitan's season. Universally praised, Owens's performance was considered a standout of the production. The 2010-2011 season also saw Owens as Ramfis in Aida at San Francisco Opera, and in the title role in Peter Sellars's new Hercules at Lyric Opera of Chicago. On the concert stage, Owens appeared as Lodovico in Otello with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and conductor Riccardo Muti in performances at Symphony Center in Chicago and Carnegie Hall in New York. He made his Tanglewood Festival debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in August 2011 under the baton of Lorin Maazel.

During 2011-2012, Owens embarks on a significant recital tour. In addition to engagements in Washington, D.C., Berkeley, Portland and Philadelphia, Owens will perform February 21 at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall, with Robert Spano at the keyboard. He will sing Bach Cantatas with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center on December 6. In addition, Owens will continue his work with the Metropolitan Opera's Ring Cycle, with his character Alberich reappearing in October in Siegfried and in January in Götterdämmerung. The complete cycles will begin in April 2012. Owens will perform Beethoven's Missa solemnis with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in March at Carnegie Hall, one of three appearances at Carnegie Hall this season. In addition, he will appear as Jochanaan in Strauss' Salome with the Cleveland Orchestra. The production will run in both Cleveland and at Carnegie Hall in May. Owens begins summer 2012 with a performance of A Flowering Tree by John Adams with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. He will continue his summer at Glimmerglass Festival 2012 as the Artist in Residence. There, he will appear in Aida and Lost in the Stars, and will perform a jazz concert. Owens has created an uncommon niche for himself in the ever-growing body of contemporary opera works through his determined tackling of new and challenging roles. He received great critical acclaim for portraying the title role in the world premiere of Elliot Goldenthal's Grendel with the Los Angeles Opera, and again at the Lincoln Center Festival, in a production directed and designed by Julie Taymor. Owens also enjoys a close association with John Adams, for whom he created the role of General Leslie Groves in the world premiere of Doctor Atomic at the San Francisco Opera, and of the Storyteller in the world premiere of A Flowering Tree at Peter Sellars's New Crowned Hope Festival in Vienna and later with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Owens made his Boston Symphony Orchestra debut under the baton of David Robertson in Adams's Nativity oratorio El Niño.

Owens's career operatic highlights include his San Francisco Opera debut in Otello conducted by Donald Runnicles; his Royal Opera, Covent Garden, debut in Norma; Aida at Houston Grand Opera; Rigoletto, Il Trovatore and La Bohème at Los Angeles Opera; Die Zauberflöte for his Paris Opera (Bastille) debut; and Ariodante and L'Incoronazione di Poppea at the English National Opera. He sang Collatinus in a highly acclaimed Christopher Alden production of Britten's The Rape of Lucretia at Glimmerglass Opera. A former member of the Houston Grand Opera Studio, Owens has sung Sarastro, Mephistopheles in Faust, Frère Laurent, Angelotti in Tosca, and Aristotle Onassis in the world premiere of Jackie O (available on the Argo label) with that company. Owens is featured on two Telarc recordings with the Atlanta Symphony: Mozart's Requiem and scenes from Strauss' Elektra and Die Frau ohne Schatten, both under the baton of Donald Runnicles. He is featured on the Nonesuch Records release of A Flowering Tree. In addition to great popular and critical acclaim, Owens has been recognized with multiple awards, including the 2003 Marian Anderson Award, a 1999 ARIA award, and first prize in the Plácido Domingo Operalia Competition, the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the Luciano Pavarotti International Voice Competition.

A native of Philadelphia, Owens began his musical training as a pianist at the age of six, followed by formal oboe study at age eleven under Lloyd Shorter of the Delaware Symphony and Louis Rosenblatt of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He later studied voice while an undergraduate at Temple University, and then as a graduate student at the Curtis Institute of Music. He currently studies with Armen Boyajian. He serves on the Board of Trustees of both the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts and Astral Artistic Services.

Pianist Craig Rutenberg, "whose playing ranged from sterling directness to expansive beauty," (San Francisco Chronicle) has collaborated with many of the world's greatest vocalists and is recognized as one of the most distinguished accompanists on the stage today.

Having studied piano and interpretation with John Wustman, Geoffrey Parsons, Pierre Bernac and Miriam Solovieff, Mr. Rutenberg has appeared in recital with Denyce Graves, Sumi Jo, Harolyn Blackwell, Susanne Mentzer, Frederica von Stade, Angelika Kirchschlager, Dawn Upshaw, Thomas Hampson, Ben Heppner and Jerry Hadley as well as Olaf Baer, Simon Keenlyside and José van Dam. He has performed with Mr.Hampson at the White House under the Clinton administration.

Mr. Rutenberg, whose recording with Susanne Mentzer prompted Opera News to praise him for "(making) the piano sing with clean articulation and a palette of colors to coordinate with…every mood," records for Deutsche Grammophon, EMI/Angel, BMG/RCA and Koch International. He has appeared repeatedly in concert on national and international television and radio, including numerous PBS specials.

Currently Head of Music Administration at the Metropolitan Opera, Mr. Rutenberg is also guest coach at The Royal Opera in Stockholm, the Gothenburg Opera and The Norwegian Opera in Oslo.

He has coached and given master classes at the Ryan Opera Center for American Artists at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Chicago Opera Theatre, the Santa Fe Opera and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Craig Rutenberg has also worked for the Opera Studio de Paris, the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, the San Francisco Opera, the Houston Grand Opera, and the Vancouver Opera.

In addition to his duties at the Metropolitan Opera and his teaching activities in the 2011-2012 season, Mr. Rutenberg appears in recital with Christine Brewer, Marcello Giordani, Eric Owens, Mathias Hausmann and Thomas Hampson. As a solo pianist, he is recording the complete piano music of Virgil Thomson for the Virgil Thomson Foundation's label, Everbest.