Stillwater, Minnesota native Jack Swanson is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after young tenors in the opera world. His distinctive high lyric voice is known for singing the acrobatic arias of Rossini and the legato melodies of Donizetti.
In the 2024–2025 season, Jack Swanson made his much-anticipated debut at the Metropolitan Opera in his signature role of Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia, made both a house and role debut with the Staatsoper Hamburg as Ernesto in Don Pasquale, and returned to the Houston Grand Opera as Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola. He also joined Haymarket Opera for Artabano in Vinci’s Artaserse, to be recorded commercially. In concert, he made his Minnesota Orchestra debut as the tenor soloist in Mozart’s Requiem with Music Director Thomas Søndergård conducting, and performed in recital in Charlottesville, VA. Future projects include returns to the Metropolitan Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Pesaro’s Rossini Opera Festival, and debuts at the Opéra national de Paris and the Grand Théâtre de Genève.
In recent seasons, Swanson has performed on the world’s opera stages in roles like Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola (Lyric Opera of Chicago, Norwegian Opera, Opera Maine, OperaDelaware, Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera Fort Collins), Fenton in Falstaff (Houston Grand Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera), Count Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia (Arena di Verona, Rossini Opera Festival, Austin Opera, Teatro Regio in Torino, Santa Fe Opera, Oper Köln, Norwegian Opera, Portland Opera, Glyndebourne Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City), the title role in Paola Prestini’s Edward Tulane, Ferrando in Così fan tutte (Norwegian Opera, Opéra national du Rhin, Opera Frankfurt), Count Belfiore in Il viaggio a Reims (Rossini Opera Festival), Tonio in La fille du Régiment (Utah Opera), Tamino in Die Zauberflöte (Opéra National de Lorraine), the title role in Candide (The Atlanta Opera, Lausitz Festival, LA Opera), the title role in Le comte Ory (Garsington Opera), Florville in Il signor Bruschino (Rossini Opera Festival), Rodrigo in Otello (Oper Frankfurt), Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Opera Omaha), Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore (Norwegian Opera), Sam Kaplan in Street Scene (Oper Köln), Lindoro in L’italiana in Algeri (Santa Fe Opera), Camille in The Merry Widow (Opera Theatre of Saint Louis), Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance (Opera Memphis), and Albazar in Il turco in Italia (Garsington Opera).
Also known for his concert work, Mr. Swanson’s credits include Rossini’s Stabat Mater (Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Choral Arts Society of Washington), Handel’s Messiah (Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Mercury Chamber Orchestra), Mozart’s Requiem (Oregon Symphony Orchestra), Bruckner’s Te Deum (Houston Symphony Orchestra), Dubois’ The Seven Last Words of Christ, and Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana. Other engagements include concert appearances with Festival de Paris, Sag Harbor Song Festival, Moab Music Festival, Festival Napa Valley, Orchestre National de Lille, Washington Concert Opera, Arizona Opera, and Birmingham Opera. He also performed for Houston Grand Opera’s sixtieth anniversary gala, where he sang alongside Houston Grand Opera’s studio artists and world-renowned mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato. Swanson made his Kennedy Center debut singing selections from Schumann’s Dichterliebe.
Mr. Swanson earned a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Oklahoma. He is the competition winner and recipient of several prestigious awards, including first place in Florida Grand Opera’s Young Patronesses of the Opera Competition, the San Antonio Music Club Competition, the National Opera Association Competition, and the Hal Leonard Art Song Competition. He twice received the Richard Tucker Memorial Award from Santa Fe Opera. He was a finalist in both Houston Grand Opera’s Eleanor McCollum Competition and Fort Worth Opera’s McCammon Competition. Recently, Mr. Swanson was featured on National Public Radio's Young Artist in Residence program, Performance Today.
For more information, please visit www.jackswansontenor.com.
