Vita

American lyric tenor, Jonathan Winell, continues to make his mark on the international stage.

Highlights of past  seasons include Rodolfo/LA BOHÈME, Pang/TURANDOT, Ernesto/DON PASQUALE, Tamino/DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE, Cassio/OTELLO and Narraboth/SALOME at the Theater Magdeburg; Steuermann/DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER at the Landes Theater (Detmold, Germany); and Brighella/ARADNE AUF NAXOS and 1st amoured man/THE MAGIC FLUTE at the Staatsoper Berlin Unter den Linden and Tamino/THE MAGIC FLUTE at Oper Wuppertal.  Returning to the Savonlinna Opera Festival, Jonathan sang the role of Pedrillo/DIE ENTFÜHRUNG AUS DEM SERAIL to enthusiastic critical acclaim, with “Opera” magazine’s Editor, John Allison praising that “The cast was at an impressive level…however, the tenorial honours were taken by Jonathan Winell’s sweet-toned Pedrillo, possessed of more heft than many Pedrillo’s.” In summer 2021 he sang the role of Pang/TURANDOT at the Oper im Steinbruch (St. Margarethen, Austria). His engagements at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin as A Singer / DER ROSENKAVALIER and Marzio in a new production of MITRIDATE had to be cancelled due to Corona in the 2020/2021 season.

Notable engagements of previous seasons include Un Araldo and Il Re Gonzaga in Franco Faccio’s AMLEOT at the Bregenz Festival in Austria, Baroncelli/RIENZI in his Lincoln Center debut with the Opera Orchestra of New York under Eve Queler, and Rinuccio/GIANNI SCHICCHI in Regensburg.  A former member of Internationales Opernstudio at the Staatsoper Berlin Unter den Linden, he appeared with the company for two seasons in such productions as PARSIFAL, ARIADNE AUF NAXOS, DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE, AUFSTIEG UND FALL DER STADT MAHAGONNY, SALOME, LE NOZZE DI FIGARO and SIMON BOCCANEGRA.  He has worked with a number of great conductors, among them Daniel Barenboim, Zubin Mehta, Sebastian Weigle, Leo Hussain, Wayne Marshall, Christopher Moulds, Eve Queler, John Nelson and John Baril, and coaches including Jane Klaviter, Bob Morrison and Margaret Singer.

In addition to his stage performances, Jonathan’s growing career includes awards in a vast number of national and international competitions.  In 2015, he won second prize in the Leyla Gencer Voice Competition in Istanbul.  Alexandra Ivanoff for “Today’s Zaman” said, “…his touching version of “Che gelida manina” was the convergence of dramatic sincerity and vocal brillance.”  In 2014, he was a semi-finalist in the Mirjam Helin International Singing Competition in Helsinki.  In 2011, he was named an Eastern Region Finalist at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions; and he placed multiple times in competitions, including:  Gerda Lissner, Giulio Gari, Licia Albanese-Puccini, Career Bridges, and Il Comitato Amici del Logiatto in La Spezia, Italy.

Mr. Winell is a graduate of The Hartt School and a former Artist-in-Residence at the Academy of Vocal Arts.  He spent three summers in Florence, Italy, studying Italian at La Scuola Leonardo da Vinci and while there, attended the Florence Voice Seminar and the Bel Canto Institute.  He is a native of New York City.

2023-08-01

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