Chicago Tribune“The coloratura prowess and secure top notes Johnson displayed in an aria from Rossini’s “La Cenerentola” proved he’s well on his way.”
In the 23/24 season tenor Jonathan Johnson returns to Opera Colorado as the Steersman in Der Fliegende Höllander and makes his debuts with Washington Concert Opera in La Rodine and North Carolina Opera as Alfredo in La Traviata. He most recently appeared at Opera Colorado in Die Todt Stadt, the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in Harvey Milk, the Tulsa Opera as Rinuccio in Gianni Schicci, and Opera Omaha as Anthony in Sweeney Todd. Other notable recent appearances have included the Prince in The Love for Three Oranges at Opera Philadelphia’s Festival O19, Jonathan Dale in Silent Night at Utah Opera, Beppe in I Pagliacci at Opera Colorado, the title role of Bernstein’s Candide with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Utah Symphony Orchestra, and Des Moines Metro Opera; Anna Bolena at Canadian Opera Company, Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance and Lensky in Eugene Onegin at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Fenton in Falstaff at San Diego Opera, and Lindoro in L’italiana in Algeri at the Portland Opera. A graduate of the Patrick G. & Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center, the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s professional artist-development program, he appeared in the house’s main productions of Les Troyens, Lucia di Lammermoor, The Merry Widow, Der Rosenkavalier, Capriccio, The Magic Victrola and Mieczysław Weinberg’s Holocaust opera The Passenger.
In concert, Mr. Johnson appeared as a soloist with Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in Schumann’s Das Paradies und die Peri, the Detroit Symphony for Messiah, La Damnation de Faust at the Grant Park Music Festival, Le Fils in Les mamelles de Tirésias with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Beethoven Symphony No. 9 and concert version of Don Giovanni with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, a performance of Schumann’s Dichterliebe as part of a Liederabend in Chicago, and various appearances in the Harris Theater’s Beyond the Aria series, the 125th Anniversary Gala for the Auditorium Theater, and on WFMT radio as part of the Ryan Opera Center Recital Series. He also enjoys a touring relationship with Chris Botti, which has taken him through many cities in the US and abroad.
Hailing from Macon, GA, Mr. Johnson holds a Master’s degree and Professional Artist Certificate from the A.J. Fletcher Institute of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. He also holds a Bachelor of Music from Townsend School of Music at Mercer University.
SEPTEMBER 2023
