Alex Richardson, Tenor
American tenor Alex Richardson’s stage presence has been described as “powerful, sympathetic, and fully-fleshed,” his voice “capable of both ringing top notes and sweet, floated tones” (Opera News).
Mr. Richardson returns to the Metropolitan Opera in the 2022-2023 season to cover the roles of Leonard in The Hours, and Desiré in Fedora. He will be a featured soloist in Toledo Opera's Celebrazione del Coro, and will also be heard in recital in Fort Myers, FL.
The 2021-2022 season had Richardson covering the role of Laertes in Brett Dean’s Hamlet at the Metropolitan Opera, and he was the tenor soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Santa Fe Symphony. He also performed as the Fool in Wozzeck in concert with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at both Symphony Hall and Carnegie Hall.
In the 2020-2021 season, Richardson was to have performed the roles of the Shepherd in Tristan und Isolde with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, both at Boston Symphony Hall and Carnegie Hall; Don José in Carmen with Pittsburgh Opera; and covered the roles of Boris in Káťa Kabanová and Alwa in Lulu at the Metropolitan Opera, all of which were canceled due to COVID-19.
Richardson has recently been seen in the roles of Mario in Daniel Catán’s Il Postino and Cavaradossi in Tosca at Opera Southwest, Don José in Carmen with the Fort Wayne Symphony, and Alfredo in La Traviata at the Northern Lights Music Festival. He performed as tenor soloist in Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with the Orlando Philharmonic and in the world premiere of Patrick Zimmerli’s Instrument of Destiny at The Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York.
A frequent performer with the Metropolitan Opera, Richardson has sung the roles of the Shepherd in Tristan und Isolde under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle, the 4th Jew in Salome, and has covered the roles of Laertes in Brett Dean's Hamlet, Loge in Das Rheingold, the First Knight in Parsifal, Lucas in The Exterminating Angel, and Alwa in Lulu.
Richardson has performed the title roles in Werther (Boston Lyric Opera), Peter Grimes (Princeton Festival), and Franco Faccio’s Amleto (world premiere at Opera Southwest), along with the roles of 2nd Jew in Salome (Boston Symphony and Opera San Antonio), soloist in Szymanowski’s King Roger (Boston Symphony Orchestra), the Steuermann in Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer (Princeton Festival), Molqi in The Death of Klinghoffer (Long Beach Opera), Romeo in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette (St. Petersburg Opera), Rodolfo in La Bohème (Opera Western Reserve), Tamino in Die Zauberflöte (Fort Worth Symphony and Orlando Symphony), Fenton in Falstaff and Will Tweedy in Carlisle Floyd’s Cold Sassy Tree (Amarillo Opera), Alfred in Die Fledermaus and Camille in The Merry Widow (Opera Southwest). As a young artist with The Santa Fe Opera, he debuted the role of the Soldier Ruiz Alonzo in Osvaldo Golijov’s opera Ainadamar, directed by Peter Sellars. He subsequently performed the role of the Bullfighter in Ainadamar, in his debuts with the Atlanta Symphony, the Ojai and Ravinia Festivals, and the Chicago Symphony.
An established figure on the concert stage, Richardson has performed as tenor soloist in Verdi’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, Mozart’s Requiem and Mass in C Minor, Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s Mass in B Minor and the St. John Passion (Evangelist), Stravinsky’s Les Noces, Puccini’s Gloria, Orff’s Carmina Burana, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah and Hymn of Praise. He has appeared in Boston Symphony Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Koussevitsky Music Shed at Tanglewood, and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Also an avid recitalist, Richardson was a roster member of the Marilyn Horne Foundation.
Richardson has participated in young artist programs at Central City Opera, Sarasota Opera, and The Santa Fe Opera. He spent two seasons as a Vocal Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, where he performed the role of Fatty the Bookkeeper in Kurt Weill’s The Rise and Fall of the City at Mahagonny, Vogelgesang in Act III of Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and the solos in Stravinsky’s Pulcinella with Maestro Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos. He has since been a featured soloist on numerous occasions at Tanglewood – including in the 75th Anniversary Gala Concert, televised on PBS’s Great Performances.
Originally from Las Cruces, New Mexico, Richardson holds degrees from the University of Colorado at Boulder and Manhattan School of Music. Richardson has been honored by several competitions including the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation, the Laureen Butler Competition of El Paso Opera (first place), and the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (two-time regional prize winner).