Kenneth Tarver

Kenneth Tarver is an American operatic tenor, born in Detroit. He is a graduate of Yale University, Oberlin College, and the Metropolitan Opera Young Artist Program. Known for his interpretations of Mozart, Rossini, Berlioz, and the virtuosic Bel Canto repertoire, he is equally at home with works by Igor Stravinsky and Rodion Shchedrin.

Tarver has appeared at some of the world’s leading opera houses, including the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Metropolitan Opera New York, Wiener Staatsoper, Bayerische Staatsoper, Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, Semperoper Dresden, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Hamburg State Opera, and Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona. He has also performed at major festivals such as the Edinburgh Festival and the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence.

He has sung with prominent orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, and the Berlin Philharmonic. Tarver has worked with a distinguished roster of conductors, among them Claudio Abbado, Ivor Bolton, Pierre Boulez, Riccardo Chailly, Teodor Currentzis, Sir Colin Davis, Bernard Haitink, Daniel Harding, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, René Jacobs, Marc Minkowski, Kent Nagano, and Zubin Mehta.

His extensive discography includes recordings for Opera Rara (La donna del lago, Aureliano in Palmira) and LSO Live (Les Troyens, Béatrice et Bénédict, Roméo et Juliette). For Sony Classical, he has recorded Così fan tutte and Don Giovanni with Teodor Currentzis and MusicAeterna. With Deutsche Grammophon, he collaborated with Pierre Boulez and the Cleveland Orchestra on Les nuits d'été and Roméo et Juliette. His recordings with Kent Nagano and the London Symphony Orchestra include Leonard Bernstein’s A White House Cantata. He also appears on the Grammy Award-winning recording of Berlioz’s Les Troyens (Best Opera Recording and Best Classical Album) conducted by Sir Colin Davis on LSO Live.

Selected recordings

Rossini, Sigismondo, Keri-Lyn Wilson / BR-Klassik (2019)

Rossini, Eduardo e Cristina, Gianluigi Gelmetti / Naxos (2019)

Handel, Judas Maccabaeus, Laurence Cummings / Festspiel Orchester Göttingen, NDR (2019)

Mozart, Lucio Silla (DVD), Ivor Bolton / Orchestra Teatro Real / Bel Air Classiques (2018)

Berlioz, Requiem, Ludovic Morlot / Seattle Symphony (2018)

Berlioz, La Mort d'Orphée, Ludovic Morlot / Seattle Symphony (2018)

Rossini, Bianca e Falliero, Antonino Fogliani / Virtuosi Brunensis / Naxos (2017)

Rossini, Sigismondo, Antonino Fogliani / Virtuosi Brunensis / Naxos (2017)

Berlioz, Roméo et Juliette, Valery Gergiev / London Symphony Orchestra / LSO Live (2016)

Bach, Mass in B minor, Peter Dijkstra / Concerto Köln / BR-Klassik (2016)

Mozart, Don Giovanni, Teodor Currentzis / MusicAeterna / Sony Classical (2016)

Handel, Joshua, Laurence Cummings / Festspiel Orchester Göttingen / NDR (2015)

Rossini, La gazza ladra, Alberto Zedda / Virtuosi Brunensis / Naxos (2015)

Mozart, Così fan tutte, Teodor Currentzis / MusicAeterna / Sony Classical (2014)

Mozart & Salieri – Arias & Overtures, Douglas Boyd / Musikkollegium Winterthur / MDG (2014)

Rossini, Aureliano in Palmira, Maurizio Benini / London Philharmonic Orchestra / Opera Rara (2012)

Handel, Belshazzar (DVD), René Jacobs / Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin / Harmonia Mundi (2011)

Terradellas, Sesostri, Juan Bautista Otero / RCOC Orchestra / RCOC (2011)

Stravinsky, Pulcinella, Yakov Kreizberg / Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra / OPMC Classics (2010)

Mozart, Idomeneo, René Jacobs / Freiburger Barockorchester / Harmonia Mundi (2009)

Charles Ives Songs (Various Artists) / Naxos (2008)

Rossini, La donna del lago, Maurizio Benini / London Philharmonic Orchestra / Opera Rara (2007)

Mozart, Don Giovanni, René Jacobs / Freiburger Barockorchester / Harmonia Mundi (2006)

Pacini & Mercadante, Paventa Insano, David Parry / London Philharmonic Orchestra / Opera Rara (2006)

Rossini, Il viaggio a Reims (DVD), Jesús López-Cobos / Orchestra of the Gran Teatre del Liceu / Arthaus Musik (2004)

Berlioz, Roméo et Juliette, Pierre Boulez / The Cleveland Orchestra / Deutsche Grammophon (2003)

Berlioz, Les nuits d'été & Roméo et Juliette, Pierre Boulez / The Cleveland Orchestra / Deutsche Grammophon (2003)

Rossini, Petite messe solennelle, Rupert Huber / SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart / Hänssler Klassik (2002)

Berlioz, Les Troyens, Sir Colin Davis / London Symphony Orchestra / LSO Live (2001)

Verdi, Messa Solenne – Sacred Works, Riccardo Chailly / Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi / Deutsche Grammophon (2001)

Verdi, Falstaff (DVD), Bernard Haitink / Orchestra of the Royal Opera House / BBC Opus Arte (2001)

Berlioz, Béatrice et Bénédict, Sir Colin Davis / London Symphony Orchestra / LSO Live (2000)

Berlioz, Roméo et Juliette, Sir Colin Davis / London Symphony Orchestra / LSO Live (2000)

Bernstein, A White House Cantata, Kent Nagano / London Symphony Orchestra / Deutsche Grammophon (2000)

External links

• Official website