Nicholas Phan
American Nicholas Phan continues to distinguish himself as one of the most compelling young tenors appearing on the prestigious concert and opera stages of the world.
Phan's many engagements in the 2014-2015 season include his return to the Houston Grand Opera for Sweeney Todd and concerts with the Cleveland Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Dallas Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Boston Baroque and the Vancouver Symphony. He also appears in recital at Carnegie Hall and in Istanbul.
Phan has appeared with many of the leading orchestras in the North America and Europe, including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, St. Louis Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Les Violons du Roy, BBC Symphony, English Chamber Orchestra and the Lucerne Symphony. He also toured extensively throughout the major concert halls of Europe with Il Complesso Barocco; appeared with the Oregon Bach, Tanglewood, Ravinia, Marlboro, Edinburgh, Rheingau and Saint-Denis festivals; and appeared at the BBC Proms. Among the conductors he has worked with are Harry Bicket, Pierre Boulez, James Conlon, Alan Curtis, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Jane Glover, Manfred Honeck, Bernard Labadie, Nicholas McGegan, Zubin Mehta, John Nelson, Helmuth Rilling, David Robertson and Michael Tilson Thomas.
An avid proponent of vocal chamber music, he has collaborated with many chamber musicians, including pianists Mitsuko Uchida, Richard Goode, Jeremy Denk; guitarist Eliot Fisk; and horn players Jennifer Montone and Gail Williams. In recital, he has been presented by Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and the University of Chicago. He also is a founder and the artistic director of Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago, an organization devoted to promoting the art song and vocal chamber music repertoire.
Also considered one of the rising young stars of the opera world, Phan recently appeared with the Portland Opera as Fenton in Falstaff, the Atlanta Opera as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni and the Seattle Opera as Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia. Other opera performances have included his debuts at the Glyndebourne Opera and the Maggio Musicale in Florence, as well as appearances with Los Angeles Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, Deutsche Oper am Rhein and Frankfurt Opera. His growing repertoire includes the title roles in Acis and Galatea and Candide, Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore, Fenton in Falstaff, Tamino inDie Zauberflöte, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni and Lurcanio in Ariodante.
Phan’s most recent solo album, Still Fall the Rain (AVIE) was named one of the best classical recordings of 2012 by The New York Times. His debut solo album, Winter Words (AVIE) made the “Best of 2011” lists of The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Boston Globe, TimeOut NY, and the Toronto Star. His growing discography includes the Grammy-nominated recording of Stravinksy’s Pulcinella with Pierre Boulez and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO Resound) and the opera L’Olimpiade with the Venice Baroque Orchestra (Naïve).
A graduate of the University of Michigan, Phan is the 2012 recipient of the Paul C. Boylan Distinguished Alumni Award. He also studied at the Manhattan School of Music and the Aspen Music Festival and School, and is an alumnus of the Houston Grand Opera Studio and Ravinia's Steans Music Institute. He was the recipient of a 2006 Sullivan Foundation Award and 2004 Richard F. Gold Career Grant from the Shoshana Foundation.
