Jorge Garza
Tenor
Mexican tenor, Jorge Garza, is currently debuting the roles of Tito Vespasian in Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito and Male Chorus in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia with the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre, Czech Republic. The 2016/2017 season also includes performances as Lišák (Fox) in Janáček’s Príhody líšky Bystroušky (Cunning Little Vixen) with the Jihočeské Divadlo in Česky Krumlov.
Most recently, the tenor made role debuts as Lensky in Eugene Onegin with West Bay Opera, as Satyavān in Gustav Holst’s Savitri with Festival Opera, as Serge/Adolf in Bohuslav Martinů’s Les Trois Souhaits with National Moravian-Silesian Theatre, as Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi with Sacramento Opera, and as The Prince in John Adams’ A Flowering Tree.
Concert Appearances have included his Carnegie Hall debut as Father (tenor 1) in Kurt Weill’s Seven Deadly Sins with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Leonard Slatkin, conductor, Britten’s Serenade for Tenor and Horn with the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, Tenor Soloist in Handel’s Messiah with Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra, James Judd conducting as well as with the DCINY Orchestra at Avery Fisher Hall with Jonathan Griffith conducting the much beloved 1959 Goosens version of Handel’s masterpiece.
Garza is a graduate of the Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and the Academy of Vocal Arts. As a student he collaborated with directors Stephen Wadsworth, James Robinson, Frank Corsaro, Ed Berkeley, and Christopher Mattaliano, He further advanced his training at various apprentice programs including Glimmerglass Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Wolf Trap Opera collaborating with conductor Patrick Summers, and musicians Craig Rutenberg and Steven Blier, Merola Opera Program, working alongside renowned director John Copley, Caramoor Music Festival, working directly with Will Crutchfield and finally the Los Angeles Opera Young Artist Program working with director Stephen Lawless in L’Elisir d’Amore as understudy for Ramon Vargas as Nemorino and director Pierre Audi of the Netherlands Opera singing Eurimaco in Il Ritorno d’Ulysses in Patria.
His professional debut came upon invitation from Stephen Lawless in the role of Don Polidoro in Mozart’s La Finta Semplice, with the Potsdamer Musikfestspiele at Castle Sanssouci in Potsdam, Germany. Soon followed debuts in France with the Orchestra National de Lyon as Tenor soloist in Cherubini’s Missa Solemnis as well as his debut with Opera de Monte Carlo as Sir Hervey and Sir Percy cover in Bellini’s Anna Bolena. Soon after he was offered a position in the Fest Ensemble with Theater für Niedersachsen in Hildesheim, Germany. During his tenure he debuted the following roles: Belmonte -Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Narciso – Der Türke in Italien, Tom Rakewell – Karriere eines Wüstlings, Sou-Chong – Das Land des Lächelns, Fenton – Dielustige Weiber von Windsor, Alfred – Die Fledermaus, Marquis de Chateauneuf – Zar und Zimmermann.
Jorge has received numerous awards and recognitions from competitions and foundations including: Operalia Competition Finalist, ARIA Foundation Award, Opera Index Awards, The Sullivan Foundation, San Francisco Opera Merola Grand Finals, Richard F. Gold Shoshana Foundation Award, Grace Bumbry AGMA Competition, and Mario Lanza Competition.
Jorge’s affinity for modern music began at an early age and has included several notable premieres. As a boy soprano he sang the Treble Solos in the Houston Premieres of George Crumb’s Ancient Voices of Children and Benjamin Britten’s Saint Nicolas. At LA Opera he sang the World Premiere of Tobias Picker’s Fantastic Mr. Fox as well as the World Premiere of Lee Holdridge’s A Journey to Cordoba. With Stephen Wadsworth, he sang the Narrator in the American Premiere of Alexander Goehr’s Tryptich. At the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia he sang East Coast Premieres as Dorian in Lowell Liebermann’s The Picture of Dorian Gray and Mario in Daniel Catan’s Il Postino. He sang the West Coast Premiere as the Prince in John Adams’ A Flowering Tree and finally in 2015 the World Premiere with the Prague National Opera as Odysseus in Jan Klusak’s Filoktetes.