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date = "2019-03-03T17:55:15+00:00"
discipline = "Tenor"
primary_image = "https://res.cloudinary.com/schmopera/image/upload/v1551635697/media/2019/03/TheoLebow.jpg"
primary_image_credit = ""
related_companies = ["scene/companies/odyssey-opera.md", "scene/companies/opera-theatre-of-st-louis.md", "scene/companies/merola-opera-program.md", "scene/companies/san-francisco-opera.md", "scene/companies/the-santa-fe-opera.md", "scene/companies/seattle-opera.md", "scene/companies/oper-frankfurt.md"]
slug = "theo-lebow"
social_media = []
title = "Theo Lebow"
website = ""

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Currently based at Frankfurt Opera and with an active career in both North America and Europe, Theo Lebow continues to solidify his reputation as one of the finest young lyric tenors on international stages. His performances reveal exceptional intelligence and musical understanding along with dramatic skill, to complement his technical finesse and beautiful sound. These qualities have enabled him to build a remarkably diverse repertoire from Baroque to contemporary.

A Los Angeles native, now entering his third season as a member of the ensemble at Frankfurt Opera, Theo’s experience there has ranged from Tamino in Mozart’s _Die Zauberflöte_, and Tom Rakewell in Stravinsky’s _TheRake’s Progress_, to the taxing tenor role of Massimo in Gluck’s _Ezio_ (“Theo Lebow is a find as Massimo… his voice has the sound of an heroic Italianate tenor but on a smaller scale well-suited to Baroque opera…” _Stage Door)_

After singing Ozia in a recent new production of Mozart’s _Betulia liberata_, reviews were rapturous: “Theo Lebow sings his entrance aria, a bravura piece marked by bold coloratura, with astounding verve and confidence” (_Frankfurter Rundschau_) “Theo Lebow mastered the challenging tenor part of Ozia with radiant heights and great agility in the runs” (_Online Music Magazine_) “The young American singer Theo Lebow conquered this role, one that also requires an actor’s gift, with flying colors. Immediately, in his very first aria, he moves effortlessly into coloratura heights.” (_Feuilleton Frankfurt_)

Following his appearance for Boston Mid-Summer Opera as Almaviva in _Il barbiere di Siviglia,_ Lebow returned to Frankfurt where his 2018-2019 season includes featured roles in _Ariadne auf Naxos, Satyricon, The Merry Widow, Dalibor_ and _Die Zauberflöte_. In 2017-18, Frankfurt opera patrons heard him as Ruiz in _Il Trovatore_, Squeak in _Billy Budd_, An Old Prisoner in Janácek’s _From the House of the Dead_, as well as Carlo in the Frankfurt première of Manfred Trojahn’s _Enrico_, and Krell in the world première of Arnulf Herrmann’s _Der Mieter_ (The _Tenant_). Theo’s repertoire, ranging from Baroque to contemporary, already embraces some 20 roles in operas, and he has sung in six languages.

Engagements have included Jupiter/Apollo in Handel’s _Semele_ at Seattle Opera; Picasso and F. Scott Fitzgerald in the première of Ricky Ian Gordon’s opera_“27″_ alongside Stephanie Blythe and Elizabeth Futral for Opera Theatre of St. Louis (also on CD from Albany Records); Jaquino in Beethoven’s _Fidelio_ at the Shippensburg Festival in Pennsylvania; Mr. Porcupine in Tobias Picker’s _Fantastic Mr. Fox_ for both Opera San Antonio and Odyssey Opera in Boston; and Fenton in Verdi’s _Falstaff_ at Opera Hamilton – his Canadian debut – where he was hailed for his “plangent tenor with a sweet timbre” (_La Scena Musicale_, Montréal).

Theo won early recognition from Santa Fe Opera when he received the Richard Tucker Foundation Award after becoming part of its young artists’ program and he was invited to participate successively in San Francisco Opera’s prestigious Merola Summer Program, and Seattle Opera’s young artist program.

In recital, Theo’s performances are marked by musical eloquence and powerful communication of text, wedded to vocal beauty. He has sung in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall; given a Schwabacher Debut recital in San Francisco; performed recital programs with the New York Festival of Song at the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater in Washington, as well as in Caramoor and New York City; and participated in a _Schubert and His World_ recital of vocal chamber music at the Bard Music Festival in New York.

Theo’s concert engagements have featured multiple appearances on Carnegie Hall’s main stage, often as soloist Handel’s _Messiah._ On the same stage, he has sung the tenor solo in Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 2 (_Lobgesang_) and excerpts from Verdi’s _Rigoletto_ alongside soprano Jennifer Zetlan.

Theo also had the rare opportunity to sing with Bryn Terfel, Stephanie Blythe and Angela Meade at the Richard Tucker Gala in Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in 2011.