Robert MacNeil – Tenor
Tenor Robert MacNeil has been praised by the Los Angeles Times for possessing a voice that is “clarion” and “clear”. Mr. MacNeil returns to San Francisco Opera for their 2010-11 season in Werther and Le Nozze di Figaro. He made his San Francisco Opera debut in 2008 as the High Priest of Neptune in Mozart’s Idomeneo and returned for their production of Salome in 2009. Mr. MacNeil most recently performed with LA Opera in Lohengrin, after previous appearances including The Stigmatized, Fidelio, Il Trovatore, Der Rosenkavalier, Festival Play of Daniel, Tannhäuser, La Bohème and Il Tabarro. The tenor made his debut with the famed Ojai Festival under Kent Nagano in Orff’s Die Kluge and recorded the role of Martin in Copland’s opera The Tender Land, which was released on the Koch International Label.
An accomplished concert artist, the tenor has been soloist in more than sixty performances of Handel’s Messiah. He has soloed with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in performances of Elijah, the Sydney Choral Festival in the Berlioz Requiem and in Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Central Union Philharmonic in Beijing. He made his Carnegie Hall solo debut in Britten’s The World of the Spirit and appeared in Rome with the Orchestra Roma Symphonia in Verdi’s Requiem. He has appeared as a guest artist with the Oregon Symphony, Aspen Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Pacific Symphony, Oregon Festival of American Music, Pacific Chorale, Long Beach Opera, Pasadena Symphony, California Philharmonic, Angeles Chorale, Opera Santa Barbara, New West Symphony, Santa Barbara Symphony, Bozeman Symphony and numerous concerts with the San Diego Chamber Orchestra, Third Angle New Music Ensemble, William Hall Master Chorale, Bakersfield Symphony, California Master Chorale, and the Cascade Music Festival.
The tenor, a National Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, has his B.M. from Chapman University and M.M. from the University of Southern California. At the University of Southern California, he was a Marilyn Horne Scholar and was named Most Outstanding Graduate Student from the Thornton School of Music. More info and photos on Mr. MacNeil’s website, www.rmacneil.com.