CCPA voice graduate makes debut at the Metropolitan Opera

Jonathan Beyer, a graduate of Roosevelt’s voice program, recently made his debut alongside two of opera’s biggest stars at the legendary Metropolitan Opera in New York City.

“It was a tremendous experience, particularly since all of my Roosevelt voice professors had sung at the Metropolitan Opera. It was great for me to be able to sing there as well,” said Beyer, who received his bachelor’s in music in 2003 and his master’s in music in 2005 at Chicago College of Performing Arts.

The baritone, who took the stage Nov. 19-Jan. 19 in Faust with Rene Pape and Jonas Kaufmann, two of the biggest names in opera today, said he was grateful for the insights that voice professors David Holloway, Judith Haddon and Richard Stilwell provided about their own experiences singing at the Metropolitan Opera.

“It was definitely the biggest opera house and the most important one I’ve ever sung at,” said Beyer, the winner of the George London Foundation Competition and a national finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Competition.

After graduating from CCPA’s Music Conservatory, Beyer did his post-graduate work at the Curtis Institute of Music and was a two-year young artist with the Pittsburgh Opera.  He also has sung with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Dallas Opera, Opera Frankfurt, Opera Hong Kong, the Opera Company of Philadelphia and has given recitals at Carnegie Hall.

His next engagement of the season will be in the Boston Lyric Opera’s Figaro and he will be giving a Carnegie Hall Foundation recital as the Count in Marriage of Figaro with the Ft. Worth Opera.
 
“This is a terrific talent,” said Holloway, head of the CCPA voice program. “He (Beyer) has a big voice and he is a wonderful musician as well,” Holloway said.