Stephen West

Professor of Voice
sbwest@umich.edu
734-764-5595

In a long and distinguished career, bass-baritone Stephen West has appeared with many of the finest opera companies in the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, the Bayreuth, Salzburg and Santa Fe Festivals, Opéra National de Paris (Bastille), Deutsche Staatsoper (Berlin), Teatro Carlo Felice (Genoa) and Teatro Regio (Turin), the Lyric Opera of Chicago, New York City Opera and the San Francisco, Seattle, Washington and Dallas operas, among many others. He has performed with leading symphony orchestras such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Boston, Atlanta, and Montreal symphonies, and the Philadelphia and Cleveland orchestras in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Tanglewood, and the Hollywood Bowl. He has collaborated with many world-famous conductors, including James Levine, Riccardo Muti, Sir Andrew Davis, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Sir Charles Mackerras, Julius Rudel, Michael Gielen, and Richard Bonynge.

In 2008-2009, Mr. West celebrates his second year as Professor of Music in Voice with the School of Music, Theater & Dance, where he was also guest instructor with the MPulse summer music program offered through the University of Michigan.  Future engagements include a solo recital with Martin Katz at the School of Music, Theater & Dance, appearances with the U-M Chamber Music Players, as Pagapeno in The Magic Flute with the Ann Arbor Symphony and a return to the Opéra National de Lyon (France) as Dr. Schön in Berg’s Lulu.  In 2007-2008, he appeared with the Opéra National de Lyon as Mephistopheles in Faustus, the Last Night, the Ft. Worth Opera as Candy in Floyd's Of Mice and Men, and directed and starred as the Wizard in the hit musical Wicked in Denver.

West returned to the Metropolitan Opera in the 2006-2007 season to reprise Monterone in Rigoletto and created the role of Mephistopheles in the American premiere of Pascal Dusapin's Faustus, the Last Night for Spoleto Festival USA, to wide acclaim. Highlights of recent seasons include appearances with the Metropolitan Opera as Heinrich in Lohengrin and as Zuniga in Carmen, and the New York City Opera as Braxton and Sherrin in The Mines of Sulfur. He recently performed his first Wotan in Das Rheingold and Der Wanderer in Siegfried with the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, the title role in a concert performance of Attila with Boston's Chorus Pro Musica, and Horace in Blitzstein's Regina at Bard Summerscape Festival.

Over the course of many seasons with the Metropolitan Opera, he has sung the Commendatore in Don Giovanni, Wurm in Luisa Miller, Dr. Schön and the Animal Trainer/Athlete in Lulu, Dr. Kolenáty in The Makropoulos Affair, Fafner in Das Rheingold, Gretch in Fedora and Der Polizeikommisarius in Der Rosenkavalier with the company on tour in Japan. With New York City Opera he has performed the title roles in Boito's Mefistofele and Verdi's Attila, Leporello in Don Giovanni, Ezra Mannon in Mourning Becomes Electra, Andrew Borden in Lizzie Borden, and Sparafucile in Rigoletto. With Lyric Opera of Chicago, Mr. West has sung Claggart and Flint in Billy Budd, Peter in Hänsel und Gretel, John Quincy Adams in the world premiere of Anthony Davis' Amistad and Dr. Kolenáty in The Makropoulos Affair. With Opera Colorado he has sung Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger, Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte, the title role in Gianni Schicchi, and Baron Ochs in Der Rosenkavalier.

Mr. West's international opera credits include König Heinrich in Lohengrin in multiple seasons with the Bayreuth Festival, Claggart in Billy Budd with Teatro Regio di Torino; the Animal Trainer/Athlete in Lulu with the Op√©ra National de Paris (Bastille) in Paris, the Salzburg Festival and the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin; Dr. Schön in Lulu with the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin and with the Opéra Bastille; the title role in Boito's Mefistofele with the International Bach-akademie in Stuttgart and Köln; and Kaspar in Der Freischütz with the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin.

Other operatic highlights include Scarpia in Tosca with Cleveland Opera and Seattle Opera; Don Fernando in Fidelio with Dallas Opera; Méphistophéles in Gounod's Faust with Opera Ontario and the Baltimore Opera; the Comte des Grieux in Manon with the Dallas Opera; Mars in Henze's Venus und Adonis and Monterone in Rigoletto, both with Santa Fe Opera; and the Forester in The Cunning Little Vixen with the Washington Opera.

In concert Mr. West has sung Timur in Turandot, the title role in Boito's Mefistofele and Rossini's Stabat Mater, all with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra; Beethoven's Missa Solemnis with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra; the Mozart Requiem and Coronation Mass with Voices of Ascension at Alice Tully Hall; and Tiresias in Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex with the Cleveland Orchestra, conducted by Christoph von Dohnányi. Mr. West made his Boston Symphony Orchestra debut singing the role of Uncle Sarvaor in Manuel de Falla's La vida breve. He was featured as soloist in Mahler's Symphony No. 8 in the 75th Anniversary Gala Concerts at the Hollywood Bowl.

Stephen West has received many awards, including the 1995 New York City Opera Kolozsvar Award, a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, two National Awards from the Metropolitan Opera, and two prizes from the Seventh Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow. He has studied extensively with world-renowned basses Hans Hotter and Jerome Hines and with Maitland Peters at the Manhattan School of Music.

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