Legendary tenor Chris Merritt has had an expansive and varied career of the highest level of international projects and engagements, spaning now 45 years since his 1975 debut at the renowned Santa Fe Opera Summer Festival in Verdi’s FALSTAFF. Mr. Merritt’s european opera debut was with the Salzburger Landestheater as Lindoro in L’ITALIANA IN ALGIERI of Rossini in 1978.
Born and raised in Oklahoma City, Mr. Merritt attained all of his musical, vocal and piano training at Oklahoma City University, having studied with vocal department chairpersons Inez Lunsford Silberg and Florence Gillam Birdwell and piano department chairperson and music school dean, Robert Laughlin. Indeed, his association with the university began while still attending high school and culminating with an Honorary Doctorate of Music in Vocal Performance awarded in 1992.
Mr. Merritt’s career includes close work with famous conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim, Richard Bonynge, Pierre Boulez, Myung-Whung Chung, Christoph von Dohnany, Valery Gergiev, James Levine, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Seiji Ozawa, George Pretre, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Leonard Slatkin, Jeffrey Tate and Christian Thielemann and famous stage-directors Hugo De Ana, Goetz Friedrich, Fura Dels Baus, Werner Herzog, GianCarlo Menotti, Pier Luigi Pizzi, Luca Ronconi, Peter Sellars, Peter Stein, Robert Wilson and Franco Zeffirelli.
Engagements have taken Chris Merritt to The Metropolitan Opera, Teatro Alla Scala, Opera de Paris, Royal Opera Covent Garden, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Teatro La Fenice, Teatro San Carlo, Wiener Staatsoper, Bayerische Staatsoper, Semper Oper Dresden, Theatre Royal de La Monnaie, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Teatro Real Madrid, Teatro de la Zarzuela, Teatro Colon, Teatro del Opera di Roma, Los Angeles Opera, San Diego Opera, Baltimore Opera, New York City Opera, Nomori Opera Tokyo, Opera de Nice, Teatro Petruzelli, Opernhaus Zurich, Grand Theatre de Geneve, Teatro Municipal de Santiago, The Lithuanian National Opera, The Latvian National Opera, Teatro Carlo Felice, Theatre des Champs Elysees, Theatre du Chatelet.
International festival seasons have seen Mr. Merritt with The Salzburger Festspiele, The Glyndebourne Festival, The Rossini Opera Festival, The Tivoli Festival, The Holland Festival, The Munich Opera Festival, Massenet Festival St. Etienne, Festival de Radio France e Montpellier, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Chorégies d’Orange Festival, Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto, Kieler Woche, Fest in Hellbrunn Salzburg, Festival Carinthischer Sommer, Lucerne Festival, Wiener Festwochen and Arena di Verona, The Adelaide Festival.
Chris Merritt has performed with many orchestras including The New York Philharmonic, Wiener Philharmoniker, Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, The London Philharmonic, The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, The Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, The Detroit Symphony, The Baltimore Symphony, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, I Solisti Veniti, Opera Orchestra of New York. Orchestra of St. Luke’s, National Symphony Orchestra Washington DC, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Toronto Symphonie, National Orchestre du France, NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo, The Hong Kong Philharmonic, Orchestre National du Capitole Halles Aux Grains, Orchestra Arturo Toscanini, Orquesta Sinfónica Venezuela, Orquestra de València, Wiener Symphoniker Orchester and The Halle Orchestra.
Mr. Merritt has been heard as recitalist in Carnegie Hall New York, Teatro Alla Scala, Teatro del Opera di Roma, Theatre des Champs Elysees, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Johns Hopkins Recital Series, The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Teatro San Carlo di Napoli, Grand Theatre de Geneve, and in cities such as Montisi, Kyoto, Soloturn, Modena, Fenetrange, Montpellier, Osaka, Tokyo, Oviedo, San Sabastian, in collaboration with pianists Leone Maggiera, Beatrice Benzi, Vincenzo Scalera, Warren Jones and Martin Katz.
The operatic career of Chris Merritt has seen several eras. From 1975 to 1986 Mr. Merritt was heard in the Lyric Tenor repertoire singing Rodolfo/LA BOHEME, Duca/RIGOLETTO, Alfredo/LA TRAVIATA, Rinuccio/GIANNI SCHICCHI, Faust/FAUST, Tamino/DIE ZAUBERFLOETE, Ferrando/COSI FAN TUTTE, Paolino/IL MATTRIMONIO SEGRETO, Ein Saenger/DER ROSENKAVALIER, Pilade/IPHEGENIE IN TAURIDE, Don Ottavio/DON GIOVANNI, Julien/LOUISE, Barenkay/DER ZIGEUNERBARON, Leukippos/DAPHNE, Fenton/FALSTAFF, Idomeneo/IDEMENEO, Belfiore/LA FINTA GIARDINIERA, Hoffmann/LES CONTES D’HOFFMANN.
From 1981 Mr. Merritt began to transition into the Belcanto operas, having already sung Lindoro/L’ITALIANA IN ALGIERI, Leopold/LA JUIVE, Nemorino/L’ELISIR D’AMORE, Edgardo/LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR, Ramiro/LA CENERENTOLA, Argirio/TANCREDI and Arturo/I PURITANI.
From 1985 to 1995, his career was devoted to the Belcanto almost esclusively with roles like Otello/OTELLO(Rossini), Giacomo & Rodrigo/LA DONNA DEL LAGO, Oreste & Pirro/ERMIONE, Leicester/ELISABETTA, REGINA D’INGHILTERRA, Erisso/MAOMETTO II, Contareno/BIANCA E FALLIERO, Idreno/SEMIRAMIDE, Rinaldo/ARMIDA, Amenophis/MOISE, Antenore/ZELMIRA, Libenskoff/IL VIAGGIO A REIMS, Arnold/GUILLAUME TELL. In addition during this time he was heard in such roles as Percy/ANNA BOLENA, Pollione/NORMA, Robert/ROBERT LE DIABLE, Cellini/BENVENUTO CELLINI, Enees/LES TROYENS, Manrico/IL TROVATORE, Arrigo/I VESPRI SICILIANI, Tito/LA CLEMENZA DI TITO, Huon/OBERON, Rodigue/LE CID.
Beginning in 1995, Mr. Merritt’s career began to be guided into the the German, Slavic and 20th century repertoire singing roles such as Herodes/SALOME, Bacchus/ARIADNE AUF NAXOS, Aegisth/ELEKTRA, Shuisky/BORIS GODUNOV, Oedipus Rex/OEDIPUS REX, Clemente/VENUS UND ADONIS(World Premier), Dimitrij/DIMITRIJ, Tichon/KATJA KABANOVA, The Prince/RUSALKA, Hauptmann/WOZZECK, Aron/MOSES UND ARON, Loge/DAS RHEINGOLD, Erik/DER FLIEGENDER HOLLAENDER, Ein Gastarbeiter/INTOLLERANZA 1960, The Jailer-Grand Inquisitor/IL PRIGIONIERO, Mephistopheles/DOKTOR FAUST, Le Lepreux/SAINT FRANCOIS D’ASSISE, Knusperhexe/HAENSEL UND GRETEL, Lilaque Pere/BOULIVARD SOLITUDE, Tiresias/THE BASSARIDS, Governor-Vanderdendur-Ragotski/CANDIDE, Piet the Pott/LE GRAND MACABRE, Mendel/HIOB (World Premier).
Recently he sang CANDIDE Governor-Vanderdendur-Ragotski,at Gran Teatro Liceu in Barcelona, and Herod/SALOME at Israel Oper in a new production of SALOME with Dan Ettinger conducting TURANDOT (Altoum) at Teatro Liceu in Barcelona .
Future projects include : Fatty ( Austieg und Fall der Stadt Managonny) in Parma and Reggio Emilia, TURANDOT (Altoum) at Fondazione Arena di Verona and Aeghist/ELEKTRA at Israel Opera
Chris Merritt has over 30 CD and DVD recordings…many award-winning and Grammy-nominated…on various lables including Deutsche Grammophon, Philips, Sony, EMI, BMG Warner, Naxos, Erato, Opus Arte, Opera Rara, Nuova Era, Legato Classics, Koch International, Helicon Classics.
