Sergio Mims: 'Eric Owens Completes the Ring Cycle in Götterdämmerung, Tours Nationally'

[Eric Owens (Photo: Carnegie Hall Interview)]

Sergio Mims sends this update on the operatic career of the bass-baritone Eric Owens:

2012 Tour Schedule, in addition to Metropolitan Opera performances:

February 15 - Recital presented by Friends of Chamber Music Denver; Newman Center; Denver, CO

February 21 - Recital; Carnegie Hall; New York, NY

February 23-25 - Beethoven's Missa solemnis; Boston Symphony Orchestra; Symphony Hall; Boston, MA

February 28 - Recital presented by Philadelphia Chamber Music Society; Kimmel Center; Philadelphia, PA

March 6 - Beethoven's Missa solemnis, Op. 123; Boston Symphony Orchestra; Carnegie Hall; New York, NY

May 19, 26 - Salome (Jochanaan) with The Cleveland Orchestra;  Severance Hall; Cleveland, OH

May 24- Salome (Jochanaan) with The Cleveland Orchestra; Carnegie Hall; New York, NY

May 30, 31 - Verdi Requiem presented by National Arts Centre Orchestra; NAC Southam Hall; Ottawa, Canada

June 7, 9 - John Adams's A Flowering Tree (The Storyteller); Atlanta Symphony Orchestra; Atlanta Symphony Hall; Atlanta, GA

July/August - Artist-in-Residence at Glimmerglass Festival 2012

New York, NY – Eric Owens's work as Alberich in the Metropolitan Opera production of Das Rheingold last season was met with universal acclaim: The Philadelphia Inquirer lauded, "Owens alone is worth the ticket"; the New York Times noted his voice was filled with "stentorian vigor"; Manuela Hoelterhoff of Bloomberg cheered, "Eric Owens, now one of the greatest bass-baritones in the world, was sublime as crazy Alberich"; and Alex Ross of The New Yorker proclaimed, "Owens's portrayal is so richly layered that it may become part of the history of the work." It was not without excitement, then, that audiences anticipated Owens's appearance in the next chapter of The Met's first full cycle. The bass-baritone also continues a busy recital tour of his own this season, and appears in concert with the Cleveland Orchestra and the Boston and Atlanta symphony orchestras.

The Metropolitan Opera's production of Götterdämmerung opened on January 27, 2012, and will be performed on February 3, 7, and 11. Fans worldwide can witness the conclusion of the Ring Cycle via The Met: Live HD broadcast series. The performance will screened in movie theaters around the globe--1600 movie theaters in 54 countries--on February 11, 2012, 12 pm ET. The first complete cycles will take place in spring 2012. Owens will sing the role of Alberich in two complete cycles: Das Rheingold on April 7 and 26; Siegfried on April 21 and 30; and Götterdämmerung on April 24 and May 3.

Owens has begun his first-ever recital tour with pianists Robert Spano and Craig Rutenberg. With engagements in Washington, D.C., Berkeley, Portland and Philadelphia, Owens will notably perform February 21 at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall. Owens sings Beethoven’s Missa solemnis with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Boston and at Carnegie Hall: one of three appearances at the New York cultural institution in 2011-2012. Appearing as Jochanaan in Strauss’ Salome with the Cleveland Orchestra, Owens assumes the role in both Cleveland and at Carnegie Hall in May. Summer 2012 begins with Owens reprising the role of The Storyteller in A Flowering Tree by John Adams with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Owens will continue his summer at Glimmerglass Festival 2012 as the Artist-in-Residence. There, he will appear in Aida and Lost in the Stars, and will perform a cabaret evening.

Eric Owens's recital program is as follows:

WOLF Drei Lieder nach Gedichten von Michelangelo

SCHUMANN "Mein Herz ist schwer," Op. 25, No. 15

SCHUMANN "Muttertraum," Op. 40, No. 2

SCHUMANN "Der Schatzgräber," Op. 45, No. 1

SCHUMANN "Melancholie," Op. 74, No. 6

SCHUBERT "Prometheus," D. 674

SCHUBERT "Fahrt zum Hades," D.526

SCHUBERT "Gruppe aus dem Tartarus," D.583

DEBUSSY "Beau soir"

DEBUSSY "Fleur des blés"

DEBUSSY Romance

RAVEL Don Quichotte à Dulcinée

WAGNER "Les deux grenadiers"

Acclaimed for his commanding stage presence and inventive artistry, Eric Owens has carved a unique place in the opera world as both a champion of new music and a powerful interpreter of classic works. Called "consistently charismatic, theatrically and vocally" by New York Magazine and "absolutely remarkable" by the Philadelphia Inquirer, Owens is equally at home in concert, recital and opera performances, bringing his powerful poise, expansive voice and instinctive acting faculties to stages around the globe. Owens received great critical acclaim for portraying the title role in the world premiere of Elliot Goldenthal’s Grendel with the Los Angeles Opera, and again at the Lincoln Center Festival, in a production directed and designed by Julie Taymor. Owens also enjoys a close association with John Adams, and was featured on the September 2008 Nonesuch Records release of Adams's A Flowering Tree. He also originated the role of Leslie Groves in Adams's Doctor Atomic.