American tenor Cornelius Smith has established himself as one of the most refined tenors of his generation, thanks to the exceptional color and beauty of his voice, his undeniable acting talent, and great musicality.

Smith earned a degree in Musicology from the University of Tennessee and graduated from the American Conservatory of Music. He currently resides in Vienna (Austria). He was a past winner of the New York Metropolitan Opera Auditions. His international debut took place in 1998 at the prestigious Salzburg Festival, where he performed the role of Fatty, the Bookkeeper, in Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny by Kurt Weill (available on DVD/video alongside Catherine Malfitano and Dame Gwyneth Jones, conducted by Dennis Russell Davies).

He has sung at some of the world’s most renowned opera houses, including: the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Salzburg Festival, Norwegian National Opera, Royal Danish Opera, and the New Israeli Opera.

As a member of the ensemble at the National Theatre in Mannheim, Smith performed the roles of Calaf, Cavaradossi, Don José, Pinkerton, Turiddu, Canio, and Otello with Krassimira Stoyanova under the baton of Dan Ettinger. He premiered several productions there, including Dick Johnson in La fanciulla del West (directed by Tilman Knabe), the title role in Don Carlo (directed by Jens-Daniel Herzog), Max in Der Freischütz (directed by Armin Holz), and Hagenbach in a new production of La Wally (again directed by Tilman Knabe).

Subsequent performances included Siegmund in Der Ring an einem Abend, Dionysus in Henze’s The Bassarids, Eléazar in La Juive, and Calaf in Turandot. He returned to the MET as Des Grieux in Manon Lescaut and to Deutsche Oper Berlin for several performances of Calaf. He performed the role of Faust in Boito’s Mefistofele at Teatro del Giglio in Lucca and in Rovigo.

Recent engagements include Florestan in a new production of Fidelio (directed by Markus Bothe and conducted by Julia Jones); Canio in I Pagliacci with the Norwegian National Opera and the Opera de Las Palmas; his debut with the Royal Danish Opera in Copenhagen, where he sang Turiddu in Cavalleria rusticana (directed by Kasper Holten) and Canio in I Pagliacci (directed by Paul Curran, conducted by Stefano Ranzani); Dick Johnson in La fanciulla del West with Lyric Opera of Chicago alongside Deborah Voigt, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis, and also at Nashville Opera; the title role in Andrea Chénier at the Bregenz Festival; Des Grieux in Manon Lescaut in Graz; Calaf in Turandot with the New Orleans Opera opposite Lise Lindstrom and at Deutsche Oper Berlin with Maria Guleghina; Haman in Esther with New York City Opera; Radames in Aida in Birmingham; Erik in Der fliegende Holländer with New Orleans Opera; Pollione in Norma at the Chautauqua Institution; and Otello at the Royal Danish Opera in Copenhagen.

August 2018