Tenor Gregory Kunde is the most elegant and accomplished bel canto singer on the opera stage today.  He has impressed audiences in the world’s leading theaters with his sensitive phrasing, impeccable style, and dramatic command of the most demanding roles of the Italian and French bel canto repertoire. 

Mr. Kunde made his European debut as Nadir in Bizet’s Les Pecheurs des Perles in Nice.  Since that time, he has become well known for his interpretations of the most challenging tenor roles in the world’s most notable opera venues, including Paris’ Opera Comique and Bastille, Deutsche Oper in Berlin, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, Rome, Madrid, Toulouse, Vienna, Pesaro’s Rossini Festival, Athens, Montreal, Zurich, Tokyo, Verona, Teatro alla Scala, and Grand Theatre du Geneve.  In North America, he is a regular guest of the Metropolitan Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and Opera Orchestra of New York most notably.

He has earned widespread acclaim for his performances of the most demanding tenor roles of the French and Italian bel canto operas, including,  Arnold of Rossini’s Guillaume Tell; Tebaldo in Bellini’s I Capuleti e I Montecchi;  Lindoro in Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algieri;  Julian in Charpentier’s Louise;  Des Grieux of Massenet’s Manon;  Nadir of Bizet’s Les Pecheurs des Perles;  Ernesto in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale;  Elvino in Bellini’s La Sonnambula;  Fernando in Donizetti’s La Favorita;  Idreno in Rossini’s Semiramide;  Don Ottavio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni;  Don Ramiro in Rossini’s La Cenerentola;  Rinaldo in Rossini’s Armida, and Arturo of Bellini’s I Puritani.  He is a favorite of conductors and stage directors alike and has collaborated with many outstanding talents such as Richard Bonynge, Giancarlo del Monaco, Riccardo Muti, Pier Luigi Pizzi, Michel Plasson, George Pretre, Claudio Scimone, Alberto Zedda among others. 

Shattering old ideas of the heldentenor’s secure place in this French genre, Mr. Kunde has convincingly brought his bel canto elegance to the music of Berlioz as his territory as well. Under the direction of John Nelson, Kunde performed and recorded Benevenuto Cellini in concert with the Orchestra Radio France (Virgin Classics).  He has sung concert performances of La Damnation de Faust  with Charles Dutoit with the London Philharmonia, Dallas Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Toronto Symphony and  Atlanta Symphony.  At Paris’ Theatre du Chatelet, Kunde appeared in the challenging role of Aeneas, for a landmark staging of Berlioz’s Les Troyens under the baton of Maestro John Eliot Gardiner (released in January 2005 as a DVD from the BBC and Canal Plus).

Notable recent engagements include Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia in Cagliari, and concerts of Rossini’s Le Comte Ory at the Concertgebow in Amsterdam.  Most recently, the tenor was greeted with standing ovations in Baltimore for his portrayal of Elvino in La Sonnambulai, Julien in Charpentier’s Louise at the Bastille Opera in Paris,Idreno in a new production of Semiramide in Paris at the Theatre du Champs Elysees, Arturo in I Puritani at the Metropolitan Opera, Rossini’s Otello for the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro and in Tokyo, Pollione in Norma with Santa Cecilia in Rome conducted by Kent Nagano, the title role of La Damnation du Faust with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Simon Rattle. The current season includes Pollione in Palermo, a return to Carnegie Hall to sing Das Lied von der Erde under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas, and return engagements in Brussels, Naples, and Geneva.