About Ryan Edwards
Metropolitan Opera baritone Ryan Edwards has appeared in major operatic roles throughout North America and Europe. Eminent in the Verdi repertory, he has been praised as “a superb singer and artist” by THE WASHINGTON POST. OPERA NEWS declared his “magnificent instrument is ideally suited for Verdi.” THE NEW YORK TIMES applauded his “sterling voice,” while OPERA (London) hailed him as “a Verdi baritone ‘di prima classe.’” He has received international tributes for such portrayals as Germont in LA TRAVIATA with Joan Sutherland and Iago in OTELLO opposite James McCracken, as well as MACBETH with Shirley Verrett. His numerous performances with the Met have included the leading baritone roles in ERNANI with Aprile Millo, DON CARLO conducted by James Levine, and LA FORZA DEL DESTINO with Grace Bumbry and José Carreras. OPERA CANADA wrote that he “superbly articulated the title role” in NABUCCO, a Canadian premiere with Cristina Deutekom broadcast by the CBC. Called “the ideal embodiment of Rodrigo” in DON CARLO by OPERA (London), he has also won accolades as Amonasro in AIDA, Renato in UN BALLO IN MASCHERA, and Ford in FALSTAFF. OPERA CANADA extolled his “riveting Iago” and wrote of his Count di Luna in IL TROVATORE: “Ryan Edwards sang brilliantly, interpolating a high B flat into the final moments of the opera that called to mind the late Leonard Warren.” He has sung ATTILA in Barcelona, conducted by Plácido Domingo, and in London, broadcast by the BBC. THE TIMES admired his “ringing top register and fervent artistry,” while OPERA NEWS reported, “Ryan Edwards won great acclaim as Ezio: firm, powerful yet always expressive singing brought the house down.”
Lauded by THE NEW YORKER as a “splendid baritone” and by OPERA NEWS as “a baritone with resonance and style,” he has been an international bel canto favorite. He has sung Lusignano in CATERINA CORNARO with Montserrat Caballé in Paris, an event broadcast by French National Radio and captured in the opera’s world premiere recording. OPERA (London) wrote that his Enrico in LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR “walked away with the evening’s honours. His is a rich, virile, noble and beautifully modulated baritone.” When he made his Met debut in LUCIA with Beverly Sills, a landmark production that was also broadcast and later released on CD, CUE magazine celebrated his performance as “a welcome Christmas gift from the Met.” He has appeared in I PURITANI with Alfredo Kraus in London and with June Anderson for the opera’s Canadian premiere. OPERA NEWS praised his Riccardo as “strongly yet elegantly sung, showing a fine sense of Bellini style,” while OPERA CANADA declared he sang with “a resonant baritone of magnificent girth and intelligent purpose.” Other bel canto roles have included Manfredo in IL GIURAMENTO at New York’s Lincoln Center and Figaro in IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, where LA PRENSA reported, “Ryan Edwards was the perfectly defined Figaro in voice, gesture, action and understanding of the role. His vocal gifts are sumptuous and very secure, and he dominates the stage and the part totally. A triumph as a singer and as a comic actor without any reservations whatsoever.”
His gifts as a singing actor have made him particularly sought-after for verismo opera. He has sung CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA with Martina Arroyo, as well as PAGLIACCI with Jon Vickers and Carlo Bergonzi. OPERA NEWS declared, “Ryan Edwards, who also sang Alfio in CAV, made a dramatically vivid and visually arresting Tonio . . . [His voice] was firm and beautiful, and he sang musically and movingly.” EL VOCERO extolled his “superlative vocal and dramatic portrayal of Tonio,” concluding, “All praise goes to the splendid artistry of the baritone Ryan Edwards.” His performances in CAV-PAG have been heard on multiple Met broadcasts, and his Tonio has been captured in the film PAGLIACCI, directed by Henry Butler. TOSCA inspired OPERA NEWS to write, “It was Edwards who turned in the evening’s knock-out punch, his Scarpia incontestably aristocratic yet menacingly spiderlike, not a movement or inflection unconsidered.” His Sharpless in MADAMA BUTTERFLY with Renata Scotto was broadcast from the Met and released on CD. OPERA (London) applauded his “exceptionally strong, stylish” performance as Marcello in LA BOHÈME, while “The Critics’ Place” (PBS) raved, “What a magnificent singing actor! His big baritone voice, well rounded from top to bottom, was a joy.” He has sung the irrepressible Marcello with such stellar colleagues as Giacomo Aragall, José Carreras, Giuseppe di Stefano, Lorna Haywood, Dorothy Kirsten, Anna Moffo, Luciano Pavarotti, Katia Ricciarelli, Renata Scotto, George Shirley, and Teresa Stratas. His portrayal in Franco Zeffirelli’s celebrated Met production, conducted by James Conlon, was also broadcast and released on CD.
A versatile artist, he has sung such Italian rarities as ANDREA CHÉNIER, IL TABARRO, and L’AMORE DEI TRE RE. He performed in ARIODANTE with Beverly Sills for the opening celebrations of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and appeared at the San Francisco Opera as Prince Yeletsky in PIQUE DAME, starring Galina Vishnevskaya and conducted by Mstislav Rostropovich. When the SFO honored Mr. Edwards by featuring his aria on the company website, critic Roger Pines posted: “the opera’s most famous aria, that of Lisa’s lovestruck fiancé, Prince Yeletsky, is excerpted in a velvet-voiced, exceptionally long-breathed, unfailingly sympathetic performance by baritone Ryan Edwards, a singer best known for Verdi.” His EUGENE ONEGIN led OPERA NEWS to write: “He has evolved into a dramatic baritone, delivering his music with deep-flowing dignity and grandeur and with impeccable diction.” He has also taken the leading baritone roles in French operas ranging from WERTHER, conducted by Richard Bonynge at the Met, to LES PÊCHEURS DE PERLES with Enrico Di Giuseppe and THAÏS opposite Jeannette Pilou. When his performance with Helga Dernesch in the British premiere of Bloch’s MACBETH was broadcast by the BBC, MUSIC AND MUSICIANS celebrated him as “an ideal Macbeth.” OPERA NEWS concurred, declaring him “a Macbeth as ringingly firm in tone as he was tautly secure in characterization.”
Called the “consummate soloist” by the MIAMI HERALD for his performance at the International Festival of the Americas with José Serebrier, he has sung with the New York Philharmonic under Leonard Bernstein, the Boston Symphony Orchestra with Erich Leinsdorf, the Los Angeles Philharmonic with Zubin Mehta, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with James Levine, and the Atlanta Symphony with Robert Shaw. He has performed Orff’s CARMINA BURANA across the country, under such prominent conductors as Klaus Tennstedt at the Cincinnati May Festival. The SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE proclaimed him the “vocal sensation of the evening” in Orff’s bravura work. Another favorite has been the Brahms REQIUEM, which he sang in a nationally televised concert conducted by André Previn. He has performed in Mahler’s SYMPHONY NO. 8 for the opening of Chicago’s Ravinia Festival and was applauded for his sensitive interpretation of Mahler’s SONGS OF A WAYFARER at the Athens Festival in Greece. He was also soloist for both the American and European premieres of ENDOPSIS, a symphonic work for baritone and orchestra, conducted by composer Stavros Xarhakos.
Mr. Edwards has been heard on dozens of opera and concert broadcasts, and his performances have been carried internationally by the BBC, ORTF-Paris, Voice of Europe Radio Network, CBC, and Texaco Metropolitan Opera Broadcasts. On television, he has been seen in the CBC’s award-winning production of THE MAID OF ORLEANS by Tchaikovsky, the Brahms REQUIEM on NET, and PBS’s documentary THE VOCAL LION. As a teacher, lecturer, and author, Mr. Edwards has given master classes throughout the United States and Europe, in addition to judging Metropolitan Opera Auditions and other national competitions. He is a past president of the National Opera Association and has served as artistic consultant and master teacher for the International Opera Academy in Rome and the Marquee Theatre Company. He has written numerous articles on opera and drama and is the author, with son Geoffrey, of THE VERDI BARITONE: STUDIES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF DRAMATIC CHARACTER (Indiana University Press), VERDI AND PUCCINI HEROINES: DRAMATIC CHARACTERIZATION IN GREAT SOPRANO ROLES (Scarecrow Press), and A.K.A. DOC: THE ORAL HISTORY OF A NEW ORLEANS STREET MUSICIAN (book-CD package, Cadence Jazz Books). Mr. Edwards is an alumnus of the Academy of Vocal Arts and the prestigious Juilliard Opera Center. He is the recipient of numerous honors, including the National Opera Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award.