Michael Colvin

Hailed in Opera News as possessing "one of the most beautiful lyric tenor instruments around," Irish-Canadian tenor Michael Colvin has appeared to critical acclaim on opera and concert stages throughout Canada, the United States, the U.K., and Europe. His 23/24 season highlights include appearances at Madrid’s Teatro Real in Reimann’s Lear and Staatsoper Hamburg in Lucia di Lammermoor.

Last season, he returned to the Canadian Opera Company (Le nozze di Figaro, Salome), Opéra National de Paris (Tosca, The Magic Flute), Teatro alla Scala (Peter Grimes) and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for Handel’s Messiah.

Aribert Reimann’s Lear was the vehicle for Colvin’s recent Salzburg and Maggio Musicale (Florence) debuts, his performance as Cornwall noted for “vocal verve, perfect technique and exemplary diction” (Neue Musikzeitung). He enjoyed further performances of this role with Opéra national de Paris. Recent seasons have included Herodes in Salome for English National Opera, Messiah for Symphony Nova Scotia, Dr. Caius in Vlaanderen Opera’s Falstaff, Bob Boles in Peter Grimes with Monte Carlo Opera, Bardolfo in Falstaff for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and Monostatos in Canadian Opera Company’s Die Zauberflöte.

Of particular note during Canada’s Sesquicentennial Year, he was featured in the Canadian Opera Company’s new production of Somers’ Louis Riel, presented in Toronto, Ottawa, and Quebec City. Also on his schedule for 2016-2017 were the Painter in Lulu at the English National Opera, Monostatos in Die Zauberflöte for the Canadian Opera Company, and Elijah for Montreal’s Choeur St. Laurent. During the 2015-2016 season he sang l’Aumonier in Dialogues des Carmélites for The Netherlands Opera, Basilio in Le nozze di Figaro for the Canadian Opera Company, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 for the Brott Music Festival.

Highlighting Colvin’s 2014-2015 season was his debut at the Royal Opera Covent Garden as Rodolphe in Rossini’s Guillaume Tell conducted by Antonio Pappano. The year also included a return to the Canadian Opera Company for the roles of Goro in Madama Butterfly and Dr. Caius in Falstaff, Herod in Salome for Opera Ireland, Jaquino for Manitoba Opera’s Fidelio and Messiahs in Newfoundland and Montréal. He joined Bramwell Tovey and the Vancouver Symphony for Rimsky-Korsakov’s Mozart and Salieri and also was seen in Brussels and Paris as Jaquino, with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir in Pärt’s Passio.

Held in high esteem for his sterling musicianship and commitment to text, he has collaborated with conductors including Franz Welser-Möst, Harry Bicket, Antonio Papano, Johannes Debus, Nicholas McGegan, Sir Charles Mackerras, Andrey Boreyko, Bernard Labadie, Bramwell Tovey, Alexander Shelley, Jacques Lacombe, Trevor Pinnock, Helmut Rilling, Jane Glover and Carlos Kalmar. His repertoire is an eclectic mix, ranging from the opera and orchestral works of Britten and Mozart to Berg, Beethoven, Strauss and Wagner. Additional credits include Welsh National Opera, Minnesota Opera, Seattle Symphony, Louisville Orchestra, Phoenix Symphony, Toronto Symphony, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Rochester Philharmonic, Ulster Orchestra in Belfast, Detroit Symphony, Garsington Opera, National Arts Centre Orchestra Ottawa, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, l’Orchestre symphonique de Québec, Pacific Opera Victoria, Portland Opera, London Proms, Lanaudière Festival, Edinburgh Festival, Grant Park Festival and the Elora Festival.

Born in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, and raised in Toronto, Canada, Michael began his musical studies at St. Michael's Choir School in Toronto and returned to music after attaining his Bachelor of Science in Immunology from the University of Toronto. A graduate of the U. of T. Opera Division, Michael has also trained with the Canadian Opera Company's Ensemble Studio, the Britten-Pears School in Aldeburgh, England and Canada’s Banff Centre for the Arts. He has been the recipient of numerous awards and scholarships, most notably the Canadian Opera Foundation Award, Chalmers Performing Arts Award and a Canada Council Artist Grant. Michael makes his home in Toronto, Canada. Recording projects include the works of the Ukrainian composer Lysenko, Don Ottavio in the film Don Giovanni Unmasked with Hvorostovsky and recordings on the NAXOS, CBC and Warner Music labels.

January 2024

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Michael is represented by Dean Artists in North America.

““Colvin, in turn, sang with force and impressive tone as he tore up the stage with his riveting portrayal. He was superb.””

— [Salome, English National Opera] San Francisco Classical Voice; Letter from London

Falstaff (Salzburg Festival, 2023).

Le nozze di Figaro (Canadian Opera Company, 2023).

“Colvin, in turn, sang with force and impressive tone as he tore up the stage with his riveting portrayal. He was superb.”
[Salome, English National Opera] San Francisco Classical Voice; Letter from London

Canadian character tenor Michael Colvin was the best Monostatos I’ve seen. [COC Die Zauberflote, Ludwig Van, Joseph So]

Sung by tenor Michael Colvin, the character is a re-imagined version of the apartment’s janitor, cloaked in a costume constructed from old wrapping paper and Christmas decorations. The choice to cast a tenor instead of a mezzo for this role draws attention to the fact that this is an adult man playing make-believe to humour the children, which gives the character unexpected warmth. He adds a subtle nasal quality to his voice to emphasize the deliberate goofiness of his portrayal. [COC Hansel and Gretel, Rebecca Feimster, Opera Canada].

“"The assortment of Jews, Nazarenes, soldiers and pages includes well known names like Michael Colvin (Second Jew)... With casting like this the ensemble numbers are unsurprisingly crisp." - Bachtrack (Salome, Canadian Opera Company, 2023).