In the few years since coming to international attention, Alasdair Kent has established himself as a young tenor of choice, receiving sustained critical and public acclaim thanks to his “absolutely secure-on-high and outstandingly technically-schooled tenor,” his “voice too beautiful to convey in words,” and his “striking good looks.” As a leading man in the operas of Rossini, Mozart and the French Baroque he is heard in the best opera houses and festivals of the world, such as the Wiener Staatsoper, Bayerische Staatsoper, Teatro Real Madrid, Opernhaus Zürich, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Teatro San Carlo di Napoli, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, and the Rossini Opera Festival.


Mr. Kent’s 2023-24 season begins with performances as Don Narciso in Il turco in Italia in his role and theatre debut with Opernhaus Zürich. He debuts with both Teatro Real Madrid and the Gran Teatre del Liceu as the title character in Haydn’s Orlando paladino in concert with Giovanni Antonini conducting Il giardino armonico. He sings Timur in the world premiere of the original Italian version of Salieri’s Cublai, gran kan de’ Tartari with Theater an der Wien, with Christophe Rousset conducting Les Talens Lyriques. He brings his celebrated interpretation of Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola to the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Jean-Pierre Ponnelle’s historical production in Duisburg. Kent returns to Opernhaus Zürich in a new production as Thespis in Rameau’s Platée conducted by Emmanuelle Haïm. He appears in concert as John/Third Angel in Sir George Benjamin’s Written on Skin with Orchestra national de Lille, and with the Stavanger Symfoniorkester conducted by the composer. To close the season, he sings Achille in Iphigénie en Aulide with the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence in their ambitious double-bill with Iphigénie en Tauride, both in new productions by Dmitri Tcherniakov, with Emmanuelle Haïm conducting Le Concert d’Astrée.

Kent’s operatic engagements for the 2022-23 season included his house debut with the Wiener Staatsoper in Il barbiere di Siviglia conducted by Michele Mariotti, La Cenerentola and Die Entführung aus dem Serail with the Bayerische Staatsoper, Così fan tutte with Royal Opera House Muscat and also on tour with Kammerorchester Basel to the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Philharmonie Luxembourg and the Stadtcasino Basel, Don Pasquale with the Teatro Petruzzelli di Bari, and Il barbiere di Siviglia with Cincinnati Opera. Kent also appeared in concert with Opera Philadelphia in Carmina Burana and with the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra in Bach’s Christmas Oratorio. Recording releases included the Lute Song in Britten’s Symphonic Suite from Gloriana with Ivor Bolton and Sinfonieorchester Basel and L’italiana in Algeri recorded live at the Het Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.

In 2021-22, he made his house debut with the Bayerische Staatsoper as Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia, with performances of the same opera with The Dallas Opera, Oper Köln and Den Norske Opera & Ballett. He made his role debut as Pepé in Donizetti’s Deux hommes et une femme at the Konzerthaus Berlin with the Berliner Operngruppe. Other performances included Die Zauberflöte with The Israeli Opera, Don Giovanni with Opéra de Toulon, and La Cenerentola with Opéra Orchestre National Montpellier. On the concert stage, he debuted at Het Concertgebouw in Amsterdam in L’italiana in Algeri.

Previous season highlights include I puritani with Ópera de Oviedo, Il viaggio a Reims with Rossini Opera Festival, Tancredi with the Teatro Petruzzelli di Bari, Mosè in Egitto at the Teatro San Carlo di Napoli, Il barbiere di Siviglia with Theater Basel, Il matrimonio segreto with the Festival della Valle d’Itria and the Teatro Regio di Torino, Die Zauberflöte with the Royal Opera House Muscat, George Benjamin’s Written on Skin with Opera Philadelphia. In concert he has appeared in Rossini’s Messa di Gloria with the Orchestre de Pau Pays de Béarn, Stravinsky’s Pulcinella with the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, in varied programs with The Dallas Opera, and in gala concert at Carnegie Hall for the Licia Albanese-Puccini and the Gerda Lissner Foundations.

The tenor has won First Prizes in the Joan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge Foundation Bel Canto Award, the Gerda Lissner Foundation International Vocal Competition, the Loren L. Zachary Society National Vocal Competition, the Mildred Miller International Voice Competition, the Violetta DuPont Vocal Competition, and both First Prize and the Audience Prize in the Academy of Vocal Arts’ Giargiari Bel Canto Competition. He was also awarded the Marten Bequest by the Australia Council, one of Australia’s most important artistic awards.

Mr. Kent is a graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, where his roles included Lindoro in L’italiana in Algeri, Ferrando in Così fan tutte, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni and Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi. He is a proud alumnus of Opera Philadelphia’s Emerging Artist Program, the Merola Opera Program, the Lisa Gasteen National Opera School, and spent two seasons with Wolf Trap Opera as a Filene Young Artist. He speaks English, Italian, German and French and makes his home in Basel, Switzerland.

October 2023

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