dean elzinga,bass-baritone

With keen theatrical and musical insight and an uncommonly flexible and handsome voice, Dean Elzinga is among the most sought-after bass-baritones on the concert and opera scene. 2001-2002 North American highlights include Beethoven's Ninth with Maximiano Valdés and the San Diego Symphony and Enrique Diemecke and the Long Beach Symphony; and Ramfis in Verdi's Aïda for his debut with the Vancouver Opera; and his "signature" role of Méphistophélès at the Sacramento Opera. 2001-2002 includes Beethoven No. 9 with the Rochester Philharmonic; Phoenix and Vancouver Symphonies (conducted by Music Directors Christopher Seaman, Hermann Michael and Bramwell Tovey, respectively) and Minnesota Orchestra (conducted by Emmanuel Villaume). Elzinga’s works also include Beethoven's Missa solemnis with the Louisiana Philharmonic/Klauspeter Seibel; Haydn's The Creation with James Setapen conducting the Amarillo Symphony and a return to the Arizona Opera for Leporello in Don Giovanni. Elzinga debuted with Opera Memphis as the Four Villains in Les contes d'Hoffmann; and his Nashville Opera debut, as Sparafucile in Rigoletto. He also returns to the El Paso Opera for Dr. Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro (making him one of the few singers to have performed Almaviva, Figaro and Dr. Bartolo in this opera). In 2000-2001 he sang five Messiahs with the Toronto Symphony (Christopher Seaman conducting); Beethoven's Christ on the Mount of Olives and Mass in C with Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center; Sparafucile with the Kalamazoo Symphony; Polyphemus in Handel's Acis and Galatea at New York City Opera; the King in Verdi's Aïda at the San Diego Opera; Almaviva in Hawaii Opera Theatre's Le nozze di Figaro; a concert performance of Eliot Carter's What Next? at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw; and recitals in Palm Springs and Cincinnati, the latter his third appearance on the distinguished Matinée Musical series.

Mr. Elzinga sang Biterolf in Tannhäuser and Alidoro in La Cenerentola, both under James Levine, at the Metropolitan Opera; Mozart's Figaro with the Santa Barbara Grand Opera and Arizona Opera; Nick Shadow in the Edmonton Opera's The Rake's Progress; Basilio in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with both Opera San Jose and the New West Symphony; Poo-Bah in The Mikado at the Portland Opera; Acis and Galatea, Sousa's The Glass Blowers, Puccini's Tosca and Thomson's The Mother of Us All at Glimmerglass Opera. He garnered international attention for his fiercely dramatic performance of Peter Maxwell Davies' Eight Songs for a Mad King with Jonathan Sheffer and New York's Eos Orchestra. For Opera San Jose, the Mississippi and Nevada Operas he performed his "signature" role of Méphistophélès in Faust. In addition he sang Ramfis in Aïda at Opera Carolina, the title role of Rossini's Il Turco in Italia for Opera San José; Mozart's Figaro, Escamillo in Carmen, Leporello and Méphistophélès at the Vienna Volksoper; Mozart's Figaro with the Connecticut Grand Opera and Orchestra; and Maître Jean in L'Opéra Français de New York's La Colombe at Alice Tully Hall.

Equally at home on the concert platform, Mr. Elzinga has sung Messiahs with the Pacific Symphony, San Diego Chamber Orchestra and Florida Philharmonic; Missa solemnis with the Pacific Chorale; Britten's War Requiem and Mahler #8 with the William Hall Master Chorale; and the Fauré Requiem at the Pacific Choral Festival. At New York's Bard Festival he performed Haydn's Die Jahreszeiten, Schönberg's Die glückliche Hand and a recital of songs by Schönberg, Strauss, Reger, Marx and Berg; returning in summer 2002 for Mahler's Eighth Symphony. Other conductors with whom he collaborates include Yves Abel, David Lockington, Klaus Donath, Asher Fisch, Bertrand de Billy and James Judd.