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Steven Ebel - Tenor

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Photo of Steven Ebel

Photo: Mary Jo Iacovino

We are proud to announce that
tenor Steven Ebel has just been accepted into
Royal Opera House Covent Garden's prestigious
Jette Parker Young Artists Programme!

With a voice described as a "rich lyric tenor," Steven Ebel continues to receive critical and popular acclaim for his work in concert, recital and opera. Recently, Mr. Ebel débuted as Victorin/Gaston in the UK and Royal Opera House premiere of Korngold's Die tote Stadt at Covent Garden. He begins his tenure for the next two seasons with the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme at London's Royal Opera House on September 1, 2009. This summer, he débuts in the inaugural season of Lorin Maazel's Castleton Festival as Peter Quint and returns to the Tanglewood Music Festival to sing Eislinger in Act III of Die Meistersinger and Tenor I in Stravinsky's Renard, with staging by Mark Morris, under the leadership of Maestro James Levine.

Last season, Mr. Ebel was personally selected by Maestro James Levine to sing the demanding role of Jimmy Mahoney in the Tanglewood Music Festival's new production of Weill's The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny for which he received unreserved praise. He sang his first Jaquino in Beethoven's Fidelio in New York, and appeared with New Music New York and at London's illustrious Wigmore Hall Competition.

Mr. Ebel performed as soloist in Americans in Paris - Songs by American Students of Nadia and 21st Century Shakespeare Chamber Music inspired by the Bard for the New Millennium. He created the role of Wolf in the world premiere of Louis Karchin's Romulus, and will record his role in the fall of 2009. He was widely lauded for his company début with Opera Cleveland singing his first Peter Quint in Turn of the Screw.

At the outset of his career, Mr. Ebel sang leading roles in Bizet's Dr. Miracle and Orpheus in the Underworld, Lucia di Lammermoor, Iolanthe, and The Mikado. He also toured in Opera for the Young's production of Rusalka, and was The Prince in A Mermaid's Tale. He débuted with OperaDelaware as Frederick in The Pirates of Penzance and participated in the prestigious Tanglewood Music Festival under a fellowship grant. He sang the title role of Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito with New York Opera Forum and New York Opera Studio, Donald in Douglas Moore's Gallantry with Cantiamo Opera and Il postiglione in Puccini's La Fanciulla del West at New York City Opera.

An avid recitalist, Mr. Ebel has performed A Tenor's Songbook featuring works of Barber and Schumann and a superb all Benjamin Britten program in New York. This recital, entitled Sonnets and Songs of the Isles, featured the Michelangelo Sonnets, On this Island and folk song arrangements.

While in Madison, he performed as tenor soloist with the University Choral Union, Concert Choirs and the Madison Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Ebel presented several highly regarded recitals during this time including performances of Dichterliebe and A Timbered Choir, a fourteen song cycle to the poems of Wendell Berry.

A versatile performer, he appeared as Archie in the musical The Secret Garden and John Savage in the premiere of the musical Brave New World. Now living in New York, Mr. Ebel has performed with the Pacific Opera Ensemble and Lifebeat – The Music Industry Fights AIDS. An exceptionally gifted composer, Mr. Ebel's latest work, Mogens, will be premiered in the coming season.

Mr. Ebel's many talents have been recognized with numerous honors from many distinguished organizations including the Concours Musical International de Montréal, Joy of Singing Song Salon Competition, New York Oratorio Society Solo Competition, the Five Towns Young Musician's Competition, Career Bridges and the Wisconsin District Metropolitan Opera Auditions.

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CURRENT & UPCOMING ENGAGEMENTS

Eislinger

Die Meistersinger von Nümberg,
Act III

Tanglewood, James Levine, Cond.

Jul 11, 2009

Peter Quint

Turn of the Screw

Castleton Festival (VA)

Jul 3, 4 & 5, 2009

Tenor I

Stravinsky's Renard
staging by Mark Morris

Tanglewood, Stefan Asbury, Cond.

Jul 28, 2009

Major Domo II

Der Rosenkavalier

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

Dec 7, 10, 13(m), 15, 18 & 22, 2009

Hypochondriac Gambler

The Gambler

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

Feb 10, 11, 15, 18, 20 & 25, 2010

Albazar

Il Turco in Italia

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

Apr 3, 5, 8, 10, 13, 16 & 19, 2010

GUEST SOLOIST

w/ Sir Thomas Allen

The Mayfield Festival (England)

Apr 24, 2010

Artist in Residence

Jette Parker YAP
Royal Opera House, London

2009-10 and
2010-11 seasons

SOLOIST        

Mogens
(new works by Mr. Ebel)

WORLD PREMIERE

TBD

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Photo of Steven Ebel

Mr. Ebel (left) as Jimmy Mahoney in The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny - Italian Tour - 2009

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PRESS ACCLAIM

 
As Jimmy Mahoney in Weill's The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny
(Italian Tour):
 

"Steven Ebel was superb in defining the modern sacrificial victim Jim Mahoney with a tenor voice that is pure lyricism."

 
 
As Jimmy Mahoney in Weill's The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny
(Tanglewood Music Festival):
 

"Steven Ebel was amazing as Jimmy Mahoney, and someone to watch in the dramatic tenor derby."

Berkshire Homestyle Magazine - Sep 2008
 

"Steven Ebel gave a magnificent, truly star-quality rendition of the ill-fated Jimmy Mahoney. Charismatic on the stage, he used his lanky body with athletic strength, and his powerful and finely balanced tenor voice to create a portrayal of great variety and commitment. He could well end up owning Jimmy as Anthony Dean Griffey possesses Peter Grimes, or even greater roles and, yes, there are greater roles. I could imagine Ebel as a very fine Tamino, perhaps even a Florestan."

"… the most successful of his [Brecht's] plays are those which, like Galileo, contain impressive heroes which can be fleshed out by star actors. Jimmy Mahoney may be ordinary enough, but Steven Ebel's performance was certainly on that level."

"Even Steven Ebel's physical, dramatic, and vocal stature were not equal to those oversize sets and the crowding of the stage."

Michael Miller - Berkshire Review - Sep 10, 2008
 

"Steven Ebel, the Jimmy, and Rebecca Jo Loeb, the Jenny, directed by Doug Fitch have taken those moments when no one can intrude on their dispassionate devotions and made them into something overpowering. Both the lyricism in their lovely voices and the physical disconnections they've been directed to play provided moments of absolute perfection."

From the Berkshire Bright Focus Review by J. Peter Bergman
 

"While not all the vocal performances were equally outstanding, Steven Ebel as Frank Olson was ever inventive with his enormous role, almost always on stage."

Theodore Wiprud - New Music Connoisseur - Sep, 2008
 

"Tenor Steven Ebel showed promise as Jimmy."

Financial Times - Aug 12, 2008
 

"As Jenny and Jimmy, Rebecca Jo Loeb and Steven Ebel are the stars of the show. She uses her Broadway voice and wiles to deadly - really for Jimmy - effect, and he is a proto-Peter Grimes, a pitiful, lumbering misfit in a world that will never understand. His clarion tenor voice even sounds like a Grimes'."

Andrew L. Pincus - The Boston Globe - Aug 11, 2008
 

"Steven Ebel was a sweet-toned Jimmy Mahoney."

Jeremy Eichler - The Boston Globe - Aug 11, 2008
 
As Soloist in Alla Borzova's Merry Hour:
 

"Alla Borzova's 'Merry Hour,' in its premiere, featured verses by the Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov, set in an expressive polyglot style. Tenor Steven Ebel conveyed much through his tone, countenance and physical gestures."

Steve Smith - New York Times - Feb 21, 2008
 
In Recital with pianist Wilson Southerland:
(Grand Montgomery Chamber Music Series)
 

"Ebel's strong and versatile voice, dramatic presence and masterful interpretations of the music and poetry made the afternoon an outstanding event (the 98th) in this rewarding series.

Without a doubt, Ebel and Southerland are a talented team with lots of promise in their individual fields."

James F. Cotter - The Times Herald Record - Jan 8, 2008
 
Mr. Ebel as Peter Quint in Britten's Turn of the Screw:
(with Opera Cleveland)
 

"Steven Ebel's tenor possesses the properly English timbre that is ideal for Peter Quint. Ebel dominated the scene by his very presence, his height being a great advantage, and used his open, gentle face to threaten his victims chillingly."

Alan Montgomery - Opera News - Oct 2007
 

Spirit is willing and able in fine 'Turn of the Screw'

"Steven Ebel, with red locks providing virtually the only contrast from the overall black and white, makes a toweringly sinister Quint, the dead valet whose apparent indiscretions with both genders propel much of the action. Ebel, in the role created by Britten's partner, Peter Pears, sings Quint's music with insinuating urgency."

Donald Rosenberg - Plain Dealer Music Critic - July 13, 2007
 

Real Phantoms of the Opera

Opera Cleveland's Musical Ghost Story

"Carrot-topped and towering, tenor Steven Ebel's Quint is long on vocal solidity."

James Damico - Free Times A & E - July 18, 2007
 

"Steven Ebel as Peter Quint (and doubling as the handsome guardian) allows his lyric tenor a seductive energy."

Laura Kennelly - Cool Cleveland - July 11, 2007
 
Winner of Second Prize in the Concours International Musical de Montréal:
 

"Former Metropolitan Opera baritone Sherrill Milnes had a high opinion of second-prize finisher Steven Ebel, an American tenor who programmed selections from Britten's Serenade. 'Probably better than Peter Pears,' Milnes said, referring to the composer's longtime companion and official interpreter."

Arthur Kaptainis - The Gazette - June 9, 2007
 
As Wolf in Karchin's Romulus:
(Presented by Works and Process at The Guggenheim Museum)
 

"The philosopher Wolf, portrayed by Steven Ebel, tenor, delivered more flowing lines. All of these performers sang excellently, especially Mr. Ebel, their clear enunciation a particular boon."

Arthur Kaptainis - The Gazette
 

"Ebel's clear, strong, sweet voice was also heard to advantage in the American Opera Projects production at the Guggenheim of Louis Karchin's Romulus, after the 1854 farce by Dumas père."

New Music Connoisseur - Jan 2008
 

As Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance:

 

"Tuneful 'Pirates' is delightfully silly"

Ebel's clear and strong singing and lanky frame create a fine comic hero in Frederic."

The News Journal - March 2006
 

As Nanki-Poo in The Mikado:

 

"A rich lyric tenor."

"The musical theater styles were stunningly delivered by Shanna Lesniak, Nicole Pantos, Dennis Blackwell and Steven Ebel."

Wisconsin State Journal - 2003
 

A Slice of Life - A Recital of Contemporary American Song:

 

"There were also beautiful performances by Rita Litchfield, Dennis Blackwell and Steven Ebel of interesting works with elegant, sculptured vocal lines by Libby Larson."

Kenneth Cooper - 2005

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Steven Ebel's recent recital at the Chazen Theatre inspired poet Eve Robillard to write the following poem:

michael suggests I follow
the text, translated so handily

for those of us who've come to see
this wonderful tenor but I choose not

to I want to keep my eyes on his youthful
face, watch as the too-warm room brings

on a flush, see how his hair falls onto
his happy tender anguished brow I know

that schwan means swan and abend evening
I know that when I hear tot someone or

something has died and will soon be in Himmel
I don't care if his song is about a fox vanishing

into the woods, or a kiss stolen from a maiden
drawing water from the well or a tiny boat adrift

in a cruel storm I know that niente means nothing
and non ame is my soul and why should this young

man singing so ardently gaze out over a landscape
of heads lost in their programs as if he and his

voice were some sort of footnote
and not the reason we're, after all, here?

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AUDIO & VIDEO SAMPLES

Click on the icon or sample name below. High-speed internet connection is recommended.

Additional audio samples are available on CD. Contact Novo Artists for more information.

"Dirge" {Benjamin Britten - Serenade for tenor).mp3

03:22

3.1mb

"The Fool's Air & Prophecy" (Steven Ebel).mp3

04:26

2.0mb

"Happy Were He" (Benjamin Britten - Gloriana).mp3

04:24

6.1mb

"Here I Stand" (Igor Stravinsky - The Rake's Progress).mp3

02:44

2.5mb

"Lonely House" (Kurt Weill - Street Scene).mp3

03:40

5.1mb

"Elle Ne Croyait Pas" (Ambroise Thomas - Mignon).mp3

04:52

6.7mb

"Pastorale" (Benjamin Britten - Serenade for tenor).mp3

03:03

2.8mb

 

Steven Ebel at the Concours International Musical de Montréal Semis

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OPERA & OPERETTA (AGMA Member)

Jimmy Mahoney

Aufstieg und fall der stadt Mahagonny

Teatro Goldoni di Livorno, Teatro Verdi di Pisa,
Teatro del Giglio di Lucca, Teatro Alighieri di Ravenna

Victorin/Gaston

Die tote Stadt

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
(role & company débuts)

Jimmy Mahoney

The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny
(Mr. Ebel was personally selected for this role by
Maestro James Levine)

BSO/Tanglewood

Tamino

The Magic Flute (role debut)

Cleveland Institute of Music

Jaquino

Fidelio

Empire Opera (NYC)

Peter Quint

Turn of the Screw

Opera Cleveland (role and company début)

Wolf

Louis Karchin's Romulus

Works and Process at The Guggenheim
World premiere (one act opera)

Frederick

Pirates of Penzance

OperaDelaware (role and company débuts)

Il Postiglione

La Fanciulla del West

New York City Opera

Tito

La Clemenza di Tito

New York Opera Studio

Tito

La Clemenza di Tito

New York Opera Forum

The Prince

Rusalka

Opera For The Young (tour)

Orpheus

Orpheus in the Underworld

UW-Madison Opera

Nanki-Poo

Mikado

University Theatre (Madison, WI)

Donald

Gallantry

Cantiamo Opera Theater

Nanki-Poo/ensemble

Roses and Wine (review)

Savoyards, Ltd.

Lord Tollollar

Iolanthe

Savoyards, Ltd.

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Photo of Steven Ebel

Steven Ebel (left) as Wolf in Romulus by Louis Karchin

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MUSICALS

Archibald Craven

The Secret Garden

C.P.A. Jefferson, WI

John Savage

Brave New World (premiere)

UW - Madison

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CONCERT PERFORMANCES

Solo Recital

University of Wisconsin

Masterclass

 

SOLOIST

The Peace of Wild Things

New Music New York Festival Season

Guest Soloist

Live Public Radio Broadcast

SOLOIST

Fools Air and Prophecy
(new work by Mr. Ebel) World Premiere - Merkin Hall, NYC

Solo Recital

A Heine Liederabend
Grand Montgomery Chamber Music Series, Wesley Hall, Montgomery, NY
Robert Schumann Liederkries, Op. 24, Dichterliebe, Op. 48 and the Brahms-Heine Liederbuch

Guest Soloist

Shakespeare Songs

Joy of Singing at Lincoln Center

Guest Soloist

New Works

De Capo Chamber Players - Moscow and St. Petersburg

SOLOIST

21st Century Shakespeare
Chamber Music Inspired by the Bard

NYC

SOLOIST

Sonnets & Songs of the Isles (All Britten)

NYC

SOLOIST

Slice of Life

Milbank Chapel, Columbia Univ.

SOLOIST

Oratorio Society of NY Competition Finals

Weill Hall in Carnegie Hall

SOLOIST

The Music of William Maselli

Weill Hall in Carnegie Hall

Full Recital

A Tenor's Song Book (Full length recital)

Community Church of New York

Full Recital

An Evening of Love Songs (Full length recital)

C.P.A. Jefferson, WI

SOLOIST

Jeffrey Sykes and Friends

Sunday Afternoon Live - Wisconsin Public Radio

SOLOIST

Excerpt from The Creation

Madison Symphony Orchestra

SOLOIST

Israel in Egypt - Tenor Soloist

UW-Choral Union

Archibald Craven

The Secret Garden

C.P.A. Jefferson, WI

John Savage

Brave New World (premiere)

UW - Madison

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Photo of Steven Ebel

Photo of Steven Ebel

Photo of Steven Ebel

Tenor Steven Ebel as Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance
OperaDelaware - March, 2006

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STAGE REPERTOIRE

Opera & Operetta
Barber

Vanessa

Anatole

3

Bernstein

Candide

Candide

3

Bizet

Dr. Miracle

Dr. Miracle

1

Britten

Albert Herring

Albert

3

 

Turn of the Screw

Peter Quint

1

Floyd

Of mice and men

Lenny

3

Susannah

Sam

3

Moore

Gallantry

Donald

1

Mozart

Bastien und Bastienne

Bastien

2

 

La clemenza di Tito

Tito

1

 

Così fan tutte

Ferrando

3

 

Don Giovanni

Don Ottavio

2

 

Idomeneo

Idomeneo

3

 

Die Zauberflötte

Tamino

3

Offenbach

Orpheus

Orpheus

1

Puccini

La Bohème

Rodolfo

2

Verdi

La Traviata

Alfredo

2

Weil

Street Scene

Sam

2

Operetta
Lehar

The Merry Widow

Camille

3

Sullivan

HMS Pinafore

Ralph

2

 

Iolanthe

Lord Tollollar

1

 

Mikado

Nanki-Poo

1

 

The Pirates of Penzance

Frederick

1

 

Yeoman

Fairfax

2

Musicals
Arlen Wizard of Oz

Tinman

1

Bock She Loves me

George

1

Rodgers Cinderella

The Prince

3

  South Pacific

Lt. Cable

3

Simon The Secret Garden

Archie

1

Sondheim A Little Night Music

Frederick

3

  Into The Woods

Rapunzel's Prince

3

  Sweeney Todd

Anthony

3

Styne Bells Are Ringing

Carl

1

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Photo of Steven Ebel

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ORATORIO & ART SONG

Oratorio

(as tenor soloist)

Händel

Israel in Egypt

1

Chandos Anthems

1

W. Maselli

JFK Requiem

1

Art Song
Barber

Opus 1

1

Brahms

Es schauen die Blumen

1

 

Meefahrt

1

 

Der Tod das ist…

1

 

Sommerabend, Op. 85 no.1

1

 

Mondenschein, Op. 85 no.2

1

Britten

On This Island, Op. 11

2

 

Michelangelo Sonnets

2

 

Folk Songs Books I & IV

2

Duparc

Phidylé

1

 

Le Manoir de Rosemonde

1

 

Lamento

1

Ebel, Steven

A Timbered Choir

1

 

The Fool's Air and Prophecy

1

 

Vestiges

1

Ives

Disclosure

1

 

Religion

1

 

Autumn

1

 

Thoreau

1

 

Nature's Way

1

Schumann

Dichterliebe, Op. 48

1

 

Liderkreis, Op. 24

1

 

Balthazar, Op. 56

1

1

performed

2

completely prepared

3

in preparation

Concert & Oratorio Repertoire

(all performed or prepared)

Bach, J.S.

secular cantatas only

Beethoven

Choral Fantasy

 

Symphony No. 9

Brahms

Liebeslieder Waltzes

 

Neue Liebeslieder

Britten

The Prodigal Son

 

War Requiem

Debussy

The Prodigal Son

Händel

Acis and Galatea

 

Chandos Anthems

 

Israel in Egypt

 

Jephta

 

Judas Maccabaeus

 

Messiah

 

Samson

Haydn

The Seasons

 

The Creation

Honegger

King David

Mahler

Symphony No. 8

Maselli, W.

JFK Requiem

Mendelssohn

Elijah

Orff

Carmina Burana

Purcell

King Arthur

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Photo of Steven Ebel

Photo of Steven Ebel

Photo of Steven Ebel

 

Mr. Ebel at the Concours International de Montréal - 2007

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AWARDS & DISTINCTIONS

Second Prize

Concours Musical International de Montréal

WINNER

Joy in Singing, Song Salon Competition - duo with pianist Wilson Sutherland

WINNER

Long Island Masterworks Paul Straney Scholarship Award

Second Prize

New York Oratorio Society Solo Competition

Third Prize

Gerda Lissner Foundation

Third Prize

Violetta Dupont Vocal Competition (Opera at Florham)

WINNER

Career Bridges Foundation Grant (3 years)

Fourth Prize

District Metropolitan Opera Auditions (Milwaukee, WI)

Third Prize

Five Towns Young Musicians Competition

WINNER

Neale Silva Young Artist Competition - live radio performance

WINNER

NATS Wisconsin

FINALIST

Wigmore Hall Competition - London

FINALIST

Joyce Dutka Arts Foundation Vocal Competition

WINNER

Tanglewood 2008 Grace B. Jackson Prize

FINALIST

Connecticut Alliance for Music Vocal Competition

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EDUCATION & TRAINING

FELLOW

Tanglewood Fellowship

2006

BM in Vocal Performance

University of Wisconsin-Madison

2001

Resident Artist

DiCapo Opera Theatre

 

Pacific Opera Ensemble

Voice Teachers

Neil Semer (present), Ilona Kombrink (6 years)

Coaches

Gary Wedow, Nico Castel, Paul Sperry, Bill Lutes, Barry Henry, Chloe Owen

Masterclasses

Patricia Racette, Ellen Hargis, Jennifer Lane, James Doing, Neil Semer

Stage Directors

Lillian Groag, William Farlow, Bill Lutes, Diane Garton Edie

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