Jonathan Lemalu

Jonathan Lemalu, a New Zealand born Samoan, is already at the very forefront of today’s young generation of singers. He is a joint winner of the 2002 Kathleen Ferrier award and the recipient of the 2002 Royal Philharmonic Society’s Award for Young Artist of the Year.

His roles include Papageno, Figaro, Leporello, Masetto, Rocco, Bottom, Colline, Porgy, Basilio, Neptune, Saul, Zaroastro, Rodomonte, Queequeg  (Moby Dick) and Bluebeard. The opera houses where he has worked include the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; English National Opera; Opera de Lyon; Opera Australia; Cincinnati Opera; San Francisco Opera; the Dallas Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago; the Metropolitan Opera; the Staatsoper of Munich and Hamburg; the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden; and the Glyndebourne, Salzburg, Styriarte, Edinburgh and Gergiev Festivals.

His concert and recital performances span both classical and contemporary repertoire and include performances with the Berlin, New York, Rotterdam and Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestras, and the New Zealand, London, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto, Paris and Tokyo Symphony orchestras with conductors, including Davis, Dutoit, Gergiev, Harding, Harnoncourt, Mackerras, Mehta, Norrington, Pappano, Rattle and  Summers.

Jonathan’s debut recital disc was awarded the Gramophone Magazine’s “Debut Disc of the Year”.  He subsequently released his first solo orchestral recording, with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and a recital disc with Malcolm Martineau, also featuring the Belcea Quartet.

Engagements this season and beyond include a return to Seattle Opera as Nourabad in Bizet’s Pearl Fishers and to the Theater an der Vienna as Leporello. He will also sing Jesus in Bach’s St Matthew Passion with John Nelson and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg and his first Dulcamara L’elisir d’amore for Oper im Steinbruch St. Margarethen .