tenor
BIO
Tenor John Pickle quickly has established himself as a strong tenor, most recently for his portrayals of Erik in Der fliegende Holländer, a role he débuted with Los Angeles Opera. Of a performance as the jilted hunter with Lyric Opera of Kansas City, The Kansas City Star raved, “Pickle’s emotionally wrought characterization drove this [performance] even harder home than usual.” In recent seasons, Mr. Pickle also enjoyed performances as Erik with Mobile Opera, Utah Festival Opera, and Michigan Opera Theatre. Last season, Pickle performed the role of Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with Hawaii Opera Theatre, Don José in Carmen with Painted Sky Opera, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Canton Symphony Orchestra, Mozart’s Requiem with Pacific Symphony, and as a soloist in concert with the Bel Canto Center for the Performing Arts. The 2022/23 season begins with performances of Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana with Opera Colorado, Don José in Carmen with Pacific Opera Victoria, and a concert of opera’s greatest hits entitled Ritorna Vincitor! with Maryland Opera.
Favorite engagements from recent seasons also include Canio in Pagliacci with Opera Colorado, Michigan Opera Theatre, Opera Memphis, and Dayton Opera; Cavardossi in Tosca with Nashville Opera, Intermountain Opera Bozeman, Tri-Cities Opera, and Townsend Opera; Rodolfo in La bohème with Colorado Symphony; Pollione in Norma with Opera Southwest; Riccardo in Un ballo in maschera and Don José in Carmen with Opera Tampa; Radamés in Aïda with Dayton Opera; Turiddu and Canio in Opera Delaware’s double-bill production of Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci. Mr. Pickle has also performed Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly at Pacific Symphony, Florida Grand Opera, Cleveland Opera Theater, and Dayton Opera, Des Grieux in Manon Lescaut with Mobile Opera, and Alfred in Die Fledermaus at Florentine Opera.
Mr. Pickle is an established talent on symphonic concert and recital stages throughout the country. He made his Houston Symphony début as the tenor soloist in Mahler’s Symphony No. 8. Additional concert engagements in recent seasons included Kodaly’s Te Deum with Oregon Music Festival, Eugene Suchon’s Psalm of the Carpathian Land with Sonomento and the Kenwood Symphony, the tenor solo in Verdi’s Requiem with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, the Akron Symphony, the Dayton Philharmonic, Opera Grand Rapids, Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, and at Carnegie Hall; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Dayton Opera, Springfield Symphony, The Orchestra Now at Bard College, the Lima Symphony, Long Bay Symphony, and National Chorale; Händel’s Messiah at Avery Fisher Hall and with Greater Trenton Choral Society; the tenor solo in a Night of Verdi Hits concert with the Santa Barbara Symphony; Viva Verdi! concerts with Lyric Opera of Virginia; Missa solemnis with Utah Festival Opera; Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with the Dayton Philharmonic; a Gala Concert at Northern Oklahoma College conducted by Gerald Steichen; a Valentine’s Day Concert with Northwest Arkansas Symphony; and a concert of opera arias entitled “Are we really 30?” at St. Bart’s Music Festival conducted by Steven Mercurio.
He made his Carnegie Hall début in 2008 performing Schubert’s Mass in G Major and the Mozart’s Requiem conducted by John Rutter, and performed Mozart’s Requiem in the famed hall again in 2012. Additionally, he performed Beethoven’s Mass in C Major with New Jersey Choral Society; Orff’s Carmina Burana with Cobb Symphony Orchestra and Long Bay Symphony; Bach’s St. John Passion with Rhode Island Civic Chorale and Orchestra; Bach’s Mass in B minor with Gotham City Baroque Orchestra; Mendelssohn’s Elijah with First Congregational Church of Akron’s Concert Series; Rossini’s ironically titled Petite messe solennelle with Stonington Choral Society; Haydn’s Heiligmesse and the world première of Ed Lojeski’s Psalms of Passover with the New Jersey and Connecticut Choral Societies; Gabriello Chiaramantesi/Un Cantore in Giordano’s rarely performed La cena delle beffe with Teatro Grattacielo in Alice Tully Hall; a gala concert with Florentine Opera; an opera highlights concert with the Jefferson City Symphony; Victor Herbert’s 150th Birthday Celebration with Little Orchestra Society; a series of concerts entitled J’aime Paris Opéra! with the Las Colinas, Arlington, and Garland Symphonies; and a concert of opera’s greatest hits with Opera Idaho and the Boise Philharmonic.
Additional previous operatic engagements include Don José in Carmen with Opera Louisiane and Toledo Opera, Cavaradossi in Tosca, Calaf in Turandot, and a Gala Concert for Mobile Opera; Tybalt in Roméo et Juliette with Opera Grand Rapids; Rodolfo in La bohème for Baltimore Concert Opera; the Duke in Rigoletto with Center City Opera Theater; Manrico in Il trovatore and BRAVO! An Opera Celebration with Intermountain Opera Bozeman; a Giordano Gala and a production of Ricitelli’s I Compagnacci for Teatro Grattacielo; Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Cavaradossi in Tosca, Rodolfo in La bohème, and Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with Opera Southwest; Kaspar in Amahl and the Night Visitors at Avery Fisher Hall; and Judge Danforth in The Crucible with Utah Festival Opera. Of a performance as Rodolfo, critics raved: “John Pickle brings a resilient, wonderfully placed sound and a sensitive musicality to Rodolfo that embraces each nuance of this rich score with an enviable mix of delicacy and strength.”
Mr. Pickle has also been featured on several operetta recordings for the Albany Records and Newport Classic labels. These include Alexius in The Chocolate Soldier by Oscar Straus; Barry O’Day in Eileen, Captain Dick in Naughty Marietta and Lieutenant Karl in Sweethearts all by Victor Herbert; Prince Radjami in The Bayadere by Emerich Kalman; Schubert in Das Dreimäderlhaus by Franz Schubert; and The Duke in Eine Nacht in Venedig by Johann Strauss.