“Turay appears headed for a major international career. The build is athletic and the
bodily movements graceful...his singing, prepared with care and control, with appreciation
and respect for the gift, is marked by taste, intelligence and musicianship, and, not least
important, charisma. His 'Una furtiva lagrima' was a model of restraint, simplicity and dignity.”
~ Richard Spalding, Opera 1997 ~
~ Richard Spalding, Opera 1997 ~
Biography
American tenor Gregory Turay, winner of the 2000 Richard Tucker award, has been described by the
London Times as “one of the brightest natural talents to have emerged from the US in
recent years”.Last summer, Mr. Turay made his debut with the Indianapolis Symphony in Hayden's Creation. This season, he returns to the Metropolitan Opera as Rodolpho in William Bolcom's A View from the Bridge, the role he created for the opera's world premiere at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 1999, and which also served as his debut there. He will also be seen in the Metropolitan Opera's opening night gala and it's new production of Les Troyens.
The 2001/2002 season saw Mr. Turay's returns to the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Sam Kaplan in Weill's Street Scene, the San Francisco Opera as Camille de Rossillon in Merry Widow, and the Metropolitan Opera as Fenton in Falstaff, conducted by James Levine. He also made his Saito Kinen Festival debut as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni under the baton of Seiji Ozawa. On the concert stage, he made his debut with the Cleveland Orchestra and Christoph von Dohnanyi in Berlioz's Te Deum.
An alumnus of the Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artists Development Program, Mr. Turay has built a strong relationship with the company. He made his debut there as Bringhella in Ariadne auf Naxos, conducted by James Levine. He has since appeared as Don Ottavio, Camille de Rossillon, Bringhella and Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte.
Mr.Turay's other opera engagements have included his San Francisco Opera debut as Don Ottavio, his European debut at the Welsh National Opera as Ferrando, his Deutsche Opera debut as Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, his Santa Fe Opera debut as Fenton, the Italian Tenor in Der Rosenkavalier and Nemorino in L'Elisir d'Amore at the Boston Lyric Opera; Nadir in Les Pecheurs de Perles, the title role in Orfeo and Ernesto in Don Pasquale at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis; and Fenton, Paolino in Il Matrimonio Segreto, and Zeferino in Il Viaggio a Reims at Wolf Trap Opera Festival.
On the concert platform, Mr. Turay's appearances have included a televised gala honoring Seiji Ozawa and Hayden's Creation with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the latter under the baton of James Levine; Handel's Messiah with the San Francisco Symphony; Mozart's Coronation Mass at the Mostly Mozart Festival; Fenton in Act III of Falstaff at the Tanglewood Festival, under the baton of Seiji Ozawa; Mozart's Mass K 139 at the Salzburg Festival; Berlioz' Requiem at the opening night of the 1998 Edinburgh Festival, conducted by Donald Runnicles; Nadir in a concert version of Les Pecheurs de Perles with the Washington Concert Opera; and a “Rising Stars” concert at the Ravinia Festival.
Mr. Turay's numerous recital engagements have included appearances under the auspices of the Marilyn Horne Foundation in New York and Palm Springs; the 92nd Street Y under the auspices of Young Concert Artists; at the Edinburgh Festival, the Vocal Arts Society in Washington D.C., the University of Georgia, Athens; Wolf Trap, Western Michigan University, Lexington, KY; Brevard, NC; Aiken, SC; and at the Danny Kaye Playhouse in New York. He also sang Brahms' Liebeslieder Waltzes with pianists James Levine and Ken Noda in Weill Recital Hall in New York, and appeared in concert at Alice Tully under the auspices of Young Concert Artists.
In 1995, Mr. Turay won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions at the age of 21. He also won the 1996 Young Concert Artists International Auditions. His other awards include a George London Foundation award, an ARIA award, a Richard Tucker Foundation Career Grant, the Richard Gaddes Award from the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, first prize in both the D'Angelo Young Artists and Catherine E. Pope Competitions, and the Orchestra New England Soloist Prize.
Mr. Turay is a graduate of the University of Kentucky. He currently studies with Dr. Everett McCorvey.
