Vinson Cole - NATS Chat (Oct. 7, 2012)
Vinson Cole, Acclaimed Tenor
American tenor VINSON COLE is internationally recognized as one of the leading artists of his generation. His career has taken him to all of the major opera houses across the globe - from the Metropolitan Opera and Opera National de Paris Bastille to Teatro alla Scala Milan and the Vienna State Opera, among many others.
Equally celebrated for his concert appearances, Mr. Cole has been a frequent guest of the most prestigious orchestras throughout the world and has collaborated with the leading conductors of this era including Christoph Eschenbach, Claudio Abbado, Carlo Maria Giulini, James Levine, Lorin Maazel, James Conlon, Kurt Masur, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, and Seiji Ozawa, as well as Sir Georg Solti and Giuseppe Sinopoli. Mr. Cole had an especially close working relationship with the late Herbert von Karajan, who brought the artist to the Salzburg Festival to sing the Italian Tenor in Der Rosenkavalier, the first of many performances there together. Their collaboration went on to include works such as Verdi’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, Mozart’s Requiem and Bruckner’s Te Deum. Many of these were issued as recordings for Deutsche Grammophon.
Vinson Cole’s recent engagements include starring in a new production of Berlioz’s Damnation de Faust at the Semper Opera in Dresden, as well as appearances with the Philadelphia Orchestra in Mahler’sSymphony No. 8 under Christoph Eschenbach, the same work under James Conlon with the Chicago Symphony at the Ravinia Festival, Verdi’s Requiem at the Concertgebeouw in Amsterdam, and Gluck'sAlceste with the Collegiate Chorale in New York in May 2009.
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Vinson Cole completed his vocal studies at the Curtis Institute of Music under the tutelage of legendary singer and teacher Margaret Harshaw. He was recently given the Lifetime Achievement Award by The Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation. Mr. Cole was appointed to the CIM faculty in 2009 and continues as a tenured professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
