David Leigh
American bass David Leigh, whom the New York Times describes as “robustly gruff,” is internationally known for his visceral and intelligent singing. In the 2022-2023 season, Mr. Leigh will join Opernhaus Zürich in Andreas Homoki’s new Ring cycle, first as Fafner in Siegfried, conducted by Gianandrea Noseda, debut with the Bayerische Staatsoper as Colline in La bohème, and sing Commendatore in Don Giovanni with the Hyōgo Performing Arts Center in Japan. Finally, he will join the roster of the Metropolitan Opera, covering Sarastro in the new production of Die Zauberflöte and sing the role of Savitsky in Peter Knell’s Arkhipov in Los Angeles.
In the 202–2022 season, David Leigh performed the roles of Snow Queen/Reindeer/Clock in the French premiere of Hans Abrahamsen’s The Snow Queen with Opéra national du Rhin. Elsewhere in France, he performed Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte with Opéra national de Lorraine, a role he later performed with the Canadian Opera Company. In Zürich, he joined the Opernhaus as Commendatore and finally, with Santa Fe Opera sang König Marke in Tristan und Isolde. In concert, David sang Mozart’s Requiem with Fabio Luisi and the Dallas Symphony, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal.
In the 2019–2020 season, Mr. Leigh made a house and role debut with Seattle Opera as Prince Gremin in Eugene Onegin, and a debut with Michigan Opera Theatre as the Commendatore in Don Giovanni. The 2018-19 season included a number of prestigious debuts, including his San Francisco Opera debut as Zuniga in Carmen while covering the role of Vodnik in Rusalka, his Santa Fe Opera debut as King Hjarne in Poul Ruder’s The Thirteenth Child, and his Canadian Opera Company debut in the leading role of Turbo in the world-premiere of Rufus Wainwright’s Hadrian, He returned to the Bolshoi Theatre as Colline in La bohème and made a role debut as Sparafucile in Rigoletto with Kentucky Opera, and joined Dallas Opera in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut.
A graduate of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, recent career highlights include a company and role debut with the Bolshoi Theatre as Colline, and company debuts with Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and Opéra National de Lorraine, Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg as the Commendatore in Don Giovanni. At the Metropolitan Opera, he performed the Surintendant des Plaisirs in Laurent Pelley’s production of Massenet’s Cendrillon under the baton of Bertrand de Billy, and was presented in a joint recital at the Park Avenue Armory with mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo. Other engagements included. the Commendatore with Florentine Opera and the Festival d’Opéra Baroque de Beaune, Fafner in Wagner’s Siegfried with Cincinnati’s Queen City Opera, and the Verdi Requiem with the Choral Society of Northeast Pennsylvania.
From a family of artists, David’s father was a Tony Award®–winning composer, his mother is a painter, and his sister is a multiple award-winning playwright. He studied music composition at Yale University and holds master’s degrees in Voice and Opera (respectively) from Mannes College and Yale School of Music, from which he received the Harriet Gibbs Fox Prize. He has received awards from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the McCammon Competition at Fort Worth Opera, the New York Foundation for the Arts, and a 2017 top prize from the Wagner Society of New York.