Biography

Alan Held (Don Pizarro) is a native of Washburn, Illinois and received his vocal training at Millikin University and at Wichita State University, where he was recently named Associate Professor of Voice. He also regularly gives master classes at Yale University. Mr. Held has appeared in the world's leading opera houses in roles such as Wotan in Wagner's Ring Cycle, the title role in Wozzeck, Kurwenal in Tristan und Isolde, Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger von Nürnburg, Scarpia in Tosca, Leporello in Don Giovanni, Orestes in Elektra, and Balstrode in Peter Grimes. This season, his engagements include returns to the Vienna State Opera and the San Antonio Opera as Jochanaan in Salome, the Teatro Real as Don Pizzaro in Fidelio, and the Washington National Opera in Der fliegende Holländer and Dialogues des Carmelites. Equally at home on the concert stage, Mr. Held has performed in the US with the orchestras of Chicago, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Saint Louis, Montreal, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Washington DC. He made his San Francisco Symphony debut in 2012, in Bartók’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle.

Mr. Held’s recordings include a DVD of Hindemith’s Cardillac from the Paris Opera, Fidelio with Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic for EMI Classics, and a DVD of Les Contes d’Hoffmann from the Metropolitan Opera.He is a recipient of numerous honors and awards including the Birgit Nilsson Prize and the 2014 Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Male Performance in an Opera.

(June 2015)