“To say that he is the most acclaimed countertenor of the day, perhaps the best ever, is to understate his achievement. He is simply a great singer.” — The New York Times

David Daniels is known for his superlative artistry, magnetic stage presence and a voice of singular warmth and surpassing beauty, which have helped him redefine his voice category for the modern public. The American countertenor has appeared with the world’s major opera companies and on its main concert and recital stages. He made history as the first countertenor to give a solo recital in the main auditorium of Carnegie Hall. The Chicago Tribune has called Daniels “today’s gold standard among countertenors.” Gramophone magazine recently acknowledged his contribution to recorded excellence as well as his expansion of the repertoire for his voice type by naming him one of the “Top Ten Trailblazers” in classical music today.

Photo: © Jillian Edelstein / Virgin Classics

The 2008-2009 season takes David Daniels to many of Europe’s musical capitals. He makes his debut at the Teatro alla Scala as Oberon in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream conducted by Sir Andrew Davis. He sings Arsace in a new Pierre Audi production of Handel’s Partenope at Vienna’s innovative Theater an der Wien conducted by Christophe Rousset. He also returns to the Bayerische Staatsoper in the title role of Handel’s Tamerlano. He tours both Europe and America with frequent collaborator Harry Bicket and the English Concert including performances in London, Toulouse, Vienna, Munich, Vancouver, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles (Disney Hall) and Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall. This tour coincides with the release of his latest disc on Virgin/EMI of the music of Bach with the English Concert.

In the 2007-2008 season, David Daniels returned to Lyric Opera of Chicago in the title role of Giulio Cesare in the acclaimed David McVicar production conducted by Emanuelle Haïm. He sang a new production of Handel’s Tamerlano at the Bayerische Staatsoper and another new production of this opera in his debut with Washington National Opera, the latter opposite Placido Domingo. He made his Santa Fe Opera and role debut in a new production of Radamisto with frequent colleagues Harry Bicket and David Alden. He also appeared in recital with pianist Martin Katz in Santa Barbara, CA, at Cal Performances Berkeley, at the University of Richmond, with the Celebrity Series of Boston, at Spivey Hall and Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall.

David Daniels in Rinaldo, Munich, 2000 Photo © Wilfried Hösl

Mr. Daniels performed Giulio Cesare to great acclaim at the Metropolitan Opera (under Bicket) and at the Glyndebourne Festival (under Haim). At the Met he also portrayed Orfeo in a new Mark Morris production of Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice conducted by James Levine. Mr. Daniels returned to the Los Angeles Opera as Ottone in Monterverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea opposite Susan Graham. In concert Mr. Daniels made his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic performing Bach’s b minor mass, performed solo arias with the St. Louis and Seattle Symphonies and toured various European cities with the Le Point du Jour ensemble.

Highlights of recent seasons include David Daniels reprising his portrayal of Bertarido in Handel’s Rodelinda at the San Francisco Opera, which won critical acclaim and thrilled audiences at the Metropolitan Opera, his role debut as Orfeo in the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Robert Carsen production and his first performances in the title role of Handel’s Orlando at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich. Mr. Daniels also toured Europe with the Basel Chamber Orchestra and mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená, and made his Philadelphia Orchestra debut under conductor Bernard Labadie. Also in Europe, Daniels performed works by Bach and Vivaldi with Fabio Biondi, sang Oberon in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Barcelona’s Teatre del Liceu (available on DVD), and played Farnace in Mozart’s Mitridate at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden.

As much at home in recital as on the opera stage, David Daniels has won admiration for his performances of extensive concert and art song repertoire, including song literature of the 19th and 20th centuries not usually associated with his voice type. Following his Carnegie Hall recital debut in 2002, the New York Times reported, “There was a sense of occasion in the air, and he didn’t disappoint. This was a compelling, even exhilarating recital, covering a wide range of bases in six

distinctive sets.” Daniels has given recitals at London’s Wigmore Hall, New York’s Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall and Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center; at Munich’s Prinzregententheater and Vienna’s Konzerthaus; in Barcelona’s Teatre del Liceu; at the Edinburgh, Tanglewood and Ravinia Festivals; as well as in Ann Arbor, Chicago, Lisbon, Toronto, Vancouver and Washington. His French recital debut was a sold-out performance at the Salle Gaveau in Paris.

Daniels has impressed audiences with his interpretation of an array of Handelian heroes, including Giulio Cesare. He has sung Arsace in the comedy Partenope at Lyric Opera of Chicago; the title role in Tamerlano; Arsamene in Xerxes; and two roles at Munich’s Bavarian State Opera, where he is a company favorite: David in Saul and the title role in Rinaldo. Other notable Baroque credits include Nerone in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea, and Orfeo in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice at Covent Garden. Mr. Daniels has also performed as Oberon in Britten’s Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Metropolitan Opera.

David Daniels is an exclusive Virgin Classics recording artist, with several critically-acclaimed and best-selling solo albums to his credit. His latest critically-applauded release was of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater as well as solo works by the composer in a disc with soprano Dorothea Röschmann and conductor Fabio Biondi. Showing his diverse musical personality, his previous release featured Berlioz’s song cycle Les Nuits d’été, and also included songs by Ravel and Fauré. The New York Times wrote, “The term ‘countertenor star’ used to be an oxymoron, but David Daniels, for one, has made it a reality. There’s no faulting his artistry. He has an unusually round, warm sound. He certainly knows his instrument.”

Past years’ releases include A Quiet Thing (with guitarist Craig Ogden), and a recording of Handel’s Rinaldo on the Decca label in which he sang the title role opposite Cecilia Bartoli, and which received a Gramophone Editor’s Choice Album of the Year award in 2002. His debut disc was Handel: Opera Arias conducted by Sir Roger Norrington, followed by Sento Amor, with arias by Mozart, Gluck and Handel, and Serenade, a recital of songs by Beethoven, Gounod, Poulenc, Schubert and others with his frequent piano partner Martin Katz.

Honored by the music world for his unique achievements, David Daniels has been the recipient of two of classical music’s most significant awards: Musical America’s Vocalist of the Year for 1999 and the 1997 Richard Tucker Award.

Daniels was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina, the son of two singing teachers. He began to sing as a boy soprano, moving to tenor as his voice matured, and earned an undergraduate degree from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Dissatisfied with his achievements as a tenor, David Daniels made the daring switch to the countertenor range during graduate studies at the University of Michigan with George Shirley.

August 2008