Tenor John Osborn Makes Solo Recording Debut on Delos Label

On September 8, 2017, Delos Records will release the debut solo recording of American tenor John Osborn, whose “exquisite singing” (Opera Wire) has been widely sought by presenters and audiences throughout Europe and North America since winning the 1994 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions at the age of 21. His new album, titled A Tribute to Gilbert Duprez, celebrates the great French bel canto repertoire, with arias both standard and esoteric, and the “beautiful singing” technique responsible for Mr. Osborn’s transcendent legato and brilliant upper register. “I am thrilled to collaborate with Delos, Maestro Orbelian, and the fine musicians of the Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra and State Chorus on this recording which is so important to me on many levels,” said the tenor. “This repertoire is, in many respects, the pinnacle of what the tenor voice is capable of producing, in both its bravado and nuance, and to have the opportunity to pay homage to the great Duprez and his immeasurable contribution to vocal technique is an immense honor.”

The Romantic-era tenor and voice teacher, Gilbert-Louis Duprez (1806-1896), was a pedagogical revolutionary of opera singing as it is heard today; his emphasis on encouraging the healthy, full-bodied chest voice production of a tenor’s upper register is what one associates with the major tenors of the 20th century - Franco Corelli, Luciano Pavarotti, and Placido Domingo among others - as opposed to the softer, less “heroic” falsetto standard in earlier musical styles.

In collaboration with the outstanding Lithuanian Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra led by Constantine Orbelian and the Kaunas State Choir, Mr. Osborn meticulously selected the track listing of Verdi, Donizetti, Bellini, and Rossini as a reflection of Duprez’s immeasurable influence on operatic technique in tenor voices, and a dedication to the repertoire which is quintessentially Romantic, bel canto, and tenorial.

A Tribute to Gilbert Duprez
         John Osborn, tenor
         Constantine Orbelian, conductor
         Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra
Kaunas State Chorus

TRACK LISTING

Giuseppe Verdi
1. Jérusalem - Je veux encore entendre ta voix
2. Jérusalem - Ô mes amis, mes frères d’armes

Gaetano Donizetti
3. La favorite - Ange si pur
4. Les martyrs - Oui, j’irai dans leur temple

Hector Berlioz
5. Benvenuto Cellini - La gloire était ma seule idole
6. Benvenuto Cellini - Sur les monts, les plus sauvages

Gaetano Donizetti
7. Lucie de Lammermoor - Bientôt l’herbe des champs coîtra
8. Dom Sébastien - Seul sur la terre

Gioachino Rossini
9. Guillaume Tell - Asile héréditaire

ACCLAIM

“The tenor John Osborn brought gladitorial zest…” -The New York Times

“Osborn is among the very few modern tenors equal to the cruelly high-lying, virtuosic role of Arnoldo. He tore into the part fearlessly, his full, plangent voice inhabiting the freakish tessitura with trumpet-like thrust and keen dramatic understanding. His singing of the hero's big Act 4 aria, in which Arnoldo vows to free the imprisoned Tell and defeat the enemy, sent the house into a frenzy of applause.” -Chicago Tribune

“...the Iowa-born Osborn took Europe by storm in William Tell (Amsterdam, Turin), Norma (Salzburg) and other roles requiring bel canto flexibility and dramatic oomph.” -WQXR “40 Under 40: The Next Generation of Great Opera Singers”

“His voice was absolutely golden, always shining, and never showing the slightest blemish, even on his glorious, ringing top notes. He brought down the house in Act IV with, ‘O muto asil del pianto,’ bringing gripping passion to an aria that flows through every corner of his range. On the high C in the cadenza he executed an absolutely astonishing hairpin.” -New York Classical Review

“Mr. Osborn’s performance was impassioned and full of vocal warmth and beauty of line. He received well-deserved roars of approval at the curtain call.” - Huffington Post