Michael Porter
Tenor
© Barbara Aumüller
Since leaving the opera studio to join Oper Frankfurt's ensemble Michael Porter has been thrilling audiences with roles including Mozart's Pedrillo (Die Entführung aus dem Serail) - which he repeated last season - Ferrando (Così fan tutte) and Tamino (Die Zauberflöte). Roles this season include the Prince / Valet, Gotthold & Oronte in new productions of Berg's Lulu, Dittersdorf's Doctor and Pharmacist & Handel's Alcina and Leander in the first revival of Tobias Kratzer's production of Nielsen's Masquerade. He repeated his unforgettable portrayal of Hyllus in Barrie Kosky's wonderful production of Handel's Hercules earlier in the season. He can also be heard as Lysander in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Opéra de Lausanne and in Beethoven's Missa Solemnis with the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra. He appeared here in recital in 2019 and added 3 roles to his repertoire last season: Narraboth in Salome, Cassio in Otello and Züngl in a new staging of Zemlinsky's George the Dreamer. Other recent roles for the company included David and Heinrich der Schreiber in new productions of Tannhäuser and Meistersinger, Ken in Vito Žuraj's Blühen / Blossoming (»World Premiere of the Year 2023« Opernwelt), Leander in a new Nielsen's Maskerade, Camille de Rosillon in The Merry Widow, Remendado in Carmen, Lysander in a new Britten's A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the Steuermann in The Flying Dutchman, Don Ottavio Don Giovanni and Andres in Wozzeck, a role he sang at the Opéra-Carlo in Monaco. He recently sang Truffaldino in The Love for three Oranges at Des Moines Metro Opera. His repertoire includes The Novice (Billy Budd), Mosè (ll serpente di bronzo), Brighella (Ariadne auf Naxos), Helenus / Hylas (Les Troyens), Gaston / A guard (Krenek's Heavyweight or the Honour of the Nation / The Secret Kingdom), Edmondo (Manon Lescaut) and a Young Sailor (Tristan und Isolde). Guest engagements have included Monostatos in a new Die Zauberflöte at the 2019 Salzburg Festival, Victorin / Gaston in Korgold's The Dead City, a role he sang for the first time in Frankfurt, at the Semper Oper in Dresden, a Squire (Parsifal) at the Staatsoper Berlin and the King in the world premiere of Tonguecat at the Munich Opera Festival. He made his debut at Fort Worth Opera as Brighella and sang Ernesto (Don Pasquale) at the Staatstheater in Oldenburg in 2020/21. Michael Porter was a member of the Opera Theatre St. Louis and Seagle Music Colony's Young Artist programs.