John Easterlin
Encyclopedia
John Easterlin is an American
opera
tic tenor
who has sung at leading opera houses in the United States and internationally, specialising in character and Spieltenor roles.
degree from the University of Miami
and his Bachelor of Science degree from Florida International University
, and after a successful career in corporate advertising, began his performing career in musical theatre before moving into opera. He went on to perform at many of America's leading opera houses and festivals, including the Lyric Opera of Chicago
, San Francisco Opera
, Los Angeles Opera
, Seattle Opera
, New York City Opera
, Dallas Opera
, the Opera Company of Philadelphia
, the Ravinia Festival with the Chicago Symphony conducted by Daniel Barenboim
for the opening night of the Centennial Season, and Spoleto Festival USA
in a new production of Ariadne auf Naxos
conducted by Emmanual Villaume. He made his debut at the Glimmerglass Opera Festival
in the summer of 2009 as 'The Magician' in a new production of Menotti's The Consul
. According to Opera News
, Easterlin spent 200 hours learning magic tricks for this production, which included producing a live rabbit on stage. Another unusual role for him was Houston Grand Opera
's 2006 all-puppet production of Humperdinck
's opera Hansel and Gretel in which he sang the role of the Witch as well as operating her twelve-foot high puppet.
Easterlin's debut at the Metropolitan Opera
came in 2004 when he appeared in a new production of Richard Strauss
' Salome
with Karita Mattila
, and he has since returned there for productions of Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier
(2005), Prokofiev's The Gambler
(2008), the revival of Salome (2008) which was also screened on the Metropolitan Opera Live in HD series, Elektra
, opposite Susan Bullock and Deborah Voigt
(2009) and "Khovanshchina
" and "The Makropoulos Case" (2012). In 2008 he also performed the role of Jack O'Brien in Kurt Weill
's Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny
with Los Angeles Opera
, sharing the stage with Patti LuPone
and Audra McDonald
, in a production conducted by James Conlon
. The performance was recorded for PBS's Great Performances
and subsequently released on DVD for the EuroArts label. The recording won two Grammy Award
s in 2009, for "Best Classical Album" and "Best Opera Recording".
He made his European debut in 2008 as 'The Hunchback' in Die Frau ohne Schatten
at the Paris Opera
where he returned in 2010 as Squeak in Billy Budd
. His other international appearances include his debuts at the Vienna State Opera
as Herod in Salome (2009), London's Royal Opera House
as Prince Nilsky in a new production of The Gambler
(2010) and as The Steersman in "The Flying Dutchman
" (2011), the Teatro Real
in Madrid and the Bolshoi Theatre
in Moscow as Jack O'Brien/Toby Higgins in Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (2010) and (2011), the Teatro Real
in Madrid as the Shabby Peasant in "Lady MacBeth of Mtsensk" (2011), and the Canadian Opera Company
as Monostatos in Die Zauberflöte and as the Dancing Master and Brighella in "Ariadne auf Naxos
" (2011). In previous years, he has appeared as Brighella in Ariadne auf Naxos
with the New Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv (2007), The Captain in Wozzeck
at Japan's Saito Kinen Festival in a production conducted by Seiji Ozawa (2004), and Pedrillo in Die Entführung aus dem Serail
at Opéra de Québec (2003).
The son of a Presbyterian
minister, Merrill Lincoln Easterlin, and a committed Christian himself, John Easterlin has appeared as a guest soloist in many churches including Knox Presbyterian Church
in Toronto, the Crystal Cathedral
in California, First Baptist Church
in Dallas, the First Presbyterian Church
in Orlando, St. George's United Methodist Church
in Philadelphia, and the John Street Methodist Church
in New York City where he sang in the church's first Sunday service following the September 11 attacks.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
who has sung at leading opera houses in the United States and internationally, specialising in character and Spieltenor roles.
Career
Easterlin received his Bachelor of MusicBachelor of Music
Bachelor of Music is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree; the majority of work consists of prescribed music courses and study in applied music, usually requiring a...
degree from the University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
and his Bachelor of Science degree from Florida International University
Florida International University
Florida International University is an American public research university in metropolitan Miami, Florida, in the United States, with its main campus in University Park...
, and after a successful career in corporate advertising, began his performing career in musical theatre before moving into opera. He went on to perform at many of America's leading opera houses and festivals, including the Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1952, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicolà Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria Callas's American debut in Norma...
, San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America...
, Los Angeles Opera
Los Angeles Opera
The Los Angeles Opera is an opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, part of the Los Angeles Music Center.-Current leadership:...
, Seattle Opera
Seattle Opera
The Seattle Opera is an opera company located in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1963 by Glynn Ross, who served as the company's first general director through 1983, Seattle Opera's season runs from August to late May, with five or six operas offered and with eight to ten performances each, often...
, New York City Opera
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
, Dallas Opera
Dallas Opera
The Dallas Opera is an opera company located in Dallas, Texas . The company was founded in 1957 as the Dallas Civic Opera by Laurence Kelly and Nicolà Rescigno, both of whom had been active with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the first as administrator, the second as artistic director.-The company's...
, the Opera Company of Philadelphia
Opera Company of Philadelphia
The Opera Company of Philadelphia is an American opera company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and is the city's only company producing grand opera. The organization produces four fully staged opera productions annually, encompassing works from the seventeenth through the 21st century...
, the Ravinia Festival with the Chicago Symphony conducted by Daniel Barenboim
Daniel Barenboim
Daniel Barenboim, KBE is an Argentinian-Israeli pianist and conductor. He has served as music director of several major symphonic and operatic orchestras and made numerous recordings....
for the opening night of the Centennial Season, and Spoleto Festival USA
Spoleto Festival USA
Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina, is one of the world's major performing arts festivals. It was founded in 1977 by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Gian Carlo Menotti, who sought to establish a counterpart to the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy...
in a new production of Ariadne auf Naxos
Ariadne auf Naxos
Ariadne auf Naxos is an opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Bringing together slapstick comedy and consuming beautiful music, the opera's theme is the competition between high and low art for the public's attention.- First version :The opera was originally...
conducted by Emmanual Villaume. He made his debut at the Glimmerglass Opera Festival
Glimmerglass Opera
Glimmerglass Festival is an opera company which was founded in 1975 by Peter Macris and presents an annual season of operas at the Alice Busch Opera Theater on Otsego Lake eight miles north of Cooperstown, New York, United States.The summer-only season usually consists of four operas performed in...
in the summer of 2009 as 'The Magician' in a new production of Menotti's The Consul
The Consul
The Consul is an opera in three acts with music and libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti, his first full-length opera. Its first performance was on March 1, 1950, at the Shubert Theatre in Philadelphia with Patricia Neway as the lead heroine Magda Sorel, Gloria Lane as the secretary of the consulate,...
. According to Opera News
Opera News
Opera News is an American classical music magazine. It has been published since 1936 by the Metropolitan Opera Guild, a non-profit organization located at Lincoln Center which was founded to support the Metropolitan Opera of New York City...
, Easterlin spent 200 hours learning magic tricks for this production, which included producing a live rabbit on stage. Another unusual role for him was Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera was founded in 1955 through the joint efforts of Maestro Walter Herbert and cultural leaders Mrs. Louis G. Lobit, Edward Bing and Charles Cockrell...
's 2006 all-puppet production of Humperdinck
Engelbert Humperdinck
Engelbert Humperdinck was a German composer, best known for his opera, Hänsel und Gretel. Humperdinck was born at Siegburg in the Rhine Province; at the age of 67 he died in Neustrelitz, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.-Life:After receiving piano lessons, Humperdinck produced his first composition...
's opera Hansel and Gretel in which he sang the role of the Witch as well as operating her twelve-foot high puppet.
Easterlin's debut at the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
came in 2004 when he appeared in a new production of Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
' Salome
Salome (opera)
Salome is an opera in one act by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by the composer, based on Hedwig Lachmann’s German translation of the French play Salomé by Oscar Wilde. Strauss dedicated the opera to his friend Sir Edgar Speyer....
with Karita Mattila
Karita Mattila
Karita Marjatta Mattila is a leading opera soprano. She was born in Somero, Finland.Mattila appears regularly in the major opera houses worldwide, including the Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera House in London, Théâtre du Châtelet, Opéra Bastille, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco...
, and he has since returned there for productions of Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel Les amours du chevalier de Faublas by Louvet de Couvrai and Molière’s comedy Monsieur de Pourceaugnac...
(2005), Prokofiev's The Gambler
The Gambler (Prokofiev)
The Gambler is an opera in four acts by Sergei Prokofiev to a Russian libretto by the composer, based on the story of the same name by Fyodor Dostoyevsky....
(2008), the revival of Salome (2008) which was also screened on the Metropolitan Opera Live in HD series, Elektra
Elektra (opera)
Elektra is a one-act opera by Richard Strauss, to a German-language libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, which he adapted from his 1903 drama Elektra. The opera was the first of many collaborations between Strauss and Hofmannsthal...
, opposite Susan Bullock and Deborah Voigt
Deborah Voigt
Deborah Voigt is an American operatic soprano. Voigt regularly performs in opera houses and concert halls worldwide.- Early life and education :...
(2009) and "Khovanshchina
Khovanshchina
Khovanshchina is an opera in five acts by Modest Mussorgsky. The work was written between 1872 and 1880 in St. Petersburg, Russia. The composer wrote the libretto based on historical sources...
" and "The Makropoulos Case" (2012). In 2008 he also performed the role of Jack O'Brien in Kurt Weill
Kurt Weill
Kurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht...
's Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny
Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny
Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny is a political-satirical opera composed by Kurt Weill to a German libretto by Bertolt Brecht. It was first performed in Leipzig on 9 March 1930.-Composition history:...
with Los Angeles Opera
Los Angeles Opera
The Los Angeles Opera is an opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, part of the Los Angeles Music Center.-Current leadership:...
, sharing the stage with Patti LuPone
Patti LuPone
Patti Ann LuPone is an American singer and actress, known for her Tony Award-winning performances as Eva Perón in the 1979 stage musical Evita and as Madame Rose in the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy, and for her Olivier Award-winning performance as Fantine in the original London cast of Les...
and Audra McDonald
Audra McDonald
Audra Ann McDonald is an American actress and singer. She currently stars in the ABC television drama Private Practice as Dr. Naomi Bennett. She has appeared on the stage in both musicals and dramas, such as Ragtime and A Raisin in the Sun...
, in a production conducted by James Conlon
James Conlon
James Conlon is an American conductor and the current Music Director of the Los Angeles Opera.-Early years:Conlon grew up in a family of five children on Cherry Street in Douglaston, Queens, New York. His mother, Angeline L. Conlon, was a freelance writer. His father was an assistant to the New...
. The performance was recorded for PBS's Great Performances
Great Performances
Great Performances, a television series devoted to the performing arts, has been telecast on Public Broadcasting Service public television since 1972...
and subsequently released on DVD for the EuroArts label. The recording won two Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s in 2009, for "Best Classical Album" and "Best Opera Recording".
He made his European debut in 2008 as 'The Hunchback' in Die Frau ohne Schatten
Die Frau ohne Schatten
Die Frau ohne Schatten is an opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with a libretto by his long-time collaborator, the poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It was written between 1911 and either 1915 or 1917...
at the Paris Opera
Paris Opera
The Paris Opera is the primary opera company of Paris, France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the Académie d'Opéra and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and renamed the Académie Royale de Musique...
where he returned in 2010 as Squeak in Billy Budd
Billy Budd
Billy Budd is a short novel by Herman Melville.Billy Budd can also refer to:*Billy Budd , a 1962 film produced, directed, and co-written by Peter Ustinov, based on Melville's novel...
. His other international appearances include his debuts at the Vienna State Opera
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
as Herod in Salome (2009), London's Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
as Prince Nilsky in a new production of The Gambler
The Gambler
The Gambler may refer to:In music:*The Gambler , a 1978 album by Kenny Rogers**"The Gambler" , a 1978 song featured on the Kenny Rogers album*The Gambler...
(2010) and as The Steersman in "The Flying Dutchman
The Flying Dutchman
The legend of the Flying Dutchman concerns a ghost ship that can never make port, doomed to sail the oceans forever. It probably originates from 17th-century nautical folklore. The oldest extant version dates to the late 18th century....
" (2011), the Teatro Real
Teatro Real
The Teatro Real or simply El Real , is a major opera house located in Madrid, Spain.-History:...
in Madrid and the Bolshoi Theatre
Bolshoi Theatre
The Bolshoi Theatre is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds performances of ballet and opera. The Bolshoi Ballet and Bolshoi Opera are amongst the oldest and most renowned ballet and opera companies in the world...
in Moscow as Jack O'Brien/Toby Higgins in Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (2010) and (2011), the Teatro Real
Teatro Real
The Teatro Real or simply El Real , is a major opera house located in Madrid, Spain.-History:...
in Madrid as the Shabby Peasant in "Lady MacBeth of Mtsensk" (2011), and the Canadian Opera Company
Canadian Opera Company
The Canadian Opera Company is an opera company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest opera company in Canada and the third largest producer of opera in North America. The COC performs in its own opera house, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.-History:For 40 years until...
as Monostatos in Die Zauberflöte and as the Dancing Master and Brighella in "Ariadne auf Naxos
Ariadne auf Naxos
Ariadne auf Naxos is an opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Bringing together slapstick comedy and consuming beautiful music, the opera's theme is the competition between high and low art for the public's attention.- First version :The opera was originally...
" (2011). In previous years, he has appeared as Brighella in Ariadne auf Naxos
Ariadne auf Naxos
Ariadne auf Naxos is an opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Bringing together slapstick comedy and consuming beautiful music, the opera's theme is the competition between high and low art for the public's attention.- First version :The opera was originally...
with the New Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv (2007), The Captain in Wozzeck
Wozzeck
Wozzeck is the first opera by the Austrian composer Alban Berg. It was composed between 1914 and 1922 and first performed in 1925. The opera is based on the drama Woyzeck left incomplete by the German playwright Georg Büchner at his death. Berg attended the first production in Vienna of Büchner's...
at Japan's Saito Kinen Festival in a production conducted by Seiji Ozawa (2004), and Pedrillo in Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Die Entführung aus dem Serail is an opera Singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Christoph Friedrich Bretzner with adaptations by Gottlieb Stephanie...
at Opéra de Québec (2003).
The son of a Presbyterian
Presbyterian Church in America
The Presbyterian Church in America is an evangelical Protestant Christian denomination, the second largest Presbyterian church body in the United States after the Presbyterian Church . The PCA professes a strong commitment to evangelism, missionary work, and Christian education...
minister, Merrill Lincoln Easterlin, and a committed Christian himself, John Easterlin has appeared as a guest soloist in many churches including Knox Presbyterian Church
Knox Presbyterian Church (Toronto)
Knox Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian church in downtown Toronto, Canada.-History:In 1820 the first Presbyterian congregation in Toronto was formed, and after the donation of land from Jessie Ketchum, built a church on Richmond Street...
in Toronto, the Crystal Cathedral
Crystal Cathedral
The Crystal Cathedral is a Protestant Christian church building in the city of Garden Grove, in Orange County, California, United States. It is the headquarters and principal place of worship for Crystal Cathedral Ministries, a church founded in 1955 by Robert H. Schuller and affiliated with the...
in California, First Baptist Church
First Baptist Church
-Alabama:*First Baptist Church , listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Baldwin County, Alabama*First Baptist Church, East Thomas, listed on the NRHP in Birmingham, Alabama*Gardendale First Baptist Church...
in Dallas, the First Presbyterian Church
First Presbyterian Church
First Presbyterian Church may refer to:-Alabama:...
in Orlando, St. George's United Methodist Church
St. George's United Methodist Church
St. George's United Methodist Church, located at the corner of 4th and New Streets, in Philadelphia, is the oldest Methodist church worship in continuous use in the United States....
in Philadelphia, and the John Street Methodist Church
John Street Methodist Church
The John Street United Methodist Church located at 44 John Street in Manhattan, New York, USA was built in 1841. It is the third church located at the site...
in New York City where he sang in the church's first Sunday service following the September 11 attacks.