Biography
Hailed as a “remarkable young tenor”, Edwin Vega made his English National Opera debut as Molqi, in a new production of John Adams’The Death of Klinghoffer, a co-production with the Metropolitan Opera, directed by Tom Morris (Tony Award winner for War Horse).
The 2012-2013 season includes debuts with Opera Omaha (Armored Guard/Magic Flute), New York City Opera (Don Miguel cover/La Pericole) and the Prototype: Opera/Theater/Now’s production of Mohammed Fairouz’s Sumeida’s Song (the first Arab-American opera to be fully produced on an American Stage). Additional upcoming engagements include Tanzmeister in Ariadne auf Naxos, and his debut with the Komische Oper Berlin in Zimmerman’s Die Soldaten (Junge Offizier) in the summer of 2014.
In addition to his professional debut with English National Opera, the 2011-2012 season included Nevada Opera’s new production of Madame Butterfly(Goro), Duck in Bolcom’s Barnyard Boogaloo with the Remarkable Theater Brigade at Carnegie Hall and the United States premiere of Mercandate’s I Due Figaro (Don Alvaro). This past summer Mr. Vega returned to the Santa Fe Opera as a Servant (Arabella) and King Edrisi understudy in Szymanowski’s King Roger. He also performed in scenes as Prunier (La Rondine, Act II) and German Soldier #3 (Silent Night).
In the summer of 2011 Mr. Vega returned to the dell’Arte Opera Ensemble where “his light tenor was always a joy to hear” (Opera Today) performing the roles of Tanzmeister and Brighella in new production of Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos. In the spring, he returned to Chicago Opera Theater for the Chicago premiere of Charpentier’s Medee. Last season he was featured as Rubens Barrichello (the title character’s protege) in the Metropolitan Opera’s new opera workshop of Michael Torke’s Senna. Mr. Vega made his Carnegie Hall debut in Jerry Springer – The Opera starring Harvey Keitel and sang Rinuccio in the summer of 2010 with the dell’Arte Opera Ensemble’s new production of Gianni Schicchi.
In 2009, Mr. Vega was the tenor soloist at the Chicago Auditorium Theater Gala Concert performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony conducted by Jane Glover. He originated two roles with the American Lyric Theater’s workshop series under the guidance of composer Mark Adamo and spent the summer of 2007 performing the roles of Aristee/Pluton (Orphee aux Enfers) and Prunier (La Rondine) with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Giuseppe Verdi inMilan, Italy, . Earlier that season he joined the Santa Fe Opera Spring Tour originating the role of Atom in John Kennedy’s new opera Trinity.
As a Santa Fe Opera Apprentice, Mr. Vega performed as the Fourth Jew in Strauss’s Salome and understudied both Monastatos in The Magic Flute and the Caliban in Thomas Ades’s The Tempest. During his two seasons at Chicago Opera Theater, Mr. Vega covered four mainstage roles (which included Pedrillo in Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail) and performed as Tristan in Finding Yolanda, a new adaptation of Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta.
