Scott Ramsay (tenor)

Praised by the New York Times for his “impressive … bright-voiced tenor,” Scott Ramsay has attracted international attention following his recent European debut as Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor at the Anna Livia Dublin International Opera Festival and his performance of the same role at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. The Chicago Sun-Times applauded his portrayal of Edgardo proclaiming, “He brought a passionate intensity to the role that matched the fire of Dessay’s riveting Lucia.”

Mr. Ramsay’s 2008-09 season features an exciting combination of debuts and important reengagements including his return to Lyric Opera of Chicago to perform the role of the Painter in a new Paul Curran production of Lulu under the baton of Sir Andrew Davis. He also sings Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore with Opera Grand Rapids and performs the title role in Roméo et Juliette with Syracuse Opera. On the concert stage, Mr. Ramsay appears as soloist in Orff’s Carmina Burana and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 at the Berkshire Choral Festival, Messiah with the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Grier’s Songs from Spoon River at the Ravinia Festival, Mozart’s Requiem with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra and his debut at the Prague International Spring Festival with the Berkshire Choral Festival in Verdi’s Requiem.

In addition to his successful European debut and joining the roster of the San Francisco Opera, Mr. Ramsay’s 2007-08 season also marked a major American debut at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall in the U.S. premiere of Hiller’s The Destruction of Jerusalem with the American Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leon Botstein. Further appearances included Roméo in Roméo et Juliette at Opera New Jersey; Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni with Dayton Opera; his debut with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra in Hans Henze’s Kammermusik 1958 under David Robertson; Jupiter in Semele at Opera Boston; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Jacksonville and Albany Symphony orchestras; Ferrando in Così fan tutte with Opera Naples; and Tamino in Die Zauberflöte with Arizona Opera.

Notable appearances from recent seasons include the leading character of Mark in Tippett’s The Midsummer Marriage under the baton of Sir Andrew Davis at the Lyric Opera of Chicago; Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor at Kentucky Opera, New Orleans Opera, and Connecticut Grand Opera; Jupiter in a new Chas Rader-Shieber production of Semele at Arizona Opera; Pong in Turandot at the Lyric Opera of Chicago; and Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni with Austin Lyric Opera.

Mr. Ramsay’s numerous symphonic engagements have included the Verdi Requiem with Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Sir Andrew Davis, Tchaikovsky’s Francesca da Rimini with Christoph Eschenbach and Tippett’s A Child of Our Time under Sir Andrew Davis both with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Die Erste Walpurgisnacht with Grant Park Symphony Orchestra under Carlos Calmar, Bach’s Magnificat with the Madison Symphony Orchestra under John DeMain, and appearances with the Albany Symphony Orchestra and Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra.

During his three-season engagement as a member of the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Ryan Opera Center, Mr. Ramsay made his debut as Rodrigo in Verdi’s Otello alongside tenor Ben Heppner and soprano Renée Fleming. During this time, he sang principal roles in La bohème, Die Zauberflöte, Parsifal, La traviata, Samson et Dalila, Regina, and Madama Butterfly. Additional training programs have included Florida Grand Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Central City Opera and the Berkshire Choral Festival.

www.herbertbarrett.com * www.scottramsay.net