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GREER GRIMSLEY
BASS-BARITONE
BIOGRAPHY
Greer Grimsley is internationally recognized as an outstanding singing actor and one of the most prominent Wagnerian singers of our day. Grimsely’s reign as a leading interpreter of the god Wotan has brought him to myriad esteemed international opera houses; some highlights include his portrayal of the role for a complete cycle of Der Ring des Nibelungen with Deutsche Oper Berlin, Teatro Comunale di Bologna under Daniele Gatti’s baton, Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, New National Theatre Tokyo, the Nikikai Opera Foundation in Tokyo, San Francisco Opera, the Royal Opera Stockholm, and for Seattle Opera in three complete cycles over the past decade.
Last season’s engagements included returns to Seattle Opera as the High Priest in Samson et Dalila and Wotan in Das Rheingold, the latter of which he also performed with both The Atlanta Opera and the Orchestra of the Music Makers in Singapore. In addition, Grimsley sang Scarpia in Tosca with San Diego Opera. This season, he returns to The Metropolitan Opera as The Captain in Mary Zimmerman’s new production of Florencia en el Amazonas, Palm Beach Opera as Scarpia in Tosca, The Atlanta Opera as Wotan in Die Walküre, the Royal Swedish Opera as Gurnemanz in Parsifal, and Santa Fe Opera as Paul in the world premiere of The Righteous. [read more...]
CRITICAL ACCLAIM
"...he sings…well…like a God..." – Huffington Post
Der Ring des Nibelungen – “No amount of cynicism can mask the fact that there are not many Wotans out there today capable of singing a full Ring cycle with anything approaching adequacy. It was, therefore, a pleasure to hear Greer Grimsley first assay the role in Seattle in 2005, and what was then a promising Wotan has now become The Genuine Article in all of its splendor and glory. He acts as about as well as a Wotan can act, but he sings…well…like a God. The role lies in the heart of his vocal range, and he sings with a rare combination of power and suavity. The world has waited for a very long time for a Wotan who can sing without barking or rasping, and he has arrived.”
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“...steely bass-baritone rang with authority..." – New York Classical Review
Die Walküre – “Grimsley’s steely bass-baritone rang with authority and purposeful diction and bore up well through a punishingly long series of expository monologues. (You wouldn’t think a god would have to explain himself so much.) Yet he still had the strength to be tender in his parting with Brünnhilde at opera’s end.”
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"...resonantly powerful voice..." – Texas Classical Review
Der fliegende Holländer – “Leading Wagnerian bass-baritone Greer Grimsley reigned at the center of the performance as the Dutchman, towering physically and vocally with a resonantly powerful voice and range matched by an appropriately harrowing stage presence. Wagner immediately throws two extended passages into the role, a challenge Grimsley took up faultlessly, nailing both ends of the range flawlessly.”
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"...a swaggering captain of industry..." – The Mercury News
Der Ring des Nibelungen – “As Wotan, bass-baritone Greer Grimsley was a swaggering captain of industry; singing with forceful dark power, he was in suave, commanding voice.”
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"...as though it had been written for him..." – New Orleans Advocate
Sweeney Todd – “Veteran bass-baritone Greer Grimsley sang the title role of the murderous barber as though it had been written for him. Dark, brooding and humorless, he convincingly conveyed the inner demons that have been torturing Todd's soul for many years.”