_edited.jpg)
GREER GRIMSLEY
BASS-BARITONE
BIOGRAPHY
Greer Grimsley, GRAMMY® Award nominee, is internationally recognized as an outstanding singing actor and one of the most prominent Wagnerian singers of our day. Grimsley’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, he returned 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 to sing his acclaimed Wotan in Die Walküre, and Santa Fe Opera as Paul in the world premiere of The Righteous. He also sang on gala concerts with Seattle Opera and Shreveport Opera and joined Aspen Music Festival to sing Wotan in the thrilling final act of Die Walküre. This season, Mr. Grimsley will be back at the Met to sing the Commander in the house premiere of Jeanine Tesori’s Grounded. He’ll also return to The Atlanta Opera, this time as their Siegfried Wotan, join Fort Worth Symphony in the title role of Der fliegende Holländer, and return to The Glimmerglass Festival, as their Artist in Residence for the season and to sing his renowned Scarpia in Tosca.
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.”
__________
“...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.”
__________
"...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.”
__________
"...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.”
__________
"...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.”