Biography

Anthony Dean Griffey - Tenor

American tenor Anthony Dean Griffey has captured critical and popular acclaim on opera, concert and recital stages worldwide. The combination of his beautiful and powerful lyric tenor voice, along with his gift for exceptional communication and excellent musicianship have earned him the highest praise. He has been hailed for possessing both “presence and a tenor that is pure, sweet and clarion” (The Los Angeles Times), and for having a voice that is “both full-bodied and sweet-toned” (The New York Times).

In the 2007 – 2008 season Mr. Griffey returns to the Metropolitan Opera in the title role of Britten’s Peter Grimes, which will be simulcast in movie theaters and recorded for future released on DVD, and he joins the Fort Worth Opera in one of his signature roles, Lennie Small in Floyd’s Of Mice and Men. Newsday raved of his recent performance in that role that his “lithe lyric tenor was tender in its high notes and impassioned in the lower register, all the while possessing the perfect degree of stylistic simplicity for the role.” In addition to his operatic performances this season, his concert calendar includes engagements to sing Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde under Esa-Pekka Salonen at the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and also with the Syracuse Symphony, Verdi’s Requiem with the Detroit Symphony, and Handel’s Messiah with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. He sings Zemlinsky's Eine florentinische Tragödiewith the New York Philharmonic and with the Staatskapelle Dresden, both under James Conlon. He is engaged twice this season with Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo to sing Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius and Zemlinsky's Eine florentinische Tragödie, and performs Elgar’s The Apostles with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra at Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Proms. In upcoming seasons, Mr. Griffey will be seen in roles with the San Diego Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia and the Portland Opera, as well as in concert performances with the Berlin Philharmonic and at the Saito Kinen Festival.

The 2006 – 2007 season found Mr. Griffey making his much anticipated Los Angeles Opera debut as Jim Mahoney in Weill’s Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. The Los Angeles Times praised his performances as “brilliant” and went onto say that he was “the perfect Jimmy,” and Opera News reported that “Griffey was a sensation.” He returned to the Los Angeles Opera later in the season as Guido Bardi in the company’s production of Eine florentinische Tragödie. Concert highlights from the 06-07 season included performances of Mahler’s Eighth Symphony with the San Francisco Symphony under Michael Tilson Thomas in Lucerne, Switzerland, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah under Seiji Ozawa at both the Saito Kinen Festival in Japan and at the Teatro Comunale di Firenze in Italy. He appeared with the Milwaukee Symphony in Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius, and with the London Symphony Orchestra in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in Miami, Florida. He sang a centenary concert of Elgar’s The Kingdom with the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra at the Birmingham Festival in England, Britten’s Seranade and War Requiem with the Aspen Music Festival, and the role of Guido Bardi in Zemlinsky's Eine florentinische Tragödie at the Ravinia Festival with Maestro James Conlon. No stranger to performing in more intimate settings, Mr. Griffey gave recitals at the Schubert Club, Aspen Music Festival, Music of Southhampton, and at Northwestern University.

The 2005 – 2006 season began with his successful Santa Fe Opera debut in the title role of Britten’s Peter Grimes, a role Mr. Griffey has also performed at the Metropolitan Opera, the Paris Opera, and the Glyndebourne Festival. Additionally, he joined the Florentine Opera of Milwaukee in his role debut as Florestan in Fidelio. Concert engagements included his debut with the Toronto Symphony in Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with Sir Andrew Davis conducting, performances with the Oslo Philharmonic in Britten’s Spring Symphony, and with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. He sang Handel’s Messiah with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Mahler’s Eighth Symphony with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony, and both Bruckner’s Te Deum and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Greensboro Symphony. In addition, he performed Mozart’s Coronation Mass with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Mozart’s Requiem in Torino, Italy, and Elgar’s The Dream of Gernontius in Madrid. He appeared in the Richard Tucker Foundation Gala at Avery Fisher Hall in New York, gave a recital in Cleveland, and was invited by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to perform in recital at the Supreme Court of the United States.

Mr. Griffey most recently released disc is Britten’s War Requiem, which was recorded live with Maestro Kurt Masur and the London Philharmonic at Royal Festival Hall. He can also be heard on disc and DVD in André Previn’s A Streetcar Named Desire (Deutsche Grammophon), in Les Mamelles de Tirésias conducted by Seiji Ozawa (Philips), I Lombardi with James Levine (Decca Records), and in Amy Beach's Cabildo (Delos). He appears on a live recording Of Mice and Men with the Houston Grand Opera (Albany), as well as in the DVD of the 1999 Metropolitan Opera Tristan und Isolde (DG/Universal). Live television broadcasts include Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Seiji Ozawa in celebration of the opening of the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, Das Lied von der Erde with Christoph Eschenbach on the BBC as part of the BBC Proms concerts, and Peter Grimes with Ozawa in commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the work’s premiere as part of “A Tale of Tanglewood” which was televised on Ovation. He has also been featured with André Previn on A&E’s Breakfast with the Arts.

In demand around the globe, highlights of Mr. Griffey illustrious career include his performances in leading roles at major opera houses including The Metropolitan Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Glyndebourne, and Opera Bastille as well as many others. Orchestra engagements have included appearances with the orchestras of New York, Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Saint Louis, Minnesota, Seattle, Pittsburgh, Houston, Detroit, Baltimore and Saint Paul, and internationally he has sung with the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Müncher Symphoniker, Orchestre de Paris, Montreal Symphony, Toronto Symphony, the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest Holland, the NHK Symphony in Japan, and the Halle Orchestra, among others. He has collaborated with many of today’s most prestigious conductors, including James Levine, Seiji Ozawa, André Previn, Michael Tilson Thomas, Esa Pekka Salonen, Kurt Masur, Donald Runnicles, Sir Colin Davis, Christoph Eschenbach, Valery Gergiev, Edo de Waart, Sir Neville Mariner, James Conlon, Maris Jansons, Naemi Jarvi, Charles Dutoit, Julius Rudel, Robert Spano, Mark Wigglesworth, Alan Gilbert, Andreas Delfs, Gerard Schwarz, Mark Elder, and John Nelson, among others.

Mr. Griffey appears regularly with several popular festivals including Tanglewood, Mostly Mozart, Saito Kinen, Grant Park, Marlboro, Grand Teton, and the Proms in London. At the 2004 Lanaudière Festival in Montreal, Mr. Griffey sang a particularly interesting program, including two major works, Chausson’s Poème de l'Amour et de la Mer, and Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, which marked the first time that a tenor had performed the Barber piece. He has performed on many of the country’s leading recital series, including his appearances with David Daniels in Britten’s rarely heard cantata Abraham and Isaac at Carnegie Hall, and at the Ravinia Festival with Christoph Eschenbach accompanying on piano. He frequently collaborates with fellow-North Carolinian pianist Warren Jones, who accompanied him for his 2004 successful New York solo recital debut at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall. André Previn composed, and dedicated, a song cycle for Mr. Griffey in celebration of his Carnegie Hall debut, and accompanied him on the piano for the cycle.

Anthony Dean Griffey, a recipient of many awards and honors, was featured in Musical America in 2005 as one of twelve exceptional singers of distinction. He holds degrees from Wingate University, the Eastman School of Music and the Juilliard School.

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