Full Biography
Lauded for his “vocally magnificent, radiant and distinctive tenor” voice (Opera Aktuell), Jonathan Tetelman has rapidly risen to become a major star of his generation. Chilean-born and New Jersey-raised, Tetelman continues to thrill on the world’s greatest stages with “balmy verve” (Der Tagesspiegel) and a “darkly colored tenor timbre” (SZ).
In the 2023/24 season, Tetelman makes his tremendously anticipated Metropolitan Opera debut as Ruggero in in La rondine under the baton of Speranza Scappucci, followed closely by appearances as Pinkerton in the Met’s iconic Madama Butterfly of Anthony Minghella. He sees additional performances of Pinkerton with Festival Aix-en-Provence, and Deutsche Oper Berlin, where he also debuts the role of Luigi (Il tabarro) in Pınar Karabulut’s new production of Puccini’s Il trittico. Further operatic highlights of the season include a return to the title role of Werther for the Festspielhaus in Baden-Baden in a new production by Robert Carsen, and a special one-night-only performance of Rodolfo in La bohème at Theater Dortmund.
On the concert stage, Jonathan Tetelman appears as soloist in Gala concerts with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin at the Berlin Konzerthaus, and with the Prague Philharmonia at Dvorak Hall in the Rudolfinum for an evening of Puccini. He performs New Year’s concerts with the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon and the Borusan Festival in Istanbul, sings a solo recital in Gstaad, Switzerland, and is heard as soloist in mainland China at the Opening Gala Concert at the Shenzhen Belt Road Music Festival held at Shenzhen Concert Hall.
Jonathan Tetelman made highly auspicious debuts last season with the San Francisco Opera as Alfredo in La traviata, with Houston Grand Opera as Cavaradossi in Tosca, and with the Salzburg Festival as Macduff in Verdi’s Macbeth. Additionally, he was Rodolfo for Semperoper Dresden, Cavaradossi and Paolo in Francesca da Rimini at Deutsche Oper Berlin, and Loris Ipanow in Fedora with Ópera de Las Palmas. In concert, Tetelman appeared with the Houston Symphony Orchestra as tenor soloist in Verdi’s Requiem, performed with soprano Sylvia D’Eramo at the Tivoli Festival in Copenhagen, and joined soprano Angela Gheorghiu for concerts in Brussels and Paris, among others.
In the 2021/2022 season, Tetelman starred as Rodolfo in an operatic film of La bohème, co-produced by Radiotelevisione Italia (RAI) and Opera di Roma. He made his house debut at Theater an der Wien in a new production of Tosca and performed the role of Jacopo Foscari alongside Plácido Domingo in I due Foscari with Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. He also was heard in Verdi’s rarity Stiffelio with Opéra national du Rhin and sang Loris Ipanow in Fedora with Oper Frankfurt. He presented numerous concerts in that season, touring Austria, Spain and Latvia alongside superstar mezzo Elīna Garanča and maestro Karel Mark Chichon. Tetelman was a soloist at the 169th Tivioli Festival Birthday Gala, sang a Gala concert honoring Birgit Nilsson in Sweden, and was heard as Rodolfo at the Grand Teton Music Festival in concert performances of La bohème.
After completing his performance studies program at The New School of Music, Mannes College and earning his undergraduate degree from Manhattan School of Music, Jonathan Tetelman made a series of acclaimed house and role debuts in rapid succession. These include his Covent Garden debut as both Alfredo in La traviata and Rodolfo in La bohème; Canio in Pagliacci and Cavaradossi in Tosca with Teatro Regio Torino; Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with Opéra national de Montpellier; Tosca and Madama Butterfly at the Dresden Semperoper; Tosca at the Gran Teatre del Liceu and Opéra de Lille; Werther with both the Gran Teatro Nacional de Lima and Opera del Teatro Solis in Montevideo; La bohème with Komische Oper Berlin, English National Opera and Fujian Grand Theatre in China; and the Duke in Rigoletto with the Berkshire Opera Festival.
Tetelman’s concert appearances in this period included the role of Don José in Carmen in further collaboration with Elīna Garanča on tour through Eastern Europe, broadcast on Bartók Radio. He saw performances with soprano Nadine Sierra at Festival Napa Valley, and joined soprano Kristine Opolais for Gala performances in Moscow and with the Wurth Philharmoniker in Künzelsau, Germany. He sang a Verdi Gala with the Copenhagen Philharmonic, was the soloist in Verdi’s Requiem with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood under Andris Nelsons, and was twice heard in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 first with the San Francisco Symphony under Michael Tilson Thomas, and subsequently with the Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, led by Dan Ettinger.
Jonathan Tetelman recently signed an exclusive multi-album contract with Deutsche Grammophon. Together with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria and its principal conductor Karel Mark Chichon, he recorded his first album, entitled “Arias”, with music by Verdi and famous Verismo composers, a selection from the lyrical French repertoire, and duets with the Lithuanian soprano Vida Miknevičiûtė. It was released on August 12, 2022. His highly anticipated second album “The Great Puccini” is set to be released by Deutsche Grammophon on September 29, 2023. The album features excerpts from nine of Puccini’s operas, including famous arias such as “Nessun dorma”, “Che gelida manina”, and “E lucevan le stelle”. Among myriad standout moments of Jonathan Tetelman’s season, his album “Arias,” soared to a triumphant achievement: the esteemed Opus Klassik award honored him as the Young Artist of the Year 2023.
© CSAM GmbH, September 2023
