Stephen Gaertner
American baritone Stephen Gaertner (he/him) made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 2007 as Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor. Other roles at the Met have included Melot in Tristan und Isolde, Chorèbe in Les Troyens and Paolo in Simon Boccanegra. Recent career highlights have included appearances as Macbeth at the Savonlinna Opera Festival, Opernfestspiele Heidenheim and Opéra de Dijon; Amonasro in Aida with Teatro San Carlo, Naples; Iago in Otello with Teatro de la Ópera, San Juan; Rigoletto with Opera Grand Rapids; Riccardo in I Puritani with Teatro Verdi Trieste; and Scarpia in Tosca and Nabucco with Sarasota Opera. Next season he will sing Ford in Falstaff with Portland Opera.
Mr. Gaertner has also sung Macbeth in concert with the Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie Konstanz, Frank in Puccini’s Edgar in concert with Opera Orchestra of New York (conducted by Eve Queler)f and Carlo in La Forza del Destino in concert with New Amsterdam Opera in New York City. He made a stunning U.K. debut in 2015 at London’s Barbican Hall as Cascart in Zazà in concert with Opera Rara and Maurizio Benini conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra, garnering high praise from the exigent London press; he also appeared in 2021 at London’s Cadogan Hall as Tamar in Leoncavallo’s Zingari in concert with Opera Rara and Carlo Rizzi conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. These two Opera Rara appearances resulted in studio recordings, both released on Opera Rara CDs to critical acclaim; the Zingari recording earned a nomination for the 2023 International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) in the Opera category.
