"What a tremendous honor it
is to be considered a member of this impressive family of singers. This
Award means so much because it's a result of more than a few 'rounds'
of good singing. I'm incredibly grateful and humbled by the recognition
of this Foundation and for its support of the work to which we young
singers are devoting our lives."
A
native of Iowa, tenor Eric Cutler is already regarded as one of the
most important young American artists. He is a recent alumnus of the
Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist Development Program and was
a winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 1998.
His 2002-03 season includes several important debuts. He makes first
appearances with Boston Lyric Opera (Belmonte in Die Entführung aus
dem Serail) and Pittsburgh Opera (Lysander in A Midsummer Night's
Dream), as well as Opera Australia (Nadir in Les pêcheurs de
perles). His concert appearances include his debut with the Minnesota
Orchestra in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and Messiah with
the University Musical Society in Ann Arbor. He takes part in staged
performances of Così fan tutte with the Brooklyn Philharmonic
under Robert Spano and directed by Sir Jonathan Miller. He returns to
the Metropolitan Opera in Parsifal under Valery Gergiev and Ariadne
auf Naxos under James Levine. He also appears in recital in Ames,
Iowa under the auspices of the Marilyn Horne Foundation and performs
on the Foundation's annual Gala concert in January 2003.
During the 2001-2002 season at the Met, Eric Cutler performed the role
of Vogelgesang in Die Meistersinger conducted by James Levine.
This was taped for telecast on PBS. He made his Houston Grand Opera
debut as Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail conducted
by Patrick Summers and directed by James Robinson. He also debuted with
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as Tamino in a new production of Die
Zauberflöte. He sang Messiah with the Baltimore Symphony
and made his New York solo recital debut under the auspices of the Marilyn
Horne Foundation, as well as taking part in a gala to honor Ms. Horne
at the University of Michigan. He sang a concert version of Stravinsky's
Renard with the Met Chamber Ensemble under Maestro Levine. Other
roles at the Met include his company debut as the First Prisoner in
Fidelio in a new Jürgen Flimm production conducted by Maestro
Levine (also telecast) and the First Student from Wittenberg in Busoni's
Doktor Faust. In January of 2000, Mr. Cutler performed songs
by Erik Satie with James Levine and the Met Chamber Ensemble at Weill
Recital Hall.
During the summer of 2000, Eric Cutler made his Wolf Trap Opera Company
debut as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni. While at Wolf Trap, he
also participated in a National Symphony Orchestra concert and performed
in recital with pianist Steven Blier. He returned to Wolf Trap in 2001
as Lysander in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Prior to joining the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, Mr.
Cutler appeared in concert at the Manchester Music Festival in Vermont.
In 1998, he performed the roles of Azaël in Debussy's L'enfant prodigue
with the Cedar Rapids Opera and Nemorino in Donizetti's L'elisir
d'amore at Luther College. His concert experience includes Handel's
Messiah with the Luther College Orchestra and Beethoven's Missa
Solemnis with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra.
Mr. Cutler, a graduate of Luther College, was the recipient of a Sara
Tucker Study Grant from the Richard Tucker Music Foundation in 2000
and was followed by a Tucker Career Grant in 2001. He was a 1999 winner
of the Houston Grand Opera Studio's Eleanor McCallum Auditions. He is
also the winner of the 2001 Martin E. Segal Award from Lincoln Center.
