American bass Peter Volpe continually receives
critical and popular acclaim on four continents. Possessing a vast and
ever-expanding repertoire of over 80 roles in six languages, his captivating style
and interpretive skill embraces the depth of historical and fictional characters.
Of a recent portrayal as Prince
Gremin in Eugene Onegin, Opera
News said he “managed to create in his single aria and scene an impressive dignity.
His full-bodied bass and great candor of tone, together with his intelligent
interpretation, won him a well-deserved ovation.”
In 2011 and beyond, performances include Angelotti in Tosca, Idraote in Rossini’s Armida and Doctor Grenvil in La Traviata at the Metropolitan Opera, Deguiche
in DiChiera’s Cyrano at the
Florida Grand Opera, Timur in Turandot at Florentine Opera of Milwaukee, Frere Laurent in Romeo
et Juliette at Vancouver Opera,
Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor at
Austin Lyric Opera, and Ramfis in Aida at Arizona Opera. Sparafucile in Rioletto at Manitoba Opera, Hunding in Die Walkure with the North Carolina Symphony, Verdi Messa da Requiem with the Chatanooga Symphony, Ferrando in Il Trovatore at Arizona Opera, Hunding in Die Walkure with the American Symphony at Bard College, Ramfis in Aida at Michigan Opera Theater, Daland in The Flying Dutchman at Glimmerglass Festival, Marquis di Calatrava, Padre Guardiano in La Forza del Destino at Washington National Opera, Philip II in Don Carlo at Austin Lyric Opera, Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor at Portland Opera, Verdi Messa da Requiem with New Jersey Symphony, Philip II in Don Carlo at Vancouver Opera......
Most recent operatic engagements from the past two seasons (2008-2010) include Idraote in Armida at the Metropolitan Opera, Marcel in Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots at the Bard Festival, Gremin in Eugene Onegin at Vancouver Opera and Opera Lyra Ottawa, Timur in Turandot at Opera Lyra Ottawa, Silva in Ernani and Mephistopheles in Faust covers at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Commendatore in Don Giovanni at Palm Beach Opera, Zuniga in Carmen at Arizona Opera, and Sparafucile in Rigoletto with Austin Lyric Opera, Arizona Opera and Portland Opera.
In the 2007-2008 season, Mr. Volpe created the role of Deguiche in world premiere of Cyrano with the Michigan Opera Theatre and Opera Company of Philadelphia, as well as performing Frere Laurent in Romeo et Juliette with the Baltimore Opera, and Jacqueau in War and Peace and Frere Laurent cover in Romeo et Juliette at the MET. Operatic engagements from 2006-2007 season include Banquo in Macbeth with Arizona Opera, the title role in Don Giovanni with Florentine Opera of Milwaukee, Frere Laurent in Romeo et Juliette with Atlanta Opera and Michigan Opera Theatre, and Zuniga in Carmen with the Seiji Ozawa Opera Project in Japan.
Mr. Volpe made his notable Metropolitan Opera debut in their new production of Prokofiev’s War and Peace, and has subsequently returned for new productions of Berlioz’ Les Troyen, Strauss’ Salome, Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov, as well as Falstaff, Gianni Schicchi, Carmen, Aida, I Vespri Siciliani, Cyrano di Bergerac, and Andrea Chenier, among others. In addition, he has appeared with San Francisco Opera in productions of Salome, Nabucco, and Romeo et Juliette, with the Lyric Opera of Chicago in Falstaff, with Washington National Opera for Britten’s Billy Budd and Tchaikovsky’s Maid of Orleans, as well as Mephistopheles in Faust and Ramfis in Aida with Palm Beach Opera, Mephistopheles in Faust with Vancouver Opera, and a debut with Portland Opera as Banquo in Macbeth.
As a concert soloist, he has performed Verdi’s Requiem with the Philharmonia Orchestra of London at the Chichester Festival, the Manhattan Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall, L’Orchestra d’Imola in Italy, Oberlin Conservatory, Arizona State University, the Indianapolis Symphony, the Queens Symphony, and the Augusta Choral Society. He has also performed Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the New York Metropolitan Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony and Augusta Choral Society, Handel’s Messiah with Edmonton and Louisville Symphonies, and Mozart’s Requiem with the Choral Society of Philadelphia.