Eric Owens
About this Artist
Bass-baritone Eric Owens (King Marke) has a unique reputation as an esteemed interpreter of classic works and a champion of new music. Equally at home in orchestral, recital, and operatic repertoire, Owens brings his powerful poise, expansive voice, and instinctive acting faculties to stages around the world.
In the 2022/23 season, Owens returns to the Metropolitan Opera as Emile Griffith in James Robinson’s new production of Champion, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and to Los Angeles Opera as Raimondo in Simon Stone’s production of Lucia di Lammermoor. He also debuts at the Wiener Staatsoper in Wagner’s heroic Ring Cycle, first as Wotan in Das Rheingold and Die Walküre, and as the Wanderer in Siegfried, conducted by Franz Welser-Möst. Additional operatic engagements include King Marke at the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Opéra National de Paris in a multimedia production of The Tristan Project, led by conductor Gustavo Dudamel and director Peter Sellars. Concert engagements include performances of Mozart opera excerpts with the Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Nathalie Stutzmann.
In the 2021/22 season, Owens returned to the Metropolitan Opera as both Philippe II in Sir David McVicar’s new production of Don Carlos, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and Porgy in James Robinson’s Grammy Award-winning production of Porgy and Bess, conducted by David Robertson. He also returned to Santa Fe Opera as King Marke in Tristan und Isolde. On the concert stage, he joined the Philadelphia Orchestra for performances of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, also conducted by Nézet-Séguin, both in Philadelphia’s Verizon Hall and at Carnegie Hall. He sang Vodnik in concert performances of Rusalka with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, led by Alan Gilbert.
In the 2020/21 season, Owens performed Sarastro in The Magic Flute at the Glimmerglass Festival, while serving as Artist in Residence for the festival’s Young Artist Program. He also sang in a pop-up concert in New York City alongside other soloists and members of the Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra, led by Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
Owens’ career operatic highlights include both Alberich and Hagen in the Metropolitan Opera’s Ring cycle; Wotan and the Wanderer in Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Ring cycle directed by Sir David Pountney; Orest in Patrice Chereau’s production of Elektra conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen at the Met; the title role of Der Fliegende Höllander and Stephen Kumalo in Weill’s Lost in the Stairs at Washington National Opera; his San Francisco Opera debut in Otello conducted by Donald Runnicles; his Royal Opera, Covent Garden, debut in Norma; Vodnik and Porgy at Lyric Opera of Chicago; the title role in Handel’s Hercules with the Canadian Opera Company; Ramfis in Aida at Houston Grand Opera; Die Zauberflöte for his Paris Opera (Bastille) debut; and the title role of Macbeth at the Glimmerglass Festival.
Owens has been recognized with multiple honors, including the Musical America’s 2017 Vocalist of the Year award, 2003 Marian Anderson Award, a 1999 ARIA award, second prize in the Plácido Domingo Operalia Competition, the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and the Luciano Pavarotti International Voice Competition. He serves on the Board of Trustees of both the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts and Astral Artistic Services.