Evan LeRoy Johnson is an American tenor who received the Barbara and Stanley Richman Memorial Award from the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, where he was a Gerdine Young Artist . He has performed widely in his home country and has made acclaimed debuts for numerous European opera houses, including Bayerische, Oper Frankfurt, Opernhaus Zürich and Norwegian National Opera. His leading roles include Bizet’s Don José and Puccini’s Rodolfo and Pinkerton.
He recently performed to critical acclaim at the BBC Proms broadcast production of “Carmen”. OperaWire caught up with Evan in London. OperaWire: Congratulations on your recent Glyndebourne season in “Carmen”.
How was the experience for you and how did the BBC proms recording of your performance go? Evan LeRoy Johnson: Interesting that you asked about those two experiences because in a way I see them as almost polar opposites. Glyndebourne, the thing I love about Glyndebourne is the intimacy, in that it is only, I think, 1,200 seats. And so just what you can play vocally and dramatically in a space like that is very different from what works in Royal Albert Hall, which is around 5,500 capacity.
It’s a massive space. Both really special and unique spaces, but radically different experiences, I would say. The thing I love about Glyndebourne is that it’s just, it’s not only the music.
.. It’s also the artists they choose for their shows.
Glyndebourne has provided some wonderful opportunities for young singers, mys.