Overview
Area Coordinator, Voice
Director of Opera
Ann and Dennis Ross Faculty of Distinction in Opera
Hailed as “One of the leading singing-actors today”, Alan Held has appeared in major roles in the world’s finest opera houses, including The Metropolitan Opera,Vienna State Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Paris Opera, Bavarian State Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, and Washington National Opera. His repertoire of over 80 roles includes Wotan (Der Ring Des Nibelungen), Scarpia (Tosca), The Four Villains (Les Contes d’Hoffmann), Jochanaan (Salome), Balstrode (Peter Grimes), and the title roles in Gianni Schicchi, Der Fliegende Holländer, Wozzeck, and Cardillac. An active concert performer, he has appeared with the world’s leading orchestras including The Berlin Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, and The Los Angeles Philharmonic. He has also appeared at the Salzburg and Tanglewood Festivals as well as the BBC Proms. He has worked with such distinguished conductors as Sir Andrew Davis, Sir Colin Davis, Christoph von Dohnányi, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, James Levine, Kirill Petrenko, Bernard Haitink, Mariss Jansons, Franz Welser-Möst, Sir Simon Rattle, and Esa-Pekka Salonen. Mr. Held’s discography and video recordings include Salome, Rusalka, Der Freischütz, Hansel and Gretel, Fidelio, Das Rheingold, and Cardillac.
Mr. Held has had great success as a vocal instructor, opera stage director, and conductor. His students appear on the rosters of opera companies around the world and have been members of prestigious young artist training programs including the Lindemann Young Artist Program, Ryan Opera Center, and The Merola Opera Program. He has twice served as the Artist in Residence at the Washington National Opera as well as at Wolf Trap Opera. For nearly 20 years, he presented yearly guest masterclasses at Yale University. He also serves on the voice faculty at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is the Director of Sacred Music for the Catholic Diocese of Wichita, Kansas.
Bachelor of Music Education in vocal music education - Millikin University
Master of Music in vocal performance - Wichita State University
honorary Doctor of Fine Arts - Millikin University