Internationally renowned Newfoundland and Labrador tenor David Pomeroy is recording his debut opera album this week. From February 10-13, 2020, he will record ten of opera’s greatest tenor arias with the 65 musicians of the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra and conductor Marc David at Memorial University in St. John’s, NL. The production team includes Grammy and Juno award-winning producer Denise Ball (CBC’s Saturday Afternoon at the Opera & Backstage) as well as classical music sound engineers Brian Chan (Vancouver/CBC), and Jeremy Tusz (Milwaukee/ Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra). The recording will be the province’s first ever opera album.
The project received funding from the province through ArtsNL (Professional Project Grant) and from FACTOR Canada (Juried Sound Recording), as well as a number of generous private donors and foundations, including the Williams Family Foundation and Elinor Gill Ratcliffe Foundation. The album provides a permanent means of celebrating the finest classical musicians the province has to offer, and presenting that talent to Canadian and global audiences. The album is also a demonstration of both David and the orchestra’s contribution to the province’s musical and cultural legacy.
The arias to be recorded represent some of the major milestones of David Pomeroy’s 20-year career as an international opera singer – selections such as “Salut, demeure chaste et pure,” marking his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in the title role of Faust; Don José’s “La fleur que tu m’avais jetée” from Carmen, a role he’s performed over 100 times; and the transcending “Nessun Dorma” which he has sung across four continents. The repertoire will also highlight upcoming leading roles for Pomeroy’s next decade. The German language selections mark his growth into the highly specialized helden tenor roles, which he’s debuting across German opera houses to critical acclaim.
“With Ben Heppner now in retirement, Pomeroy is the closest we now have in Canada to a helden tenor, the type of voice needed for this role [Paul, Die Tote Stadt]. This is a role that suits Pomeroy’s voice excellently, with its bright, forward placement of the tone and a clarity that cuts through the heavyorchestration.’- Calgary Herald.”
David Pomeroy is the only opera singer from the province of Newfoundland and Labrador to have an international career, spanning five continents across the world’s greatest stages. The New York Times describes him as “a powerful agile tenor…heartfelt” and Germany’s Das Opernmagazin exclaims “that is how a god sings!” Through his career, he continually enhances Newfoundland and Labrador’s reputation as a leading producer of the arts. The Vancouver Observer writes “Newfoundland tenor David Pomeroy, in the title role [as Faust], flaunts the vocal chops that have landed him star-billing in Europe, Asia, and Latin America.”
Now residing back in his hometown of St. John’s, David is enjoying a career that is placing him in the spotlight on the world’s most important stages. The Newfoundland and Labrador native made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 2009, portraying the title role of Hoffmann in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, opposite world renowned soprano Anna Netrebko, under the baton of Maestro James Levine. Also at the Metropolitan Opera, Mr. Pomeroy performed the title role of Roméo (Roméo et Juliette) under the baton of Placido Domingo. In the 2020 season, he returns to Canadian opera houses in Winnipeg and Calgary before heading to France and the United States.
The launch of the album is scheduled for September 2020.
