Skip to page content

Christòpheren Nomura

About this Artist

Baritone CHRISTÒPHEREN NOMURA has emerged at the forefront of the new generation of American singers. Since making his New York City debut in 1992 at the Tisch Center for the Arts, he has performed throughout the world, recently hailed as one of classical music's "rising stars" by the Wall Street Journal (January 1, 2000).

Mr. Nomura has earned a place of prominence on the operatic, concert and recital stages. He is known for his deep commitment to the art of the recital, having given more than 250 recitals throughout North America, Europe, Asia, South America and Africa. In recent seasons he has appeared at Lincoln Center, on the Fleet Bank of Boston Celebrity Series, the Rising Stars Series at Ravinia, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Arts in Washington, D.C., and the Vancouver Recital Society, frequently combining his performances with in-depth residencies to introduce new audiences to classical vocal music. The 2001-02 season brings residencies with the Kansas City Friends of Chamber Music, the Fleet Bank of Boston Celebrity Series and the first of four years as Artist in Residence with San Francisco Performances. His collaborations with such ensembles as the Skampa, Boromeo and St. Lawrence String Quartets and pianists Martin Katz, Dalton Baldwin, Charles Wadsworth, Jean-Yves Thibaudet and William Bolcom have brought him to the most important Chamber Music Festivals in including Santa Fe, Marlboro, Tanglewood, La Jolla, Spoleto and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

In the realm of opera, Mr. Nomura is a noted Mozartean, known for his portrayals of the title role of Don Giovanni, Papageno in The Magic Flute, the Count in Le nozze di Figaro and Guglielmo in Cosi fan tutte. He makes his debut this season with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City as Papageno. He made his film debut as Prince Yamadori in the SONY production of Madama Butterfly, co-directed by Martin Scorsese and Frédéric Mitterand and conducted by James Conlon, and repeated this role in concert for his Boston Symphony debut under Seiji Ozawa. He sang the role of the Imperial Commissioner in Madama Butterfly for his debut with Dallas Opera and both roles for his Cincinnati Opera debut last season. He made his debut with the Skylight Opera of Milwaukee as Figaro in Il Barbieri di Siviglia, returning this season as Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor. He sang Malatesta in Don Pasquale for his debut with Opera Idaho and this role will mark his Seattle Opera debut in December 2002.

Christòpheren Nomura has appeared with many of the prominent North American orchestras, in repertoire ranging from Early Music to contemporary. He has appeared with the Boston Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony, the Boston Pops and the Utah Symphony Orchestra and has worked under internationally renowned conductors such as Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa, James Conlon, Sergiu Comissiona, Roger Norrington, Christopher Hogwood, Ton Koopman, Andrew Parrott and Martin Pearlman. A noted Bach specialist, he has been a frequent performer with the Bach Choir of Bethlehem, the Carmel Bach Festival, Handel & Haydn Society, Boston Early Music Festival, Boston Baroque and the Berkshire Choral Festival. Last season he was invited to sing Bernstein's Mass at the Vatican for the "Jubilee Year," performing before an audience of 15,000 in the Salla Nervi, simulcast to some 200,000 people in Vatican Square. The current season will bring his first performances with the Memphis Symphony (Handel's Messiah) Vermont's Crossroads Music Festival (premiere of David Alpher's Witness) and Cleveland's period instrument ensemble, Apollo's Fire, performing and recording Handel's Messiah.

Christòpheren Nomura's discography includes recordings on the Sony, Dorian, Teldec, London, Denon, TDK and L'oiseau Lyre labels. His first solo lieder recording, Schubert's Die Schöne Müllerin, was released in 1998 by Well-Tempered Productions, receiving international critical praise. His recording of the Monteverdi Vespers of 1610 on Telarc was nominated for a Grammy (Best Classical Ensemble Recording).

Mr. Nomura is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, holding a Masters degree and Artists Diploma from the New England Conservatory of Music. He has been the recipient of numerous awards and distinctions including a four-year Fulbright Grant in 1989 to study with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Hermann Prey and Gérard Souzay. He was winner of the 1992 Young Concert Artists International Auditions as well as the Naumburg, United States Information Agency Music Ambassadors and the Marilyn Horne Foundation competitions.