John Aler

John Aler (born October 4, 1949 in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American lyric tenor who performs in concerts, recitals, and operas. He is particularly known for his interpretations of the works of Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, and Handel.

Biography

Early life and education

John Aler was born in Baltimore, Maryland on October 4, 1949 where he grew up. He attended Catholic University where he studied voice with Rilla Mervine and Raymond McGuire and graduated with a B.A. in music and an M.M. in Vocal Performance. He went on to attend the Juilliard School in New York from 1972 to 1976 where he studied with Oren Brown. During that time he also attended the Berkshire Music Center in Tanglewood for several summers where he studied with Marlena Malas.[1]

Career

In 1977, he made his operatic debut as Ernesto in Donizetti's Don Pasquale at the Juilliard School's American Opera Center. That same year he won first prizes for men and for the interpretation of French art song at the Concours International de Chant in Paris.[2] He made his Santa Fe Opera debut in 1978 and his European début as Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in 1979. Aler made his Covent Garden début in 1986 as Ferrando in Così fan tutte, returning in 1988 as Percy in Donizetti's Anna Bolena. He sang Mergy in a studio production of Le Pré aux clercs for BBC Radio 3 in 1987.[3]

His other appearances have included leading roles at the English National Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Vienna Staatsoper, Bavarian State Opera, the Salzburg Festival, Hamburg State Opera, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Teatro Real, Opéra National de Lyon, New York City Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Washington National Opera,[4] Bayerische Staatsoper, San Diego Opera and Baltimore Opera.[1] He is also a regular performer at major American summer festivals including the Ravinia Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, the Chautauqua Festival, the Newport Music Festival and the Grant Park Music Festival.[5]

Aler has sung as a soloist with many orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Boston Symphony, the Chicago Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Atlanta Symphony, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Leipzig Gewandhaus, the Orchestre National de France, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and the London Sinfonietta.[6]

Aler currently works as an associate professor of music and the director of Mason Opera with George Mason University.[7]

Awards

References
  1. John Aler (Tenor) - Short Biography on Bach-Cantatas.com
  2. Biography Archived 2007-06-22 at the Wayback Machine at the Milken Archive of American Jewish Music
  3. Jacobs A. On Radio - review. Opera, November 1987, 1338.
  4. "JOHN ALER, biography, discography". Archived from the original on 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2007-07-03.
  5. John Aler, tenor
  6. Artist Page - John Aler
  7. "John Aler – GMU Music". music.gmu.edu. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
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