Andrew Owens, tenor
Justina Lee, piano
Sunday, December 5, 2021 at 4:00 PM
Ticket: $50
Join dashing young tenor Andrew Owens as he celebrates the bel canto vocal tradition. With his matinee idol looks and charismatic stage presence, audiences swoon as he pays homage to some of the world’s most beloved tenors—Enrico Caruso, Mario Lanza, Luciano Pavarotti. Andrew’s mentor, Metropolitan Opera baritone, Dominic Cossa will join Andrew on stage for a post-concert Q&A to talk about the important role legacy plays in the art of singing and the special relationship between vocal teacher and student.
possesses a powerful, yet supple tenor voice. . .tossing off Rossini high notes with ease.
Der Neue Merker
Andrew Owens let out such radiant high notes that the garret shook.
Wiener Zeitung
[Owens] made use of his beautiful tenor voice, delicate in lyrical reflection and passionate in dramatic outbursts.
Der Neue Marker
Andrew Owens
American tenor Andrew Owens has quickly built a reputation as a promising singer of his generation, exhibiting a beautiful Italianate timbre, soaring top notes, and effortless agility. In recent seasons, Andrew debuted with the Irish National Opera as Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola and returned to Theater an der Wien in Vienna in Salome. He also made his hometown debut with Opera Philadelphia as Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor.
Andrew has performed Count Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Manitoba Opera, Seattle Opera, Opera San Antonio, Greensboro Opera, the Glyndebourne Festival and others. He has also performed with Seattle Opera as Bénédict in Béatrice et Bénédict and Leicester in Maria Stuarda, recently debuted at Cincinnati Opera in L’incoronazione di Poppea and returned to the Kammeroper Wien as the title role in Don Carlos. Concert highlights include Handel’s Messiah with the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, the Eugene Symphony, and North Carolina Symphony.
Future plans include debuts with Opernhaus Zürich in Lucia di Lammermoor, the Rossini Opera Festival as Aménophis in Moïse et Pharaon in Pesaro, and a return to Theater an der Wien in The Fiery Angel. Andrew will also make symphonic debuts with the Jacksonville Symphony in La Bohème, Messiah with the Kansas City Symphony, and Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the Thessaloniki State Symphonic Orchestra in Greece.
Andrew is a graduate of the Maryland Opera Studio at the University of Maryland, where he studied with renowned baritone Dominic Cossa. He completed his undergraduate studies at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. He is also an alumnus of The Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara and the Central City Opera Bonfils-Stanton Apprentice Program. Additionally, he was a member of the Opernstudio of the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich and the Junges Ensemble (JET) of the Theater an der Wien in Vienna.
Andrew currently lives in Chicago with his wife, flautist Jessica Warren, and their little dog Lulu.
Justina Lee
American collaborative artist Justina Lee has served as assistant conductor, pianist, and coach for such companies as The Metropolitan Opera, Washington National Opera, Seattle Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, The Castleton Festival, and Wolf Trap Opera Company. A frequent collaborator with acclaimed tenor Lawrence Brownlee, she appears with him on National Public Radio’s Tiny Desk Concert series. Additional recital highlights include collaborations with Alyson Cambridge, Gordon Hawkins, Linda Mabbs, Lisette Oropesa, Dimitri Pittas, and Tamara Wilson. Ms. Lee has appeared under the auspices of the Marilyn Horne Foundation residency program and on recital series that include On Wings of Song at Carnegie Hall, the Harriman-Jewell Series, the Washington Performing Arts Series at The Kennedy Center, and on Renée Fleming’s VOICES recital series. She can also be seen on medici.tv as pianist for Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute masterclasses with Joyce DiDonato.
Ms. Lee is an alumna of the distinguished Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at The Metropolitan Opera and holds degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Manhattan School of Music. She joined the University of Maryland, College Park faculty in 2008 and currently serves as Principal Coach of the Maryland Opera Studio.
