Canadian tenor Chris Lysack brings a vast and unorthodox skill set to his craft. Initially having received his formal training at Indiana University as a concert pianist (Doctor of Music) and a literary scholar (PhD, French Literature) before completing his vocal studies at Manhattan School of Music, he is uniquely positioned to approach the most challenging repertoire with intellectual rigor and refined musicianship of the highest caliber.
Over the past decade, the “intrepid, individual artist” (Opera Now) has performed as a leading tenor throughout Europe and worldwide, with companies such as the Lincoln Center Summer for the City (formerly the Mostly Mozart Festival), Hamburg State Opera, Salzburg State Theater, Linz State Theater, Theater Aachen, Stadttheater Bern, Theater Bonn, Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar, Nationaltheater Mannheim, Darmstadt State Theater, Sweden’s Opera på Skäret, and the Theater Bremen, site of his “sensational début” (Opernglas) in the Wagnerian repertoire as Walther von Stolzing in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in 2014. In 2019, he was invited to perform the title role in Parsifal for Indiana University’s bicentennial celebration.
Lysack has performed a broad cross-section of the repertoire, ranging from the title roles in Lohengrin, Les contes d'Hoffmann, and Peter Grimes, to such favorites as Florestan (Fidelio) and Cavaradossi (Tosca), and to lesser-known modern works, including York Höller’s Der Meister und Margarita and Brett Dean’s Bliss. The versatile tenor also has a particular interest in Czech music, having achieved acclaim as the Prince (Rusalka), Laca Klemeň (Jenůfa), as well as in Janáček's monumental song cycle, Zápisník zmizelého. Lysack has been awarded three professional-development grants from the Canada Council for the Arts.
Theater Bremen, Parsifal
with: Markus Poschner, Bremer Philharmoniker
photo credit: Jörg Landsberg
The sometime pianist made his German début at the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg in 2015, has appeared as a concerto soloist with the Sinfonieorchester Aachen and Bremer Philharmoniker, and has released recordings on the Capstone and Centaur labels. He began his singing career with young-artist engagements at Chautauqua Opera and Glimmerglass Opera in New York before joining the International Opera Studio, and later the ensemble, of the Hamburg State Opera. While he still enjoys appearing in concert and recital venues, Lysack retired from the opera stage during the pandemic, joining the global management consulting firm, Kearney, in 2022.