Simon O'Neill
A tenor born in Ashburton, New Zealand in 1971, Simon O'Neill is renowned for his stature in operatic roles by Wagner and Verdi. A music student at the Universities of Otago and Wellington, he went on to study at the Manhattan School in New York, where he received his master's degree in 2000, and embarked on an international operatic career. Joining the Juilliard Opera Center, he made his debut in Mozart’s Idoménée and Poulenc’s Le Dialogue des Carmélites, before appearing at the San Francisco Opera in Puccini’s La Bohème. He also performed at New York's Metropolitan Opera in Wagner’s La Walkyrie, replacing Plácido Domingo. From then on, Simon O'Neill proved an asset to opera productions looking for a solid tenor to embody Wagner's characters, with Christian Thielemann in Parsifal at the Vienna Opera, Antonio Pappano in La Walkyrie at London's Covent Garden and La Scala in Milan, Daniel Barenboim at the Berlin Opera, Franz Welser-Möst at the Vienna Staatsoper and Kent Nagano at the Munich Opera. He performed with Donald Runnicles in a return engagement at New York's Metropolitan. In 2010, the tenor made his Bayreuth Festival debut in Lohengrin, conducted by Andris Nelsons, and returned the following year for Parsifal. He also tackled the title role in Verdi's Otello with Colin Davis in 2009, and opened his repertoire to Mahler's Symphony No. 8, which he recorded with Vladimir Ashkenazy, Valery Gergiev, and Gustavo Dudamel, as well as Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, with Kent Nagano and Paavo Järvi. His appearance in fellow New Zealander Kiri Te Kanawa’s Kiri and Friends was followed by Chausson: Le roi Arthus with Leon Bolstein (2005), Weber: Der Freischütz with Colin Davis (2013) and Janáček: Katya Kabanova with Simon Rattle (2024). Simon O'Neill has also recorded the recitals Father and Son - Wagner Scenes and Arias (2010) and Distant Beloved with pianist Terence Dennis (2019) and participated in Wagnermania (2021). In 2017, he was appointed Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
©Copyright Music Story Stephen Schnee 2024
Discography
13 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Distant Beloved
Classical - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on 8 Feb 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wagnermania
Orchestre national d'île-de-France, Case Scaglione, Michelle DeYoung, Simon O'Neill, Pierre-Yves Pruvot
Opera - Released by NoMadMusic on 22 Jan 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
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Va Pa' Esa
Latin America - Released by Simón O'Neill on 27 Nov 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Suma el Lema
Alternative & Indie - Released by Simón O'Neill on 13 May 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Revolucionas Mi Existir
Alternative & Indie - Released by Simón O'Neill on 27 Dec 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Libertad
Alternative & Indie - Released by Simón O'Neill on 17 Sep 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
La Medicina Sagrada
World - Released by Simón O'Neill on 30 Jul 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mi Tribu
Alternative & Indie - Released by Simón O'Neill on 30 Oct 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kuntur
Alternative & Indie - Released by Simón O'Neill on 31 Dec 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
El Golpe Avisa
Electronic - Released by Simón O'Neill on 15 Jul 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
La Medicina Sagrada
Latin America - Released by Simón O'Neill on 27 Dec 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Qué Hay Pa' Hacé? (Remix)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Simón O'Neill on 7 Dec 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo