Alex Dobson

Biography

British-Canadian baritone Alexander Dobson has been praised for his musical and dramatic artistry on both opera and concert stages.  His portrayal of Wozzeck conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin with Théâtre du Nouveau Monde and Orchestre Métropolitain was lauded for his “gripping embodiment of Wozzeck” (Journal Voir).  Other roles of note include Guglielmo Così fan tutte, Belcore L’elisir d’amore, Mercutio Roméo et Juliette, Sonora La fanciulla del West and Ned Keene Peter Grimes, all with L’Opera de Montréal. Alexander Dobson made an acclaimed debut in the title role of Don Giovanni with Milwaukee’s Florentine Opera last season.  His operatic roles also include Guillaume in the French version of Così fan tutte, The Count The Marriage of Figaro, Marcello La Bohème, Silvio Pagliacci, Mercutio Roméo et Juliette, Harlequin Ariadne auf Naxos, Maximilian in Bernstein’s Candide, Aeneas Dido and Aeneas and De Retz Les Huguenots.  He has performed at Stratford Summer Music, Florentine Opera Milwaukee, Saskatoon Opera, Pacific Opera Victoria, Opera Lafayette, ‘Against the Grain’, L’Opéra de Québec, Opera Ontario, Calgary Opera and The Theatre of Early Music. He made his London début at the Linbury Theatre at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in the première of The Midnight Court by Ana Sokolovic.  His recent performance as The Master in Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie’s production of Against Nature with director James Kudelka was praised for its “clarity and sustained feeling” (The Globe and Mail, Toronto).  Recent performances of contemporary works also include The Pilot in Soundstreams’ production of Airline Icarus, a new opera by Brian Current which won the JUNO for Classical Composition of the Year and which was recorded by Naxos Records in 2015 featuring Alexander Dobson. Alexander Dobson’s has performed in concert with Toronto Symphony, the combined National Arts Centre Orchestra and Orchestre Métropolitain, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic and the National Arts Centre Orchestra.  His repertoire includes Handel Messiah,Fauré Requiem Mahler Songs of a Wayfayer and Symphony No 8 and Mozart Mass in C Minor. Conductors he has worked with include Sir Andrew Davis, Paul Goodwin, Matthew Halls, Cristian Macelaru, Nicholas McGegan, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Trevor Pinnock. Derek Holman’s song cycle Daybreak and a Candle End was commissioned for Alexander Dobson and the Talisker Players.  He has also performed Dichterliebe with Talisker Players Chamber Music and Coleman Lemieux Dance Company, and Schubert’s Winterreise in Montréal, Victoria, England, Paris, and with Yannick Nézet-Séguin at the piano in Toronto.   He has also frequently performed in recital and concert on CBC Radio Canada. Alexander Dobson’s recent concert engagements include A Shropshire Lad in Hamilton, Ontario, Brahms Requiem in Niagara, Messiah in New York, Florida and Nova Scotia, Pulcinella in Florida, Duruflé Requiem in St Louis, Bach St Matthew Passion in Halifax, B Minor Mass in Toronto, Bach Magnificat with Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Zemlinsky Spring Symphony at Spoleto Festival and Brahms Requiem at Spoleto Festival, with Pro Coro in Edmonton and with Peterborough Symphony, Handel Alexander’s Feast with Tafelmusik, and performances with Continuum Contemporary Music, Opera in Concert, Tapestry, and Syrinx Concerts.  In Spring 2018 he sang his first Elijah with the Peterborough Singers and gives recitals of Dichterliebe in Prague and in Canada. Recent and forthcoming opera performances include Aeneas Dido and Aeneas for Toronto Masque Theatre, The Mute Canary (Rudolf Komorous) and a new work by Chinese composer Daniel (Ting-Cheung) Lo with New Opera Days Ostrava, the title role in Don Giovanni at Westben Festival and Music Niagara Festival, Escamillo Carmen with  Kitchener Waterloo Symphony and Peterborough Symphony, and Betterton in Carlisle Floyd’s Prince of Players with Florentine Opera, which will also be recorded for Naxos. Alexander Dobson graduated from the University of Toronto Opera Division and the Faculty of Music at the University of Western Ontario with Honours.  He is also an alumnus of the Music Theatre Program at the Banff Centre, Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, the Steans Institute for Young Artists at Ravinia, and L’Atelier Lyrique de L’Opera de Montréal. His many awards and prizes include the Edward Marshall Association Award for Outstanding Baritone at the International Voice Competition of Paris, the Jeunesses Musicales National Competition, the Marilyn Horne Competition, and the Jacqueline Desmarais Competition. An ardent singer since childhood, Alexander Dobson made his solo début at twelve years old, as a treble soloist in the Canadian premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Requiem under conductor Elmer Iseler.