American tenor Roy Cornelius Smith has established himself among the ranks of the finest tenors of his generation through his voice of exceptional color and beauty, his compelling dramatic interpretations, and outstanding musicianship. The tenor has already been heard on some of the world's great operatic stages including the Metropolitan Opera, Salzburg Festival, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, Royal Danish Opera, Norwegian National Opera, Vienna Volksoper, and the New Israeli Opera. He has also appeared with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Orchestra del Teatro Carlo Felice, Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal and the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, to name but a few.
F E A T U R E D R E V I E W S
"Out of nowhere, an excellent 'Tristan' pops up in San Francisco. With conductor Jonathan Khuner leading a vivid rendition, and soprano Juyeon Song and tenor Roy Cornelius Smith blazing forth in the title roles, this was an entirely unexpected delight. As Tristan, Smith deployed a gleaming vocal tone along with heroic vitality, and he made his way through the grueling marathon of Act 3 – in which the tenor holds the stage almost single-handedly for something like 45 minutes – without betraying either fatigue or concern." San Francisco Chronicle
"American tenor Roy Cornelius Smith rises to the occasion with all the honors of one of the most trying roles of the repertoire. Singing without an accent and with a commendable diction of our language, it turns out to be a physically credible Eleazar that is musically nuanced, delivering a poignant « Rachel, quand du seigneur » and crowned with the cabalette « Dieu m’éclaire » that no tenor wants to face any more" Opera-Online
N E W S
Roy Cornelius Smith
Photo by: David Perea
"As Eléazar, Roy Cornelius Smith was able to take advantage of how star tenor Adolphe Nourrit persuaded Halévy to turn what had been intended as a bass role into a very non-traditional lead tenor role. Roy Cornelius Smith brought great humanity to the role, allowing us to see Eléazar's grasping nature and intense desire for revenge in the context of the extreme violence meted out to him, and the atmosphere of fear in which he lived...he sang with power and commitment." Planetthugil.com
First, the unknown---to the writer---american tenor Roy Cornelius Smith, Canio. His timbre-rich voice, standing out in squillo tones, endows his role with a musicality that others often overlook in favor of a virulent and dishevelled "Verismo". The ovation after the popular page of "vesti la giubba"---at the end of the first part of the opera---marked his triumph in the night's performance. Smith mainly sings in Germany, but his natural predisposition to Italian-style singing makes him a singer to keep an eye on. L'Opera
“Smith possesses a huge, vibrant tenor, but he can modulate it beautifully as needed.”
Opera News
“Smith sang with impassioned artistry, with an idiomatic ringing Italianate sound and fine vocal colour.”
Opera Now
Roy Cornelius Smith's role debut as Tristan at the War Memorial Performing Arts Center Herbst Theater with the newly formed Claude Heater Foundation was a huge success. Michael Anthonio from parterre.com/ stated "I was most impressed with the Tristan of Roy Cornelius Smith. Although this was his role debut, he had the confidence of seasoned Tristan. His rather dark tenor voice boomed across the hall, and he showed no restraint at the top at all. He acted well with his expressions too; his Tristan was heroic and compassionate at the same time. I truly believed that even {Claude} Heater himself would be pleased with his performance! The long monologue at Act 3 was particularly memorable; he handled it very well. He even varied his positions; he started singing while sitting, then standing during the outbursts, and went back sitting for final scenes. It all helped his interpretation!"