Vocally and dramatically, the evening belonged to the young bass David Leigh, a late replacement in the role of Hagen. A tall, arresting figure in a sleek navy suit, he communicated an air of mounting danger from the moment he stepped onstage, with a cavernous instrument that colored every phrase with a deep sense of disquietude.
Bachtrack
American bass David Leigh, a recent graduate of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, has been described by Opera News as “a bass of unusual agility, depth and darkness,” and is already internationally known for his visceral and intelligent singing. At a young age, he’s been entrusted with many of the pinnacle roles in the canon including Hagen in a new Ring Cycle at Opernhaus Zürich in the 2023-24 season, as well as König Marke in Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde at Santa Fe Opera, and pandemic related cancelations of Filippo in Don Carlo at Dallas Opera and Gurnemanz in Parsifal at the Canadian Opera Company.
Mr. Leigh opens the 2023-2024 season with the aforementioned Hagen in a much anticipated new Götterdämmerung at Opernhaus Zürich; he will reprise both Hagen and Fafner (Siegfried) there in two full cycles at Opernhaus Zürich in May. He will also make a return to the Canadian Opera Company as the Commendatore in Kasper Holton’s Don Giovanni. On the concert stage, he will make debuts with Semyon Bychkov the Czech Philharmonic at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg in Mahler’s Symphony #8, and with the Richmond Symphony for the Verdi Requiem.
In the 2022-2023 season, Mr. Leigh made debuts with the Bayerische Staatsoper as Colline in La bohème along with returns to the Metropolitan Opera in a new production of Die Zauberflöte and to Opernhaus Zürich as Fafner in a new production of Wagner’s Siegfried. On the concert stage, he made his debut with the Duisburg Philharmonic for a performance of Beethoven’s Symphony #9, in recital with the Sag Harbor Song Festival, and with Jacaranda Music in Los Angeles for the world-premiere of Peter Knell and Stephanie Fleischman’s Arkhipov.
In the 2021-2022 season, in addition to his role debut as König Marke at Santa Fe Opera, Mr. Leigh made his debut at Opernhaus Zürich as the Commendatore, was heard in the eponymous role in The Snow Queen in the French premiere of Hans Abrahamsen’s The Snow Queen with Opéra national du Rhin and performed Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte with Opéra national de Lorraine, a role he later reprised with the Canadian Opera Company. In concert, he sang Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and Mozart’s Requiem with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra with Fabio Luisi.
In the 2019-2020 season, pre-Covid-19, Mr. Leigh made a house and role debut with Seattle Opera as Prince Gremin in Eugene Onegin. The 2018-2019 season included a number of prestigious debuts, including his San Francisco Opera debut as Zuniga in Carmen while covering the role of Vodnik in Rusalka, his Santa Fe Opera debut as King Hjarne in Poul Ruder’s The Thirteenth Child, and his Canadian Opera Company debut in the leading role of Turbo in the world-premiere of Rufus Wainwright’s Hadrian. He also returned to the Bolshoi Theatre as Colline, made his role debut as Sparafucile in Rigoletto with Kentucky Opera, and joined Dallas Opera in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut.
Recent career highlights include a company and role debut with the Bolshoi Theatre as Colline, as well as company debuts with Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Opéra National de Lorraine, and Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg as the Commendatore. At the Metropolitan Opera, he performed the Surintendant des Plaisirs in Laurent Pelly’s production of Massenet’s Cendrillon under the baton of Bertrand de Billy, and was presented in a joint recital at the Park Avenue Armory with mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo. Other engagements included the Commendatore with Florentine Opera and the Festival d’Opéra Baroque de Beaune, Fafner in Siegfried with Cincinnati’s Queen City Opera, and Verdi’s Requiem with the Choral Society of Northeast Pennsylvania.
Mr. Leigh comes from a family of artists: his father Mitch Leigh was the Tony Award-winning composer of Man of La Mancha, his mother, Abby Leigh, is an American painter whose work is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum and the Whitney, among others, and his sister Eve Leigh is a multiple award-winning playwright. He studied music composition at Yale University and holds master’s degrees in Voice and Opera respectively from Mannes College and the Yale School of Music, from which he received the Harriet Gibbs Fox Prize. He has received awards from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the McCammon Competition at Fort Worth Opera, the New York Foundation for the Arts, and a 2017 top prize from the Wagner Society of New York.
Performance
Venue
Opéra National de Paris (Palais Garnier)
Location
Paris, FR
Date
28 Apr 2022
From May 6 - 21, David Leigh returns to the Canadian Opera Company to star as Sarastro in Mozart’s fairytale {...}
18 Aug 2021
In the 2021-2022 season, Mr. Leigh will sing the roles of Snow Queen/Reindeer/Clock in the French premiere of Hans Abrahamsen’s The {...}
30 Jul 2020
The Canadian Opera Company is streaming Hadrian on Monday, August 10, 2020 at 6:30 PM ET, a one-night-only event, which {...}
Traditional Spiritual, Arranged by David Leigh
Performed in Recital with the Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, March 2017
Live recording from Queen City Opera's performance of Wagner's Siegfried.
Fafner: David Leigh, Bass
Siegfried: Stephen Carroll, Tenor
Acclaim
Of the four soloists, tenor Aleš Briscein and David Leigh stood out with their mastery of demanding parts and personal connection with Janáček's emotionally stirring music.
Feature
When David Leigh sang “The Impossible Dream” at his father’s funeral, the moment was both a testament to his past and a harbinger of his future.
Feature
When asked what has surprised him most about his career, American bass David Leigh insists that his entire career—from an imposing and smoking hot (more on that later) Commendatore at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in 2017 to his recent US breakout success as Hagen in Tanglewood’s 2024 presentation of Götterdämmerung Act III—has been a surprise.
Acclaim
David Leigh as Rocco displayed one of the more lyrically beautiful bass voices I have heard, giving us a soft edged warden displaying love for his daughter, respect for his staff, and a limit to his corruptibility.
Acclaim
David Leigh made a likable Rocco - without overdoing it - and also credible. This bass also has very rich overtones throughout the register that make the voice particularly beautiful.
Acclaim
David Leigh, with a big, sonorous bass, was wonderful as the jailer Rocco.
Marcin Kopec
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Ekaterina Belova
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Matthew Horner
+1 212 994 3514
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Sam Snook
+1 212 994 3544
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