John Riesen

Hailed as “every inch the hero in stature and voice” (Classical Voice North America), award-winning American tenor John Riesen is consistently impressing audiences with his "impassioned...and vibrant" voice (Opera Today). John’s growing career boasts a variety of roles in which he excels and includes significant work in opera, musical theatre, studio recording, and concert. He has released two albums: What You'd Call a Dream (2019) and Christmas at Home (2020) and several singles, including “Autumn Leaves” (2021), “What a Wonderful World” (2021), and “Maria” (from West Side Story, 2021), that have reached well over four million streams on Spotify and Apple Music. John is also the head of Spotify promotion and PR for Emitha LLC, building an ecosystem for classical singers to be heard around the world.

Last season was a busy one for John and included his role début as Camille in The Merry Widow at Knoxville Opera, where he also reprised his Younger Thompson in Glory Denied. He made his role début as the Duke in Rigoletto at Intermountain Opera Bozeman, appeared with Opera Las Vegas as Detective Daniel Lewis in A Capacity for Evil, and brought his Younger Thompson to Opera Roanoke. Additionally, he was named a semifinalist on NBC’s America’s Got Talent. Engagements for this season include joining the Dallas Symphony and The Phoenix Symphony for their concert Prohibition; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Southwest Michigan Symphony, Pacific Symphony, and Flint Symphony Orchestra; featured soloist in Opera Las Vegas 25th anniversary gala; holiday Pops concerts with the Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra and Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra; and his return to Intermountain Opera Bozeman as Rodolfo in La Bohème.

In recent seasons, John appeared as Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance with Utah Opera, Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi with On Site Opera, Chris in the world-premiere of Favorite Son by Grammy Award-winning songwriter Marcus Hummons, Ralph Rackstraw in HMS Pinafore with Pensacola Opera, Martin in The Tender Land with The Hart School, Alfredo in La Traviata with Pacific Symphony, and Younger Thompson with Berkshire Opera Festival.

Other career highlights include his début as Roméo in Roméo et Juliette as a guest artist with the Janiec Opera Company at Brevard Music Center, his Michigan Opera Theater début as Pirelli in Sweeney Todd, Younger Thompson in Glory Denied with UrbanArias, and Bill Calhoun in Kiss Me, Kate with Intermountain Opera Bozeman. He also made several role débuts including Prince Charming in Cendrillon with Opera Company of Middlebury, Lensky in Eugene Onegin with Intermountain Opera Bozeman, Alfredo in La Traviata with Gulfshore Opera, Younger Thomspon in Glory Denied with Opera Birmingham and Des Moines Metro Opera, the title role in Candide with Chautauqua Opera, and his Lincoln Center début as Tony in West Side Story Suite with the New York City Ballet.    

John completed his second season as the resident tenor at Shreveport Opera in 2016, where he sang Father Grenville in Dead Man Walking, Ralph Rackstraw in H.M.S Pinafore, Remendado (Don José cover) in Carmen, Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance, and Gastone (Alfredo cover) in La Traviata. In his three seasons as an Apprentice & Studio Artist with Chautauqua Opera, he performed multiple roles including Lensky in Eugene Onegin and received the Studio Artist Award, Apprentice Artist Award, and Returning Apprentice Award.

Other honors include being a repeat Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, 1st prize in the Harold Haugh Light Opera Competition, and 2nd prize in the Mary Jacobs Smith Singer of the Year Competition, as well as awards from the Opera Columbus Cooper-Bing Competition and the Opera Birmingham Competition.

John has been privileged to sing for political figures, including President Barack Obama, President Jimmy Carter, District Judge Stephanie Kulp Seymour, and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. He has sung the national anthem at several collegiate, semi-professional, and professional organizations, including the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park, the Pensacola Ice Flyers, MSU hockey/baseball, and more. Before singing, John avidly pursued athletics and academics. He attained all-region pitcher status in 2006 and 2007, as well as Academic All-State honors in 2008.