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Paul Grizzell
BassBaritone
Paul Grizzell’s rich BassBaritone sound has been heard in many of the major music capitals of the world. In Germany, England and throughout the United States he has performed opera, concert and oratorio works of many great masters yet has given a concentrated effort to works of the 20th Century. He has been heard by audiences most recently at the Berlin Philharmonie, also at Carnegie Hall with Daniel Barenboim conducting and has sung with other leading conductors of our time including James Levine and Claudio Abbado.
Mr. Grizzell has rendered operatic performances of Strauss’s Elektra in New York and in his hometown of Chicago. At Lyric Opera of Chicago he recently performed in the world premiere of Anthony Davis’s Amistad. Among his other opera credits is a recent performance of Schoenberg’s Moses und Aron with Pierre Boulez conducting in Berlin, Germany.
His diversity on the operatic stage has been highlighted by appearances as Verdi’s Rigoletto, Ford in Verdi's Falstaff, Dr. Malatesta in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, and Germont in La Traviata. Performances have also included Puccini's Marcello in La Boheme and Falke in Die Fledermaus. He sang in Chicago Opera Theatre’s critically acclaimed production of Copland’s The Tenderland and recently made his debut in Carmen as Escamillo.
As a concert soloist, he has performed with many of America’s finest orchestras and in England singing works such as Bach’s Magnificat and Donizetti’s Requiem. Paul has sung many concerts with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under both the batons of Daniel Barenboim and Sir Georg Solti. He made his subscription debut with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in Voices of Light by Richaed Einhorn, music inspired by the silent film The Passion of Joan of Arc. For another engagement, he performed Faure’s Requiem with MSO and delivered many highly regarded performances of Carmina Burana and Kindertotenlieder on separate occasions for the Milwaukee Ballet. A regular performer of Baroque music Mr. Grizzell recently sang with the Boise Philharmonic in performances of Handel’s Messiah and has performed the solos in both of Bach’s well-known Passions. In a recent performance of Brahm’s German Requiem Paul considered it a personal honor to be able to work with the great baritone Sherrill Milnes, his boyhood idol, as conductor. Other recent engagements include an Opera Gala with Florida’s Imperial Symphony and a debut in the St Paul Oratorio by Mendelssohn.
His concert repertoire also embodies Vaughn Williams’ Sea Symphony, Britten’s War Requiem, Mendelssohn's Elijah, Haydn’s Die Schopfung, Mahler’s Eighth symphony, and numerous works of Bach and Mozart. Paul loves Broadway Music and has enjoyed appearing in Pops Concerts including work with Erich Kunzel and the Ravinia Festival Orchestra.
Mr. Grizzell can be heard on the recording labels of New World Records (Sowerby’s forsaken of man) and London Records (Schoenberg’s moses und aron, Sir Georg Solti conducting).