As a comic tenor in this high-lying role, there is a perfect match between role and singer with John Tessier, surely Canada’s leading tenor in roles of this type. Of the performances he has given in Calgary, none is better than this; the singing is idiomatic and with an ability to ham it up second to none. The eye was irresistibly drawn to him whenever he was on stage. This is the strongest performance of this role in all the performances of the opera mounted over the years.
Calgary Herald, Kenneth Delong
Edmonton’s John Tessier is the tenor lead in a part that requires a very high tenor who can float the top notes with apparent ease but also project into a large auditorium. In these vocal requirements, there are few tenors better than John Tessier, whose voice can effortlessly sit in a vocal range that for most tenors is effortful. He is the perfect Rossini-Donizetti tenor. On home turf for him, vocally speaking, Tessier delivered all that there is in the role, including the wonderful ballad scene.
Calgary Herald, Kenneth Delong
Tessier delivers a showstopping rendition of Il mio tesoro, garnering thunderous applause.
Broadway World, Sarah Dussome
The vocally challenging tenor role of Steve Wozniak, the technological wizard behind the machines, was sung with rich expressivity by John Tessier, a role that demands sweetness of tone, but also strength. Of the many fine performances Tessier has given in Calgary, this surely was one of his best.
Calgary Herald, Kenneth Delong
Canadian tenor John Tessier reprising his role of Prince Ramiro, and last appearing in MO’s 2016 production of Werther, filled the stage with his every, naturally regal appearance and unabashedly lyrical voice ideally suited for the composer’s ear-pleasing music, even when initially appearing in cognito as his own valet. So strong are his acting skills that Tessier inadvertently upstaged himself during Act 2’s Si, ritrovarla io giuro in which he pledges to find his love after she returns home from the ball (er, dinner party, here). Wriggling out of his valet uniform into more princely duds that, while eliciting loud guffaws from viewers, only drew focus from this eagerly anticipated showstopper, still delivered with palpable resolve.
The Winnipeg Free Press, Holly Harris
John Tessier, whose self-effacing comedy may be recalled from his Prince in La cenerentola, remains an eager, open-voiced delight. Every floated note, High C or otherwise, presents a cushioned platform onto which he softly and deftly parachutes.
New Zealand Theatreview, Michael Hooper
There is something very special about his tenor voice: there is a colour, a kind of tiny musical accent, to his sound that is entirely his. Jon Vickers and Jussi Björling had something similar, with the result that their voices are instantly recognizable. His tenor is also attractively lyrical, and his performance here was a pleasure to listen to, both in terms of interpreting the piece, and for the sheer pleasure of listening to lovely singing.
Edmonton Classical Music, Mark Morris
Internationally renowned for his soaring tenor voice, Edmonton-born John Tessier in the title role can only be described as a Canadian treasure. His showstoppers: Lorsque l’enfant revient d’un voyage, in which Werther first contemplates suicide, and later, goose- bump inducing delivery of Pourquoi me reveiller elicited well-deserved, spontaneous applause with cries of bravo for the charismatic singer.
Winnipeg Free Press, Holly Harris
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Discography
On the international stages of opera, concert, and recital, Canadian John Tessier garners praise and attention for the beauty and candor of his voice, a refined style and creative versatility, and his handsome presence in the lyric tenor repertoire.
During the 2026-27 season John Tessier returns to Edmonton Opera to reprise his acclaimed portrayal of Conte Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia and he makes a much-anticipated return to Vancouver Opera also in Rossini’s same comedic masterpiece.
The recipient of a 2026 Opera Canada Ruby Award, named for Opera Canada‘s founding editor, Ruby Mercer, The Rubies recognize outstanding achievement and leadership in Canadian opera – both on stage and behind the scenes. John Tessier is recognized for lifetime achievement in the art form, and this represents the highest public honor in Canadian opera.
Last season John Tessier made a role debut as Mime at Edmonton Opera in the Jonathan Dove reduction of Wagner’s Siegfried. Highlights of the past also include a new production at Edmonton Opera of Die Fledermaus directed by Artistic Director Joel Ivany, Ernesto in Don Pasquale at Calgary Opera directed by Stefania Panighini led by Jacques Lacombe, and a presentation of the Mozart Coronation Mass in C Major, K. 317 with music director Rune Bergmann leading the Calgary Philharmonic.
The leading Canadian tenor has bowed at the Wiener Staatsoper in productions of Il barbiere di Siviglia, La fille du Régiment, and I Puritani and made his debut at Teatro alla Scala in a new production directed by Sir David McVicar of Cavalli’s La Calisto led by Christophe Rousset. Career highlights include the role of Steve Wozniak in Mason Bates’ The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs at Calgary Opera, Die Fledermaus in a fully-staged production at the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy with Diego Matheuz leading the Saito Kinen Orchestra, Mozart’s classic Don Giovanni as directed and with a new English libretto by Joel Ivany presented by Edmonton Opera, and Cherubini’s Médée at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées conducted by Christophe Rousset in a new production by Krzysztof Warlikowski.
On leading international opera stages John Tessier has appeared in Les pêcheurs de perles and Maria Stuarda led by Carlo Montanaro at Seattle Opera, a new Jonathan Miller production of The Elixir of Love at English National Opera and the New York City Opera, Der fliegende Holländer under the baton of Jeffrey Tate at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Il barbiere di Siviglia with New Zealand Opera, and both a role debut as Massenet’s Werther and his acclaimed portrayal of Prince Ramiro in Rossini’s La cenerentola for Manitoba Opera.
Concert appearances include the world premiere of the Jonathan Leshnoff oratorio, Sacrifice of Isaac with Robert Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Handel’s Messiah with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and with Emmanuelle Haïm and Le Concert d’Astrée on tour in Vienna, Paris, Frankfurt, Cologne, and Milan, Berlioz’ Roméo et Juliette with the Taiwan Philharmonic and Te Deum under the direction of Charles Dutoit at the Philadelphia Orchestra, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with Iván Fischer and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Carnegie Hall, Mozart’s Requiem with Hervé Niquet leading the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and Carmina Burana with Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony. Additional highlights of past seasons feature Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Paavo Järvi and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Haydn’s “Mass in the Time of War” with Bernard Labadie and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, and Rossini’s Stabat Mater and Schumann’s Scenes from Goethe’s Faust with the Cleveland Orchestra under the direction of Franz Welser-Möst.
John Tessier’s extensive recording catalogue includes Mozart’s Requiem both with Sir Donald Runnicles and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and with Bernard Labadie and Les Violons du Roy, John Corigliano’s A Dylan Thomas Trilogy with Leonard Slatkin and the Nashville Symphony, Stephen Paulus’ To Be Certain of the Dawn with Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein’s A Quiet Place with Kent Nagano and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and Haydn’s The Creation with Dame Jane Glover leading Music of the Baroque.
The Creation, Credo Festival Orchestra & Chorus
Britten Serenade for Tenor, Horn, & Strings, University of Alberta Symphony Orchestra
Tristan und Isolde, Sydney Symphony
I Puritani, Wiener Staatsoper
Maria Stuarda, Seattle Opera
The Pearl Fishers, Seattle Opera
Contact
General Management
Bill Palant, Étude Arts
Ansonia Station,Post Office Box 230132
New York, New York 10023
Tel: 929.777.0775
Email: [email protected]