Christopher Lowrey

Christopher Lowrey is an American operatic countertenor who has performed internationally and made many recordings. He took part in the world premiere of Brett Dean's Hamlet at the Glyndebourne Festival in 2017, and moved with the production to places including Australia and the Metropolitan Opera.

Christopher Lowrey
Born
Johnston, Rhode Island, U.S.
Education
OccupationOperatic countertenor
Websitewww.christopherlowrey.com

Career

Lowrey was born in Johnston, Rhode Island.[1][2] He liked to sing from childhood and first joined a church choir. He proceeded to sing with other choirs in Rhode Island, and then took vocal training with a local teacher.[2] He studied voice first in the U.S. then in England, completing degrees at Brown University, the University of Cambridge, and the Royal College of Music's international opera school.[3] When he moved to England he looked for a place in choral singing and liked its rich tradition there.[2]

Lowrey took part in the world premiere of Brett Dean's Hamlet at the Glyndebourne Festival in 2017, as Guildenstern, and moved with the production to places including Australia[2] and in 2022 the Metropolitan Opera in New York City,[1] where the production was filmed for an international broadcast.[2]

He appeared at the Oper Frankfurt for the first time in 2023 as Medoro in Handel's Orlando,[4] directed by Ted Huffman and conducted by Simone de Felice, with Zanda Švēde in the title role, Kateryna Kasper as Angelica, and Monika Buczkowska as Dorinda.[5] He was the only guest singer in the cast.[6] Jürgen Kaube from the FAZ noted his sensitive countertenor.[5]

Lowrey has founded vocal ensembles including Ensemble Altera in Providence, the first professional chamber choir in Rhode Island,[2] and ensembles in England including the Cambridge Clerkes, Ensemble Aeterna, and Passio.[7]

Critical reception

Faramondo

Lowrey received positive reviews for his performance as the villain in the 2015 Brisbane Baroque production of Faramondo.[8] Limelight magazine gave him a "gold star for sheer entertainment" for his portrayal of the King of the Swabians.[8] Critic Clive Paget wrote, "He's a lovely actor, but the voice too is packed with enough character to sink a battleship."[8]

Farnace

In 2019, Lowrey appeared in the title role in Pinchgut Opera's production of Vivaldi's Farnace at the City Recital Hall in Sydney.[9] A review in Limelight magazine described Lowrey as singing "with spirited, gleaming tones across his register", calling his diction "impeccable" and noting his "powerful stage presence".[9] Critic Jo Litson wrote, "His characterisation exudes impatient arrogance, yet despite Farnace's often odious behaviour, his delivery of Gelido in ogni vena is ravishing and his final reconciliation with Tamiri ... is genuinely poignant".[9]

In his review of Lowrey's performance of an aria from Farnace in San Francisco, critic Steve Winn wrote, "In a voice that wailed upward, plunged straight and alarmingly out of countertenor territory, and raged with siren-like intensity, he gave the character's lament for the 'shadow of my lifeless son' a palpable reality ... The technique was a marvel, and then the listener forgot about it, swept up in the emotional tide."[10]

Stabat Mater

Lowrey recorded Pergolesi's Stabat Mater with soprano Sandrine Piau and the ensemble Les Talens Lyriques, conducted by Christophe Rousset. A reviewer noted that the singers made a well-balanced pair, performing at high standards.[11]

References
  1. "Christopher Lowrey". Metropolitan Opera. 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  2. Guguay, Rob (May 27, 2023). "RI singer to perform in Met Opera's big-screen 'Hamlet'". Providence Journal. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  3. "Christopher Lowrey". Opera du Rhin. 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  4. "Christopher Lowrey". Oper Frankfurt. 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  5. Kaube, Jürgen (February 14, 2023). "Seele zeigen für Erdbebenopfer". FAZ (in German). Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  6. Sternburg, Judith von (January 30, 2023). ""Orlando" an der Oper Frankfurt: Das Ärgernis, das sie Liebe nennen". Frankfurter Rundschau. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
  7. "Christopher Lowrey". Gulbenkian Orchestra. 2019. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  8. Paget, Clive (April 10, 2015). "Faramondo: A Tall Tale of Pistols and Panties". Limelight. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
  9. Litson, Jo (January–February 2020). "All's Fair in Love and War". Limelight magazine. Retrieved June 18, 2023 – via EBSCOHost.
  10. Winn, Steve (December 23, 2019). "Christopher Lowrey Gives a Soul-Shaking Performance With Voices of Music". SF Classical Voice. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  11. Sillitoe, Stuart (April 2020). "Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710-36) / Stabat Mater". musicweb-international.com. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
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