Eric Owens

Bass-baritone Eric Owens has a unique reputation as an esteemed interpreter of classic works and a champion of new music. Equally at home in orchestral, recital, and operatic repertoire, Mr. Owens has brought his powerful poise, expansive voice, and instinctive acting faculties to stages around the world in the 25 years since his graduation from the Curtis Institute of Music.

At the Metropolitan Opera, Mr. Owens has appeared in leading roles in Kaija Saariaho’s L’amour de Loin, Dvorák’s Rusalka, Mozart’s Idomeneo, Strauss’s Elektra, and John Adams’s Doctor Atomic; and as Alberich and Hagen in Wagner’s Ring cycle. He is in the midst of a Ring cycle as Wotan/Wanderer for the Lyric Opera of Chicago, where he has also appeared in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess and Dvorák’s Rusalka and serves as a Community Ambassador. He appears regularly in leading roles at LA Opera, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Washington National Opera, and the Glimmerglass Festival, where he is artistic advisor.

Mr. Owens has also appeared in concert with most of the leading U.S. orchestras. His international credits include the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and English National Opera; the Berlin Philharmonic and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra; the Toronto Symphony and the Canadian Opera Company; the Swedish Radio and New Zealand symphony orchestras; and the Verbier Festival.

A native of Philadelphia, Mr. Owens began his musical training as a pianist at the age of six, followed by formal oboe study at age eleven. He holds a bachelor’s degree in voice from Temple University and a master’s degree in opera from the Curtis Institute of Music, where he currently serves on the board of trustees. He joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in 2019.