Gregory Dahl
Sessional Teaching Staff: Voice Studies
Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Education from the University of Manitoba and a Diploma in Opera from the University of Toronto/Faculty of Music
EmailBiographical Note
Gregory Dahl is one of Canada’s busiest baritones, in demand for both concert and operatic appearances in Canada, UK and the United States. His debut as Tomsky in The Queen of Spades for English National Opera was notable for “a splendidly oily and corrupt Count Tomsky” while the press hailed his “appealingly lyrical baritone [that] emphasized Golaud’s inner turmoil over his villainy” in Opera Theatre of St. Louis’s Pelléas et Mélisande.
In the summer of 2019, Dahl made his debut in the title role of Der Fliegende Holländer in a new production for Opéra de Québec, destined for the Met’s New York stage in coming seasons. A great favourite in Québec, he will be heard as Germont Pere for Opéra de Québec in the fall followed by Messiah for Orchestre classique de Montréal and the Rhode Island Philharmonic. During the 2018/19 season Greg appeared as Hermogines in the world premiere of Rufus Wainwright’s opera Hadrian with the Canadian Opera Company, joined l’Opéra de Montréal for Donner in Das Rheingold, sang Messiah with the Winnipeg Symphony, and reprised the title role in Rigoletto for Calgary Opera. His 2017/18 season included Scarpia in Tosca for l’Opéra de Montréal and Calgary Opera, Rigoletto for l’Opéra de Québec, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly for the Manitoba Opera and Swallow in Peter Grimes in concert with the Vancouver Symphony. On the concert stage, he sang Messiah for the Vancouver Bach Choir and returned to Halifax for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Symphony Nova Scotia. His 2016/17 season included the title role in Gianni Schicchi for l’Opéra de Québec, Ford in Falstaff for Manitoba Opera, Picariello In Filumena for Calgary Opera, Iago in Otello for Vancouver Opera and Scarpia in Tosca for l’Orchestre de Trois-Rivières. The Manitoban’s concert schedule included Messiah for Symphony Nova Scotia, Elijah in Winnipeg and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Shelley and the National Arts Centre Orchestra.
Notable recent additions to his active repertoire are the title role in Macbeth (Kentucky Opera), George in Of Mice and Men (Manitoba Opera) and High Priest in Samson et Dalila (Opéra de Montréal). Highlights of past seasons include Sharpless in Madama Butterfly for the Canadian Opera Company, Escamillo in Carmen for l’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and the Virée Classique Festival with Nagano, Ford in Falstaff and Amonasro in Aida for l’Opéra de Montréal, Sebastian in Ades’ The Tempest for l’Opéra de Québec and an engagement at the Metropolitan Opera covering the role of Mandryka in Arabella. Also in his repertoire are the roles of Jokanaan in Salome, di Luna in Il trovatore, Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana, Tonio in Pagliacci, and Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor.
Additional credits include Yermalov in the Canadian Opera Company’s War and Peace, Musiklehrer in Ariadne auf Naxos for Calgary Opera, and Zurga in Les pecheurs de perles for Edmonton Opera. He has also appeared as Capt. Corcoran in H.M.S. Pinafore, Germont in La traviata, Hubbard in Regina, Nick Shadow in The Rake’s Progress and the title roles in Don Giovanni, and Il barbiere di Siviglia.
Mr. Dahl first came to national attention as Francis Chancy in the World Premiere of James Rolfe’s Beatrice Chancy and other world premieres include Estacio and Murrell’s Filumena for the Calgary Opera, Lillian Alling for Vancouver Opera and Shalimar the Clown for the Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Filumena was filmed for release in the DVD format and joins Beatrice Chancy on his list of operas-on-film. Mr. Dahl has also created roles for Tapestry New Opera Works (Robert Peary in Smith’s Facing South and The Alchemist in Schafer’s The Palace of the Cinnabar Phoenix) and sang the role of George in the Canadian Premiere of Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, presented by the Calgary Opera.