Greer Grimsley

Bass-baritone
Greer Grimsley
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“Greer Grimsley was vocally commanding as chief of the gods Wotan, displaying unrelenting power and stamina”

(San Francisco Examiner, June 2018)

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Greer Grimsley
Greer Grimsley
Greer Grimsley
Greer Grimsley
Greer Grimsley

American bass-baritone Greer Grimsley enjoys a thriving international career which has spanned more than three decades and sees him positioned as one of the outstanding singing actors of his generation. 

Recognised internationally as a Wagnerian of great note, Grimsley made his debut at the Bayreuth Festival in 2018 as both Wotan (Die Walküre) and Der fliegende Holländer, roles that have featured prominently in his performance schedule of the last years. Heralded as an ​“exquisitely nuanced Wotan” (San Francisco Chronicle), Grimsley has appeared in landmark productions of Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Metropolitan Opera (Robert Lepage), Seattle Opera (Stephen Wadsworth) and San Francisco Opera (Francesca Zambello); and in Europe Grimsley’s Wotan has graced the stages of Teatro Real Madrid, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Gran Teatre del Liceu and most recently Royal Swedish Opera under Alan Gilbert. Further notable Wagnerian performances include Wotan (Die Walküre) at New National Theatre Tokyo; Der fliegende Holländer at Seattle Opera, Dallas Opera and Ravinia Festival; Telramund (Lohengrin) at The Met, Royal Danish Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago and Seattle Opera; Kurwenal (Tristan und Isolde) at Bayreuth Festival, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Lyric Opera of Chicago and Seattle Opera and Amfortas (Parsifal) at The Met and Seattle Opera.

Two other roles have featured particularly prominently across Grimsley‘s seasons: Jochanaan/​Salome (The Met, San Francisco Opera, San Diego Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, New National Theatre Tokyo and Dallas Opera) and Scarpia/​Tosca (San Diego Opera, The Met, Los Angeles Opera, Seattle Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Oper der Stadt Köln, Den Norske Opera and at Japan’s Hyogo Performing Arts Center). Further recent roles have included Orest (Elektra), Macbeth, Jack Rance (La fanciullla del West), Don Pizarro (Fidelio) Captain Balstrode (Peter Grimes), Méphistophélès (Faust), Claggart (Billy Budd), Sweeney Todd, Villians (Les Contes d’Hoffmann) and Mandryka (Arabella).

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Die Walküre (excerpt) © Seattle Opera

Last season Grimsley joined Wiener Symphoniker under Karina Canellakis as Wanderer in a concert performance of Siegfried at the Bregenzer Festspiele and returned to San Francisco Opera under Eun Sun Kim as Don Pizarro. The current season includes Scarpia at San Diego Opera and Wotan in Das Rheingold at The Atlanta Opera; and joins Seattle Opera as High Priest of Dagon in concert performances of Samson et Dalila.

An active concert performer, Grimsley’s most frequently performed pieces include Verdi’s Messa da Requiem and Beethoven’s Symphony No.9, which he has performed extensively on both sides of the Atlantic.

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The Flying Dutchman Highlights © San Francisco Opera
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Beethoven: Fidelio 'Ha welch ein Augenblick' © Santa Fe Opera

“He is ​“the definitive Wotan of our era,” shining forth as the vocal luminary of the evening with his powerful, resonant voice and commanding presence.”

(Ear Relevant, Mark Gresham, May 2023)

“A commanding presence and sonorous voice.”

(Classical voice America, Paul Hyde, May 2023)

“Commanding the stage vocally and dramatically”.

(Bachtrack, Erica Miner, January 2023)

“Greer Grimsley as Kurwenal has a striking bass-baritone and outstanding diction.”

(Online Musik Magazin, August 2019)

“Greer Grimsley reigned at the center of the performance as the Dutchman, towering physically and vocally with a resonantly powerful voice and range matched by an appropriately harrowing stage presence.”

(Texas Classical Review Oct 2018)

“Greer Grimsley ist ein Holländer mit anziehendem Charisma und einer diabolischen Komponente in der Stimme, die fabelhaft zu Glogers Version past.”

(Wiener Zeitung, July 2018)

“Grimsley, whose Wotan was a formidable blend of imposing authority and paternal warmth…Grimsley’s performance across three nights has been remarkable not only for its individual splendours but for the assurance with which he has traced that long dramatic arc.”

(San Francisco Chronicle, June 2018)

“Grimsley’s full sound had a steel core the cut through the orchestra.”

(Bachtrack, June 2018)

“Up among the gods, Greer Grimsley deployed substantial squillo as Wotan – a character so familiar to him that his acting seemed as natural as breathing.”

(Bachtrack, June 2018)

“Greer Grimsley’s exquisitely nuanced Wotan”

(San Francisco Chronicle, June 2018)

“Greer Grimsley’s sepulchral low notes contributed to an ominous portrait of Elektra’s brother Orest”

(Houston Chronicle, January 2018)

“the terrifying Pizarro, here the snarling bass-baritone Greer Grimsley.”

(New York Times, March 2017)

“he probes every nuance of the title role as a captain doomed to sail the seas…With Grimsley’s commanding stage presence and resonant voice, this is a role that suits him admirably”

(Seattle Times, May 2016)

“The cast was uniformly excellent. Greer Grimsley is one of the most prominent Wotans active on the opera scene today, having sung the role at the Met Opera, Seattle Opera and numerous other companies around the world. His powerful, stentorian baritone hit all the right notes – literally and figurative.”

(Bachtrack, November 2016)
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