John Daszak

Tenor

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“John Daszak has a flexible, beautiful voice combined with most intelligent, effortless characterisation.”
(Frankfurter Allgemeine on Khovanshchina)

Boasting a wide and eclectic repertoire, John Daszak is widely considered one of Europe’s most versatile tenors. Key successes in recent seasons include Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk at ENO with Mark Wigglesworth, Wozzeck in Berlin with Daniel Barenboim, Der Zwerg in Munich with Kent Nagano, in Moses und Aron in Vienna with Lothar Zagrosek and in Billy Budd in New York with David Robertson. He debuted the role of Gustav von Aschenbach at the Teatro Real, Madrid with Alejo Peréz, and made his house debut at Bayreuther Festspiele as Loge under Kirill Petrenko.

The current season includes two role debuts: as Herod (Salome) at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden under Henrik Nanasi and as Hauptmann (Wozzeck) at Theater an der Wien under Leo Hussain. Concerts include performances of Honegger’s Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher with NDR Elbphilharmonie conducted by Thomas Hengelbrock.

Gallery

Rimsky-Korsakov: The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh (excerpt) with De Nederlandse Opera © Opus Arte

Wagner: Siegfried (excerpts) © Grand Theatre de Geneve

Wagner: Das Rheingold (excerpt) © Unitel Classica

“Some aspects of the staging had been tweaked. For one thing, the Dance of the Seven Veils seemed to have more of Herod’s presence than before. Or maybe that was because John Daszak, in his role debut, was such an attention-grabbing figure, his eyes piercing to the back of the auditorium, his words cutting through the orchestra.”

(Erica Jeal, Opera Magzaine, March 2018)

“John Daszak [was] sadistic and concise as the Captain”

(Opera Magazine, January 2018)

“John Daszak was incisive as the gallant yet ruthless Drum Major”

(John Allison, Opera magazine, October 2017)

“Daszak’s tireless, concentrated central performance [as Alviano] was matched by a fearless Carlotta from Catherine Naglestad.”

(Hugo Shirley, Opera Magazine, October 2017)

“John Daszak’s cartoonish Tambourmajor leaves a formidable impression.”

(The Financial Times, August 2017)

“the British tenor John Daszak was outstanding in the title role. On stage throughout the two-and-a-half-hour opera, he communicated his torment with aplomb and drew top marks with Spanish pronunciation.”

(Opera Magazine, August 2017)

“the enormous task of communicating the story and the staging falls on the British tenor John Daszak, the standout of the night…he has a deeply intense quality and was impeccable in his portrayal.”

(El Imparcial, April 2017)

“Pier Francesco Orsini is on stage from the beginning of the opera to the end. [Sung by] the British tenor John Daszak, who [was] a luxury…His performance was always convincing and his Spanish was perfect.”

(Seen and Heard, April 2017)

“Sergey, a strapping chancer sung in a vivid, clarion tenor by John Daszak.”

(Opera Magazine, November 2015)

“John Daszak was astoundingly sure as Aron, always highlighting the role’s lyricism.”

(Opera Magazine, November 2015)

“John Daszak making a welcome return to ENO…had all that was needed for the love ‘em and leave ‘em cad he must portray and Sergei was a great showcase for his superb dramatic tenor voice.”

(Seen & Heard, September 2015)

“John Daszak plays Katerina’s lover Sergei with the perfect dose of leering, cynical swagger.”

(Bachtrack, September 2015)

“The most outstanding of the Bayreuth new-comers is John Daszak, who sings with a glistening, piercing voice as the cunning mastermind”

(BR-online, August 2015)

“Among the most outstanding performers on the night was John Daszak as Loge…[who] conveyed a relaxed cynicism appropriate to this character.”

(Bachtrack, August 2015)

“John Daszak’s execution in the dual role of Prologue and Quint is a great fit…His bright timbre is ideal for the role and he successfully evokes Quint’s sinister nature.”

(Operaclick, May 2015)

“John Daszak (Aron) revelled in being able to sing without restraint, thus providing a rich contrast [to Moses’ sprechgesang]”

(Seen & Heard, April 2015)

“John Daszak made an appealing Aron. The powerful, rounded tone of his voice attacked each sentence with the well-spoken clarity of an entertainer. Certainly a polished tenor”

(Mundo Clasico, April 2015)

“The tenor John Daszak acts and sings with a literally magical presence. He immediately pulls the audience in”

(Neue Zürcher Zeitung, April 2015)

“An unexpected bonus is the presence of John Daszak, a last-minute ring-in for the role of Aron. Quite apart from the feat of memorising all that dodecaphonic music and hitting all those murderous top notes, Kosky requires his Aron to perform a dazzling range of magic tricks. Daszak pulls it all off as though he had been rehearsing for months.”

(Financial Times, April 2015)

“John Daszak stepped into the première in place of the ailing original Aron and provided a terrific interpretation, the ideal crazy ‘man of God’.”

(klassik.com, April 2015)

“John Daszak, the tenor soloist, incarnated the score’s raw energy.”

(The Times, March 2015)