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 Salome at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden under Henrik Nanasi, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk at ENO with Mark Wigglesworth, Wozzeck in Berlin with Daniel Barenboim, Der Zwerg in Munich with Kent Nagano, Moses und Aron in Vienna with Lothar Zagrosek and Billy Budd at the Metropolitan Opera 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 a new production by Barrie Kosky of Die Gezeichneten at Opernhaus Zurich under Vladimir Jurowski, a new production by Krzysztof Warlikowski of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk at Opéra National de Paris under Ingo Metzmacher and the role of Kaufman in Jakob Lenz at Festival d’Art Lyrique d’Aix-en-Provence.

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

“All this, though, is icing on a cake whose substance is the outstanding performance[s] by John Daszak, exuding well-meaning civilised weariness as Aschenbach”

(BBC Music Magazine, March 2019)

“John Daszak proves well suited to the role of Aschenbach, his interpretation founded on musical command, excellent diction and wide-ranging tonal colouring; he articulates his monologues with perception in an interpretation that seems to show the character perhaps slowly dying from the outset.”

(Opera Magazine, February, 2019)

“The cast was unquestionably strong, with male protagonists who could hardly have been bettered: John Daszak, brilliant and fleshly as Alviano”

(Opera Magazine, January 2019)

“John Daszak was brilliant as Alviano. Stripped, wounded and abused in Act 3, his character stood helplessly on the same round and rotating platform where he had posed earlier as Carlotta’s model. Now underserving victim, he had lost all face, been ostracised, spat upon, refused by his only love. I’d venture that few singers could meet such physical demands and still sing as brilliantly as this Alviano did.”

(Bachtrack, September 2018)

“John Daszak as Alviano was terrific. His powerful voice, able to withstand any orchestration, cut through the waves with clear diction, he did not spare himself for a moment.”

(Oper Aktuell, September 2018)

“English tenor John Daszak was the stark Herodes, his tormented spirit dominating every moment of Castellucci’s theater.”

(Opera Today, September 2018)

“Alviano is not an art figure that is characterised by life’s fixed constancies. Daszak understood that like no other! Blazing flames alternate with streamlined piano passages. Cleverly, Daszak’s imposing tenor voice fights through the musical jungle of Schreker. Just standing still on a forest meadow, now he seems to be fighting through bleak desert landscapes. Suddenly a storm is rising! Red fireballs whirl up the sand and race toward the listeners at frightening speed. Then the typical musical tranquility of Schreker returns. And Daszak? He sings as if nothing had happened, as if he had sung nothing other than Alviano in his life. Hats off, Sir, we bow down!”

(Klassik begeistert, May 2018)

“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 premiere 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)