©Photo: Robert workman

John Daszak

Tenor

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

Admired for his versatility, range and dramatic power, British tenor John Daszak made his operatic debut at English National Opera as Števa (Jenůfa). Now enjoying a vibrant international opera career, recent seasons have brought several important role debuts: Herod (Salome) at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden under Henrik Nanasi, Grishka Kuter’na (The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh) at De Nederlandse Opera under Marc Albrecht, Zemlinsky’s Der Zwerg at the Bayerische Staatsoper under Kent Nagano and Tambour-Major (Wozzeck) marking his debut at the Berliner Staatsoper under Daniel Barenboim.

Performances during the 2020/21 season included the role of Shuysky in a new staging of Boris Godunov by Barrie Kosky at Opernhaus Zürich under the baton of Kirill Karabits, as well as appearances as Iro in Robert Carsen’s new staging of Il ritorno d’Ulisse at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino under the baton of Ottavio Dantone. In concert there was a performance of Il prigioniero with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic under Franck Ollu as part of the Zaterdag Matinee series broadcast from the Concertgebouw.

Other highlights of John Daszak’s recent seasons include Kaufman (Jakob Lenz) at Festival d’art lyrique d’Aix-en-Provence under Ingo Metzmacher, Alviano Salvago in Barrie Kosky’s staging of Die Gezeichneten at Opernhaus Zürich under Vladimir Jurowski and Romeo Castelluci’s Salome at the Salzburg Festival under Franz Welser-Möst. He sang Sergei (Katarina Ismailova) at Moscow’s historic Bolshoi Theatre under Tugan Sokhiev, Hindemith’s Mathis der Maler at Semperoper Dresden under Simone Young, Aegisth (Elektra) at the Royal Opera House under Andris Nelsons, and Jimmy (Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny) with Komische Oper Berlin under Stefan Blunier.

John Daszak has long been a regular presence on the stage of Munich’s Bayerische Staatsoper with roles including Captain Vere (Billy Budd), Alwa (Lulu), Le Lepreux (St François d’Assise) and Die Knusperhexe (Hansel und Gretel). An admired interpreter of Britten’s operas the role of Captain Vere marked his debut at the Metropolitan Opera under David Robertson, he sang Peter Grimes at Teatro alla Scala under the late Sir Jeffrey Tate and starred as Gustav von Aschenbach (Death in Venice) at Teatro Real under Alejo Peréz. Daszak made his house debut at the 2015 Bayreuther Festspiele as Loge (Das Rheingold) under Kirill Petrenko with BR Online commenting “The most outstanding of the Bayreuth new-comers is John Daszak, who sings with a glistening, piercing voice as the cunning mastermind.”

A popular concert performer with a repertoire ranging from Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass through to Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 and Verdi’s Messa da Requiem, he has collaborated with many esteemed conductors. His discography on DVD includes Pfitzner’s Palestrina from the Bayerische Staatsoper (Simone Young), La Fura del Baus’ spectacular production of Das Rheingold from the Palau de Les Arts, Valencia (Zubin Mehta), and Death in Venice from Teatro Real and released on Naxos.

John Daszak’s 2021/22 season includes two appearances at the Opéra National de Paris, as Prince Golitsin (Khovanshchina) under Hartmut Haenchen and as the Tambour-Major in William Kentridge’s acclaimed staging of Wozzeck conducted by Susanna Mälkki. He also appears as Aegisth at Staatsoper Hamburg conducted by Kent Nagano and returns to the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence to sing Herod under the baton of Ingo Metzmacher.

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

…and the successful bet of John Daszak, a tenor who usually sings a completely different repertoire but who does here a fantastic, unforgettable Iro: “Here is an artist”, Tosca would say.

(La Stampa, 29 June 2021)

“Similarly admirable was John Daszak as a formidable Shuisky”

(Opera Magazine, February 2021)

“the distinctive tenor sound of John Daszak as a slippery Aron.”

(Opera Magazine, December 2019)

“As the doctor, Kaufmann (Jakob Lenz), John Daszak used his high tenor to expressionist effect.”

(Opera, September 2019)

“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)