JON MORRELL
TENOR|PRODUCER|DIRETOR
BIOGRAPHY
Splendid. Imposing. Dramatic. Powerful. These are just some of the words critics have used to describe the American tenor Jon Morrell. “A splendid tenor of powerful voice and impressive art” wrote the Times Union, he has in just a few years become an acclaimed Otello, Samson, Peter Grimes, Florestan (Fidelio), Siegmund (Die Walküre) and Parsifal. A respected recitalist and soloist, Morrell is a member of the Concordia Foundation in London, and performs regularly in the UK.
Jon Morrell was born in New York City. At the age of 8, his family moved to Estepona in southern Spain to run the Iberia International School. His mother, an actress/singer who had performed the role of the reporter in the original run of Damn Yankees on Broadway, was the head of the school’s music program and his first teacher.
Morrell began studying voice at an early age, and made his first stage appearance as Beppino in Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci. It was not until later that his voice developed into a heldentenor, first under the guidance of the American Wagnerian Soprano Roberta Knie, and later with the teacher Bill Schuman. Morrell made his professional debut as Siegmund in Die Walkure with the Ithaca Opera.
The diagnosis of his son with autism led to a hiatus from performing in opera, and Morrell became a stay at home dad to help raise his family. His return to opera was in 2009 as Otello/Gedick in the world premiere of Carlo Pedini’s opera Jago at the Teatro degli Avvaloranti in Citta Della Pieve, learning the complex and demanding role in just 10 days. This led to other important role debuts: Peter Grimes with One World Symphony (USA), Siegmund in Die Walkure with Fulham Opera (UK), and Samson in Saint-Saëns’ Samson et Dalila with St. Petersburg Opera (USA), earning him critical acclaim for his portrayals.
Morrell is a member of the Concordia Foundation in London, which gave him his first professional performances in the UK. Under their auspices, Morrell performed in Handel’s Messiah at St. Paul’s, and as Candide in excerpts from Bernstein’s Candide at Queen Elizabeth Hall, under conductor Rebecca Miller. He has since been heard in Schubert’s Winterreise at St John’s Smith Square, and again in Oxford with acclaimed conductor Anthony Negus accompanying; the Woodhouse Cops Festival in Surrey ( soloist for Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder), And Tristan in Act ll Tristan und Isolde with the Northern Wagner Orchestra.
My Story
Morrell is a respected recitalist and soloist, and highly praised for Schubert’s Winterreise, Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde and Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Beethoven’s 9th symphony and mass in C, Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang and Cherubini’s Chant sur la mort de Haydn. He has been recently heard as Eric in Fliegende Hollander and Otello, and was cover for Siegmund in Die Walkure for the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
As well as having an active singing career, Morrell has had a long career producing operas, recitals, concerts and plays, as well as a writer and a playwright . He is the General Manager / Artistic Director of The Garage at Chatham the GAC, and was the Artistic Director of both Manhattan Opera Ensemble and Long Island Opera in his 20’s, where he was key to raising funds, selecting repertoire and managing staff in both operas companies.
