ary Rideout, one of the finest operatic singing actors of today, has won praise not only for the power, beauty and clarity of his voice, but for his incredible interpretive ability. In 2000-2001, Mr. Rideoout made his Metropolitan Opera debut in Bussoni's Doktor Faust, followed by Lulu and The Gambler. The following season, he returned to the Met to sing the Prince, Marquis and Manservant in Lulu, with James Levine conducting (radio broadcast) and to sing in War and Peace. Gary's exemplary work in the two Prokofiev operas led to his being invited by Valery Gergiev to sing Siegfried for the Kirov Opera. Mr. Rideout sang both the premiere of Siegfried and of Gotterdamerung at the Mariinsky Theatre with Maestro Gergiev conducting, during the 2002-2003 season, an experience that Gary claims was both life changing and affirming.
That same year, Gary sang the world premiere of Deborah Drattel's opera Nicholas and Alexandra with Los Angeles Opera, Rostropovich conducting; Der Liebe der Danae at the Concergebouw, Edo de Waart conducting; Die Fledermaus with Utah Opera and the role of The Tempter/Abbott at the Benjamin Britten Festival in Ontario, Canada.
Upcoming engagements include Ariadne auf Naxos and Idomeneo, both with Kent Nagano conducting for Los Angeles Opera, Ring Cycles in Adelaide, Australia and Washington, D. C., and Laca in Jenufa with the Opera Royal de Wallonie in Belgium.
A frequent guest artist with the San Francisco Opera, Gary sang the world premiere of Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking with Patrick Summers conductiong. He has also recently sung in The Tsar's Bride, Prince Igor, Tannhauser, Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg, Peter Grimes, Turandot and Norma for San Francisco Opera. Recent debuts have included Wozzeck at the Teatro Municipal in Santiago and Salome for Cincinnati.
Gary received incredible notices for his Loge in Arizona Operas 1996 and 1998 Ring Cycles, as well as for his Witch at the Canadian Opera Company's Hansel and Gretel, for which he recieved a Dora Mavor Moore Award Nomination. He has sung Steva in L'Opera de Montreal's production of Jenufa and Cavaradossi in Tosca for both Hawaii Opera and Pacific Opera and the role of Avito in L'Amore dei Tre Re, also for Pacific Opera.
As a young artist Gary sang Rodolfo, for Opera Lyra, Ottawa; Pinkerton for Calgary Opera's Madama Butterfly and the title role in Tales of Hoffman for the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble's Western Canada Opera Tour.
In addition to his training, while a member of the Canadian Opera Company ensemble, Gary sang roles in Andrea Chenier, The Makropulous Case, La Forza del Destino, Tristan und Isolda and The Magic Flute, as well as roles in three world opera premieres, one of which, Guacamayo's Old Song and Dance, was specifically written for him by composer John Oliver.
Gary is equally at home on the concert stage, whether singing an evening of Sondheim and Offenbach with Eric Kunzel or the Bruckner Great mass No. 3 with Charles Dutoit and the L'Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal. Recent concert performances have included: Beethoven Ninth with Baltimore, New Mexico, Milwaukee, Kingston and Ottawa symphonies; Mahler's Eighth Symphony at New York's Carnegie Hall; Das Lied von der Erde with the McGill University Syphony (CBC Radio broadcast) and Verdi Requiems with the Gainesville, Victoria, Charlotte and Edmonton Symphonies.
Mr. Rideout made his Carnegie Hall debut in Haydn's St Nicholas Mass and has sung Mozart's Vespers of the Confessor and Handel's Messiah for the Montreal Symphony. Gary has sung numerous concerts with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, was a guest artist at the Aspen Summer Music Festival, David Zinmann conducting, and recently sang Szymanoski's Lieder des Verliebten Muezzins and Mahler's Lied Eines Fahrenden Gesellen for the Manchester Symphony.
Gary was invited by Harold Prince to sing the role of Piangi at the Schubert Theatre on Broadway in the Phantom of the Opera and was critically acclaimed as Mime in the San Francisco Opera Ring Cycle, conducted by Donald Runnicles.
