Tenor Jesse Donner is rapidly emerging on the operatic and concert stage with a voice that is “vibrant” (Chicago Classical Review), “fresh and juicy” (Chicago Tribune).
In the 2016-2017 season, Donner was part of six productions at Lyric Opera of Chicago, singing the roles of Froh (Das Rheingold), Helenus (Les Troyens), First Armored Man (Die Zauberflӧte), Flavio (Norma) and covered Normanno (Lucia), and Lensky (Eugene Onegin). With the Ryan Opera Center, Donner’s concert appearances included the Civic Orchestra, performing an excerpt from Troilus and Cressida with Sir Andrew Davis, and the Grant Park Orchestra, singing Lennie Small in Of Mice and Men.
The Des Moines native won the 2015 Luminarts Fellowship, the Bel Canto grand prize, the 2014 George Shirley Award for Opera Performance, an encouragement award from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Regional Auditions. Donner completed graduate studies at the University of Michigan after earning a Bachelor of Music degree from Iowa State University.
