Lauded by the Chicago Sun-Times for his “rich, dark tone and beautiful legato,” in the 2023/24 season, Wayne Tigges returns to the Lyric Opera of Chicago for the Mayor in Jenüfa, and returns to the role of Scarpia in Tosca with Amarillo Opera. He recently sang Scarpia in Tosca with Opera Santa Barbara, Jochanaan in Salome with Tulsa Opera, returned to the role of Howie Albert in Champion with Boston Lyric Opera, Mr. Flint in Billy Budd with San Francisco Opera, Owen Hart in Dead Man Walking with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and returned to Des Moines Metro Opera for Judge Turpin in Sweeney Todd. He also recently joined Michigan Opera Theatre for Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia, returned to L.A. Opera for Barone Douphol in La traviata, Atlanta Opera for Owen Hart in Dead Man Walking, Palm Beach Opera for Frank in Die Fledermaus, and Opera Santa Barbara for John Proctor in The Crucible.
His other recent engagements include the Villains in Les contes d’Hoffmann, Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Hercules in Gluck’s Alceste, Douglas in La donna del lago, and Nourabad in Les pêcheur de perles with Santa Fe Opera; Donner in Das Rheingold and both Zuniga and Escamillo in Carmen with Los Angeles Opera; the title role of Don Giovanni with Opera Pacific and Austin Lyric Opera; Blitch in Susannah with Florentine Opera, Willy Wonka in the European premiere of Peter Ash’s The Golden Ticket at the Wexford Festival, Jochanaan in Salome with Arizona Opera; Scarpia in Tosca with Austin Opera; Faraone in Mose in Egitto with New York City Opera, further performances of Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia as well as Ferrando in Il trovatore with Opera Colorado; Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro with Seiji Ozawa’s Ongaku-juku Festival and the North Carolina Symphony and Austin Opera; Leporello in Don Giovanni with Pittsburgh Opera and Tulsa Opera; Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Palm Beach Opera; Bonze in Madama Butterfly with Los Angeles Opera and at the Ravinia Festival under the baton of James Conlon, the Tutor in Le comte Ory as well as Owen Hart in Heggie’s Dead Man Walking with Des Moines Metro Opera; Count Walther in Luisa Miller with Chautauqua Opera; First Nazarene in Salome with the Philadelphia Orchestra; Sacerdote in Nabucco at the Gran Teatro del Liceu, and Zuniga in Carmen with San Diego Opera. He has joined Minnesota Opera as Claudius in Hamlet, Théâtre du Capitole Toulouse as Superintendent Budd in Albert Herring, Cincinnati Opera for Angelotti in Tosca, Sam in Un ballo in maschera, and Sprecher in Die Zauberflöte. With Opera Omaha, he has sung Mother in Seven Deadly Sins, Gideon March in Little Women, and Balthazar in Amahl and the Night Visitors. He has also sung the Father in Hänsel und Gretel with the Fort Dodge Symphony Orchestra.
In addition to his performances on the opera stage, Mr. Tigges maintains a busy concert schedule. He recently joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic for Mozart’s Mass in C minor, Chicago Symphony Orchestra for Nielsen’s Symphony No. 3, Orchestra of Saint Luke’s for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in his Carnegie Hall debut, and Teatro Regio di Parma for Haydn’s Creation. He made his Avery Fisher Hall debut with the Collegiate Chorale as Erasto in the American premiere of Handel’s Giove in Argo. He sang Stravinsky’s Les Noces with the Cleveland Orchestra; Britten’s Serenade under the baton of Sir Andrew Davis; Zemlinsky’s Psalm 83 at the Cincinnati May Festival; Verdi’s Requiem with the Washington Chorus, Tulsa Oratorio Chorus, Arizona Music Festival, Cathedral Choral Society in Washington D.C., and as a guest artist at Bard College; and the title role in Elijah with both Soli Deo Gloria with John Nelson conducting and the Apollo Chorus and Orchestra. Other performances include Bach’s St. John Passion and St. Matthew Passion with the Knox Chamber Orchestra, Handel’s Messiah with the Beyer Music Chamber Orchestra, Poulenc’s Stabat Mater with the Musica Antiqua Chamber Orchestra, and concerts of operatic arias at Oregon’s Britt Music Festival.
Originally from Dubuque, Iowa, Wayne Tigges received a graduate degree and Artist Diploma from the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music and his Bachelor of Music from Iowa State University.
Photo Credit: Rion Photography
Management Territory: Worldwide