Praised by Opera News for his “lovely timbre”, and “dramatic timing”, and by the Washington Post for his “rich and gleaming” voice, Trevor Scheunemann quickly established himself as one of opera’s leading baritones. This season, Scheunemann returns to The Metropolitan Opera for productions of La bohème and Falstaff and performs as Marcello in Florida Grand Opera’s production of La bohème and as a soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the National Philharmonic and Faure’s Requiem with The Choral Arts Society of Washington, both at the Kennedy Center. Scheunemann is in demand at revered houses around the world for his thoughtful, original portrayals. Highlights of his career include performances as Sharpless in Madama Butterfly with Théâtre du Capitol de Toulouse, Washington National Opera, and Teatro Municipal Santiago; Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro with San Francisco Opera, The Metropolitan Opera, Washington National Opera, and Opéra National de Bordeaux; Guglielmo in Cosí fan tutte with Oper Frankfurt and Washington National Opera; the title role in Don Giovanni with Washington National Opera and L’Opéra de Monte Carlo; Escamillo in Carmen with Ópera de Puerto Rico; and Marcello in La bohème at Atlanta Opera and Washington National Opera.
After joining the roster of The Metropolitan Opera as Curio in Giulio Cesare, Scheunemann enjoyed several return engagements including a new production of Un ballo in maschera under Fabio Luisi, which was also broadcast as part of the Metropolitan Live in HD series; Morales in the new production of Carmenconducted by Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin; Schaunard in La bohème; a new production of Guillaume Tell; and Sid in La fanciulla del West. Additionally, he headlined The Met’s Rising Stars Tour in concert across the United States.
In recent seasons, he made his San Francisco Opera début as Jake Wallace in La fanciulla del Westconducted by Nicola Luisotti; appeared at L’Opéra de Monte Carlo as Donner in Das Rheingold; performed Rameau’s Dardanus with Emmanuelle Haïm at Opéra de Lille; and joined the Glyndebourne Festival as Mercurio in L’incoronazione di Poppea conducted by Emmanuelle Haïm, in Graham Vick’s Eugene Oneginunder the baton of Vladimir Jurowski, and as Melot in Tristan und Isolde, which was commercially released on CD.
Mr. Scheunemann has also been actively involved in the emergence of new, American opera. He originated roles in several productions including: Joe in Christopher Theofanidis’s Heart of a Soldier, inspired by the events of 9/11 and under the direction of Francesca Zambello at San Francisco Opera; der Graf F in René Koering’s adaptation of Heinrich von Kleist’s novella Der Marquise von O with L’Opéra de Monte Carlo; as well as Sgt. Marcum in Huang Ruo and David Henry Hwang’s An American Soldier and Gary Tate in Douglas Pew and Dara Weinberg’s Penny, both as part of the American Opera Initiative at Washington National Opera.
A seasoned concert artist, Scheunemann possesses a diverse repertoire of oratorio and recital work. Favorite engagements include Carmina Burana under the baton of Kent Nagano with the Montreal Symphony; Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem, Dvořák’s Stabat Mater, Vaughan Williams’ Dona nobis pacem, Britten’s Cantata misericordium, and Purcell’s Come, Ye Sons of Art with The National Symphony; and Copland’s Old American Songs with Kansas City Symphony and Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra. Other concert highlights include performances of Händel’s Messiah and the Requiems of Faure and Mozart. Last season he performed Messiah and Guglielmo in a concert performance of Cosi fan Tutte with the National Philharmonic; Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro with Norwalk Symphony Orchestra; and Britten’s War Requiem at Leigh University.
Mr. Scheunemann is a distinguished alumnus of the world-renowned Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program at Washington National Opera. He was featured in a variety of roles including Schaunard in La bohème, Masetto in Don Giovanni under the baton of Plácido Domingo, Marco in Gianni Schicchi, Larry Landau in Sophie’s Choice, and a commissioned work by Marvin Hamlisch with Plácido Domingo and Kristin Chenoweth at the Washington National Opera Golden Gala.
Awards to Mr. Scheunemann’s credit include the Washington National Opera Artist of the Year, the third-place winner in Plácido Domingo’s Operalia, and Sara Tucker Study Grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation.