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William Stone

About this Artist

WILLIAM STONE’s repertoire ranges from Mozart to Berg, with a special emphasis on the Bel Canto masterworks. His list of North American opera appearances includes the title role of Wozzeck, Capulet in Roméo et Juliette, Falke in Die Fledermaus, Germont in La traviata, and John Plake in the new production of Sly at the Metropolitan Opera; Adam in the world premiere of Penderecki’s Paradise Lost, the title role in The Barber of Seville, Schaunard in La bohème, and Sharpless in Madama Butterfly with the Lyric Opera of Chicago; and, with New York City Opera, the Count in a televised performance of The Marriage of Figaro, Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor, and the title role in a new production of Hindemith’s Mathis der Maler.

Stone made his Washington Opera debut as John Sorel in Menotti’s The Consul and his Seattle Opera debut as the Marquis de Posa in Don Carlos. In addition, Stone has appeared with the opera companies of Atlanta, Austin, the Berkshires, Chautauqua, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Mobile, Omaha, Orlando, Philadelphia, Portland, San Francisco, and Santa Fe.

Stone has sung extensively in the major opera houses of Italy, having twice opened the May Festival in Florence, as Wozzeck and as Oreste in Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride, conducted by Riccardo Muti. At the Rome Opera he appeared as the title role in Eugene Onegin, Golaud in Pelléas et Mélisande, and Malatesta in Don Pasquale. He has also appeared in leading roles at La Fenice, La Scala, the Teatro Giuseppe Verdi in Trieste, and the San Carlo in Naples.

As a concert artist, Stone has appeared with major orchestras throughout North America. His relationship with the Atlanta Symphony and Robert Shaw resulted in acclaimed performances of the choral works of Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Handel, Hindemith, Mahler, Mendelssohn, and Mozart, many of which have been recorded by Telarc. He made his debut with the New York Philharmonic under Kurt Masur in performances of Carmina Burana, followed by performances of the Bach B-minor Mass and the St. Matthew Passion, also with Maestro Masur. He has appeared in the American premieres of Penderecki’s Seven Gates of Jerusalem at the Lincoln Center Festival and of Takemitsu’s My Way of Life with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Seiji Ozawa, as well as the world premiere of Kirchner’s Of Things Exactly as They Are, also with the Boston Symphony.

Stone resides in his native North Carolina with his wife Bonnie.