Christopher Newport University Fellow Claire Rooney interviews bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green
“From his first moment onward, Ryan Speedo Green’s booming bass was simply a revelation…it grabs you and holds your attention with its richness and size.” —Opera Wire
Named “the real showstopper” by The New York Times, two time Grammy Award winning bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green has quickly established himself as an artist of international demand at the world’s leading opera houses. Mr. Green’s 2023-24 season sees a number of important role debuts including as Heinrich der Vogler in Lohengrin, with both Deutsche Oper Berlin conducted by James Conlon, and the Bayerische Staatsoper, the title role in Don Giovanni with Santa Fe Opera, and as Charles in Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut up in my Bones at the Metropolitan Opera, and as Wotan in Das Rheingold in concert with the LA Philharmonic, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. Mr. Green also returns to hosting the Met Live in HD broadcast of Roméo et Juliette, which will be broadcast to cinemas around the world. Additional operatic appearances include Escamillo in Carmen at the Met, and his house debut with Staatsoper Hamburg as Varlaam in Boris Godunov, conducted by Kent Nagano. Concert work includes his debut with the Chicago Philharmonic in a special concert of arias and Beethoven Symphony Number 9 with the Colorado Symphony. On the recital stage Mr. Green appears with Austin Opera in a special recital that will be recorded and broadcast on PBS, a recital at the Ferguson Center, and a continuation of his role as Artist in Residence with Florida State University for a series of master classes and a recital.
The 2022-23 season saw Mr. Green’s first leading role at the Metropolitan Opera starring as Emile Griffith in Terence Blanchard’s Champion, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin and directed by James Robinson. Mr. Green also made his house debut at Opéra national de Paris singing Kurwenal in Tristan und Isolde, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, and his house debut at Bayerische Staatsoper as Varlaam in Boris Godunov. He also returned to Washington National Opera to sing Ferrando in a new production of Il Trovatore and Orest in a new production of Elektra. Orchestral engagements included Kurwenal in Tristan und Isolde with the LA Philharmonic, his debut with the New York Philharmonic in the world premiere of a piece by Courtney Bryan written for him, Mussorgsky’s Songs and Dances of Death at Carnegie Hall with Daniele Rustioni conducting the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and excerpts from Blanchard’s Champion with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Chamber Ensemble at Carnegie Hall, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Mr. Green also appeared as a featured artist on the Richard Tucker Gala, and with the Peoria Symphony for Beethoven’s Symphony Number 9. The academic season saw Mr. Green as an Artist in Residence with Florida State University, which included master classes with vocal students and a solo recital.
In 2017, he was artist-in-residence at the Torggler Vocal Institute at Christopher Newport University. In 2019, Ferguson Center produced and presented the world premiere performance of Sing for Your Life, starring Mr. Green and based on the bestselling book about him titled "Sing for Your Life: A Story of Race, Music, and Family" by New York Times writer Daniel Bergner. Mr. Green is a native of Suffolk, Virginia.
