BIOGRAPHY
Grammy Award winning baritone Gabriel Preisser has been praised by Opera News and The New York Times for his “handsome voice, charismatic energy, timbral allure” and "wonderful" performances. This season he makes his Lincoln Center debut as the bass soloist in Handel's Messiah with the National Chorale. His resume includes over 50 operatic and musical theater roles including Billy Bigelow in Carousel with Minnesota Orchestra, the Father in Hansel & Gretel with Utah Opera, the title role in Sweeney Todd with Helena Symphony, Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia and Le nozze di Figaro with multiple companies, Dandini in Cenerentola with Opera Tampa, Escamillo in Carmen with Lyric Opera of the North, Belcore in L’elisir d’amore with Shreveport Opera, Le Mari in Les Mamelles de Tiresias with Opera Parallele, Albert in Werther with Minnesota Opera, Danilo in The Merry Widow with Opera Idaho, Tommy in Brigadoon with Gulfshore Opera, Silvio in Pagliacci with Opera Naples, Harold Hill in The Music Man with Colorado Symphony. He has been praised for having a “matinee idol’s charm and charisma,” “a beautiful, luscious baritone,” and “a compelling, commanding stage presence.”
Mr. Preisser has made a name for himself as a versatile, cross-over performer and has especially been active in new works. He created the role of Lt. Gordon in Kevin Puts’ Pulitzer Prize winning Silent Night at Minnesota Opera with subsequent performances at Opera Philadelphia, Cincinnati Opera, and Michigan Opera Theatre. His performance as Lt. Gordon with Minnesota Opera was also broadcast nationally on PBS in 2013 and 2014. He also took on the role of Farmer Bean in Tobias Picker’s Fantastic Mr. Fox both with Opera San Antonio and Odyssey Opera of Boston. He can be heard on the first official audio recording of Fantastic Mr. Fox under the baton of Gil Rose with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project which won the Grammy Award for best new opera recording in 2020. He has also been seen as the title role in Aldridge’s Elmer Gantry, Tom Joad in Gordon’s The Grapes of Wrath, Riolobo in Catan’s Florencia en el Amazonas, Antonio in Hagen’s New York Stories, John Brooke in Adamo’s Little Women, and the Shoe Salesman/Puppet role in Argento’s Postcard from Morocco. He is a frequent recitalist throughout the US and a proponent of American composers such as Charles Ives, Carlisle Floyd, Aaron Copland, John Duke, and others.
A 2016 League of American Orchestras Emerging Artist, Preisser is known for his dynamic interpretation of Orff’s Carmina Burana performed with the Atlanta Ballet, Gulf Coast Symphony, Orlando Philharmonic, and others. He has also been heard as a bass soloist in Bach’s St Matthew Passion with the Colorado Symphony under the baton of Cristian Macelaru, soloist in William Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast with Jacksonville Symphony, Schlendrian in Bach’s Coffee Cantata with Orlando Philharmonic, bass soloist in Bach’s St John’s Passion with the Houston Bach Society, soloist in Britten's War Requiem and the Brahms' Requiem with the Canterbury Chorale, soloist in H.C. Gruber’s Frankenstein with Colorado Symphony, and bass soloist in Handel’s Messiah with Ars Lyrica, Villages Philharmonic, and The Messiah Choral Society.
Outside of his performance career, Mr. Preisser serves as founding general director and CEO for Opera Orlando.
More info at www.operaorlando.org.