Gregory Yurisich AM
Gregory Yurisich is one of the world's leading baritones. His portrayals of the great Verdi repertory earned him tremendous critical acclaim - "phenomenal" and "overwhelming" described his portrayal of the title role of Nabucco for the Bregenz Festival and later for the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, and in Geneva.
Other acclaimed performances include the title role in Rigoletto in Israel, Australia and Athens; the title role in Simon Boccanegra for the English National Opera; the title role in Falstaff in Australia; Germont PËre (La Traviata) for the San Francisco Opera, The Australian Opera and in Tel-Aviv and Geneva; Iago (Otello) with Placido Domingo for the Los Angeles Opera and in Brisbane; Stankar (Stiffelio) for the Royal Opera; and Amonasro (Aida) for the Royal Opera, Covent Garden. Other memorable performances include Barak (Die Frau Ohne Schatten) for the Melbourne International Festival, which won him the 1996 Green Room Award; Scarpia (Tosca) for the Royal Opera, at the Hong Kong Festival; the title role in Guillaume Tell for the Royal Opera; Escamillo (Carmen) for English National Opera and at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich; Telramund (Lohengrin) for the Victoria State Opera winning him the 1992 Green Room Award; Balstrode (Peter Grimes) for the Chatelet in Paris and the Thȇtre de la Monnaie in Brussels; Sharpless (Madame Butterfly) for The Australian Opera; and the Four Villains (Les Contes d'Hoffmann) for Opera de Paris at the Bastille and the Royal Opera. He recently debuted at Berlin Staatsoper Unter den Linden as Alfio (Cavalleria Rusticana) and Tonio (Pagliacci), and performed Tonio with Placido Domingo for Washington Opera.
Gregory Yurisich has made many international appearances on the concert platform with Zubin Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic; with the London Philharmonic; for the Edinburgh International Festival; with all the Australian Orchestras and for the BBC and Australian ABC Television networks. In 2005 he was recognised by his home city when he was awarded the HMT Centenary Award and was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2006.