Notable Roles
Official Bio
Nicholas Simpson, tenor, has been praised by Opera News for performances that "immediately seized attention with his full-bodied, brightly projected voice." Corriere di Rimini declared that he "possesses a voice that is flexible, but powerful... he literally stunned the public with his technical and expressive capability." An award-winning artist, his singing has taken him to all seven continents, in repertoire ranging from Broadway to grand opera.
Mr. Simpson’s 2024-2025 dynamic season is a wide range of operatic and concert performances across multiple continents.
The season began in May 2024 with performances aboard the Azamara Pursuit, where he entertained audiences throughout the Mediterranean, including France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Croatia, Montenegro, and Slovenia in his solo shows, A Tall Tenor Serenade and A Tenor for the Ages, continuing through August. In September, he returned to New York to perform in the New York Chamber Festival’s Love Duets concert, where he was featured as Riccardo in Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera.
October brought a meaningful engagement in Toronto, where Mr. Simpson sang at A Moving Affair, a gala presented by Shelter Movers and EVE (End Violence Everywhere) in support of victims of intimate partner violence.
December 2024 was particularly busy, featuring a Christmas Concert Tour across New Jersey, a performance of Messiah in Irvington-on-Hudson, NY, and international travel to South Africa to perform his solo show, A Tall Tenor Serenade, aboard the Azamara Quest.
In late January 2025, he took on the role of Cavaradossi in Puccini’s Tosca with Teatro Lirico D’Europa. February saw him travel to Providence, Rhode Island, where he gave a Masterclass at Brown University. He was presented by opera legend Jane Marsh in a New York City showcase as Samson in Samson et Dalila at Temple Emanu-El.
March 2025 brought another symphonic collaboration with A Day at the Opera alongside the Monmouth Symphony, featuring music by Puccini and Verdi.
April 2025 will mark his return to Carnegie Hall as the tenor soloist in the world premiere of Loretta Notareschi’s Climate Mass with the New England Symphonic Ensemble. That same month, he will perform Messiah with the Valley Music Series in Connecticut, and in New York in Tragedy to Triumph, featuring arias and duets by Beethoven, Puccini, Verdi, and Wagner.
In May 2025, Mr. Simpson will reprise his portrayal of Almaviva in The Barber of Seville with Druid City Opera.
The season will conclude in summer 2025, with a return to Tosca, as he once again takes on the role of Cavaradossi, this time with Spotlight on Opera at Tulsa Opera.
Other major performances include Don José in Carmen (Maryland Symphony, Magic City Opera), Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos (Berlin Opera Academy), Mario Cavaradossi in Tosca (Maryland Symphony, Teatro Lirico D’Europa, Landlocked Opera), Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly (Orchestra of St. Peter by the Sea/Festival of the Atlantic, Spotlight on Opera), and King Charles II in the New York premiere of Carlisle Floyd’s Prince of Players (Little Opera Theatre of New York). His other work in contemporary opera includes singing Giovanni in Daniel Catán’s La hija de Rappaccini (Alamo City Opera) and the Kronprinz in Kevin Puts’ Silent Night (Fort Worth Opera).
Mr. Simpson made his Lincoln Center debut in 2021 with Teatro Nuovo in The Barber of Seville. A departure in repertoire for Mr Simpson, he was nevertheless widely lauded. He received praise from The New York Times for his "bright sound and expansive lyricism," while Opera Wire called him "a fantastic young tenor at his best, combining compelling acting with technical virtuosity." His Carnegie Hall debut followed in 2022, performing Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music and Mozart’s Regina coeli and Missa brevis with the New England Symphonic Ensemble. In 2024, Mr Simpson reprised the role of Almaviva in The Barber of Seville with Opéra Louisiane.
During 2018 and 2019, Mr. Simpson performed as Don José in Carmen, and as a soloist in opera and musical theater cabarets while traveling through Italy, France, Spain, Jordan, Egypt, India, Australia, and New Zealand on the Azamara Quest in conjunction with Magic City Opera. Shortly thereafter, during the summer of 2019, Nicholas was heard in a solo show at “Broadway’s Living Room,” 54 Below, with pianist Monica Lü. Late 2019 saw Mr Simpson singing the tenor soloist in productions of Handel’s Messiah at Hunter College and at Irvington Presbyterian Church. He also reprised his interpretation of Don José in Carmen with Miami’s Magic City Opera. Mr Simpson was also named the Grand Prize Winner of the MiOpera competition in Chicago in early 2020.
During the 2017-2018 season, Mr Simpson was heard as King Charles II in the New York premiere of Carlisle Floyd’s final opera, The Prince of Players, with the Little Opera Theatre of New York, and as the tenor soloist in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with Performance Santa Fe, under the baton of Joseph Illick. He aslo appeared as Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos with Berlin Opera Academy, as Mario Cavaradossi in Tosca with the Maryland Symphony, in a series of Christmas Concerts with the Orchestra of Saint Peter by the Sea, in a concert tour of the south with mezzo soprano Cindy Sadler, and as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with The Festival of the Atlantic.
In May 2017, Mr Simpson sang the role of Giovanni in Daniel Catán’s opera La hija de Rappaccini with Alamo City Opera, which made history as the first professional Spanish language opera performed in San Antonio.
Other recent seasons found Mr. Simpson making role and house debuts as the Kronprinz in Kevin Puts’ Pulitzer Prize winning opera Silent Night with Fort Worth Opera and singing a critically acclaimed performance as Paul in Korngold’s Die Tote Stadt with Cleveland Opera. Cleveland Classical noted that he was “… splendid as Paul, negotiating a punishingly high and demanding vocal line with strength and agility.” In 2015, Mr Simpson became the first tenor to sing the title role in the Dresden version of Wagner’s Tannhäuser in New York City since 1966. The performances of Tannhäuser with Apotheosis Opera were a success, and it was noted that “Tenor Nicholas Simpson was a full-throated hero who carried the role from beginning to end without strain.” (Voce di Meche). Mr. Simpson has also appeared as Peter Quint in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw and Rodolfo in La bohème with Hub Opera. DC Theater Arts praised his “smooth, deeply rich tenor voice and a powerful presence as the poet Rodolfo” and noted his dramatic abilities as “exceptional”.
Beyond the opera stage, Mr. Simpson has appeared as a soloist in Messiah in New York, Kansas City, and in Washington, D.C., and has performed Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with Performance Santa Fe, the Altoona Symphony, the Hershey Symphony, and Chorus Austin. He appeared with Connecticut Choral Society and Orchestra Nexus as the tenor soloist in Moneverdi’s Vespro della beata Vergine of 1610. He has also been a featured artist in a solo show with Pianist Monica Lu at “Broadway’s Living Room,” 54 Below, and as a featured artist on international tours spanning Italy, France, Spain, Jordan, Egypt, India, Australia, and New Zealand.
A dedicated educator, Mr. Simpson has served on the voice faculty at Southwestern University, the Mediterranean Opera Studio, and Spotlight on Opera, and has been an artist-in-residence at the Barbara Ingram School for the Fine Arts. He has presented masterclasses at Brown University, Mount Saint Mary University, Southwestern University, and at high schools around the United States. His students have gained admission to top music programs, including Boston Conservatory, Northwester, Mannes School of Music, Carnegie Mellon, the Eastman School of Music, and the Royal College of Music (London, UK). His students have appeared with the Miami Music Festival, Brevard Music Institute, the Washington National Opera Institute, Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theater, and Teatro Nuovo.
Mr. Simpson holds a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from the University of Missouri and a Master of Music degree from Manhattan School of Music.
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