Wolf Trap Opera Welcomes 2014 Artist in Residence Eric Ownes

Wolf Trap Opera (WTO), a top residency program for emerging opera professionals, welcomes internationally renowned bass-baritone Eric Owens as its first Artist in Residence.

Owens is an alumnus of Wolf Trap's Filene Young Artist program, about which he says, "Wolf Trap's Filene Young Artist residency was then, as it is now, the most coveted summer program into which any aspiring young singer can be accepted. I am honored and thrilled to be part of the 2014 Filene Young Artists' experience by being the first Wolf Trap Opera Artist in Residence."

Arvind Manocha, Wolf Trap Foundation President and CEO, remarked, "We are proud to welcome alumnus Eric Owens as Wolf Trap Opera's first Artist in Residence, strengthening our commitment to educate and train our exceptionally gifted young artists at a critical time in their careers."

Throughout the summer Owens will work privately as a coach and mentor to WTO's 17 Filene Young Artists and 16 Studio Artists, who were chosen from a record 1,082 applicants from around the world. He will also join the 2014 Filene Young Artists in Aria Jukebox on July 13. Other public appearances include a Recitative Artist Panel on July 12, at which Owens will moderate a discussion with four of his colleagues from the Metropolitan Opera and LA Opera, and a Master Class on August 3, during which he will work with several of this summer's young artists.

Acclaimed for his commanding stage presence and inventive artistry, the Grammy Award-winning Owens has carved a unique place in the contemporary opera world as an esteemed interpreter of classic works and a champion of new music. At the Metropolitan Opera, Owens returned as the vengeful Alberich in the final installments of Robert Lepage's new Ring Cycle, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung, which were broadcast as part of "The Met: Live in HD" theatrical release series. He also joined Pinchas Zukerman and the National Arts Centre Orchestra for Verdi's Requiem and reprised his role as The Storyteller in A Flowering Tree with Robert Spano and the Atlanta Symphony.

Owens's extensive resume includes regular appearances at numerous prestigious opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Los Angeles Opera, San Francisco Opera, Washington National Opera, and Royal Opera House. Owens won his first Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording in 2011 for his role in John Adams's Doctor Atomic. The following year he was nominated and won in the same category for his role as Alberich-the dwarf king and main antagonist-in the Metropolitan Opera's recording of Richard Wagner's the Ring Cycle, firmly establishing himself as a leading bass-baritone in the operatic world.

Equally at home in concert, recital, and opera performances, Owens continues to bring his elegant poise, expansive voice, and instinctive acting faculties to stages around the world. During the 2013-2014 season, Owens appeared in recital with Robert Spano at Zankel Hall as the centerpiece of a coast-to-coast recital tour that also featured pianist Craig Rutenberg. He returned to Carnegie Hall with the Boston Symphony in Beethoven's Missa Solemnis and as Jochanaan in a concert version of Salome with the Cleveland Orchestra under Franz Welser-Möst.

The 2014 Artist in Residence Program is made possible by the Lincoln and Therese Filene Foundation.

Tickets for Wolf Trap Opera performances are available online at wolftrap.org, by calling 1.877.WOLFTRAP, or at the Wolf Trap Box Office located at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, 1551 Trap Road, Vienna, Virginia 22182.

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