Winner of numerous awards, tenor Derek Taylor is quickly becoming an important artist in America and Europe. His repertoire spans the central lyric Italian and French operas. Mr. Taylor ́s “ringing top” and “blazing good looks” have garnered much excitement in his first years in Switzerland.
As one of his generation ́s most sought-after Rodolfos, Mr. Taylor has performed in more than a dozen La Boheme productions, including portrayals with the Boston Lyric Opera, Baltimore Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Manitoba Opera, El Paso Opera, Hawaii Opera Theatre, Virginia Opera, and Phoenix Opera.
Along with further performances of Des Grieux in Manon, Mr. Taylor ́s 11/12 season will find the tenor adding Verdi ́s Riccardo in Un Ballo in Maschera, followed by Narraboth in Salome.
Looking beyond 11/12, Mr. Taylor will add role debuts as Il Duca in Rigoletto, Hagenbach in Catalani´s La Wally, Foresto in Verdi ́s Attila, Herzog von Urbino in Eine Nacht in Venedig.
Mr. Taylor ́s 10/11 season displayed critical successes in debuts as Des Grieux in Massenet ́s Manon and Arvino in I Lombardi. Returns of Alfred in Die Fledermaus, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly and Zamoro in Verdis Alzira balanced out his season.
In his 2009/2010 season, Mr. Taylor made his debut with Virginia Opera as Rodolfo in La Boheme, after which he repeated the role with Hawaii Opera Theater. For Theater St. Gallen he undertook the role of Zamoro in Verdi ́s Alzira under the batton of Henrik Nanasi. His heavily lauded Pinkerton in Aron Stiehls ́s production of Madama Butterfly was seen in the spring.
Mr. Taylor ́s acclaimed Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly has been performed with Austin Lyric Opera, Grand Rapids Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera New Hampshire, and Theater St. Gallen.
In recent seasons, Mr. Taylor has appeared with the Los Angeles Opera as Cassio in Otello under James Conlon. He made his Santa Fe Opera debut as Antonio in the American Premiere of Thomas Ades ́ The Tempest. Other roles include Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Michele in Catherine Malfitano ́s production of The Saint of Bleecker Street, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Hoffmann in Les Contes d ́Hoffmann, Ruggero in La Rondine, Alfredo in La Traviata, the title role in Gounod ́s Faust, Camille in Die Lustige Witwe, and Henrik in A Little Night Music. In previous seasons, Mr. Taylor has also appeared with the Central City Opera, the Palm Beach Opera, Hawaii Opera Theater, and the Portland Opera.
His portrayal of Toby Higgins in The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny with the Los Angeles Opera is featured in a Grammy winning recording on EuroArts.
On the concert stage, Mr. Taylor has sung Beethoven ́s 9th Symphony, Mozart ́s Requiem, Vaughn Williams Hodie, Beethoven ́s Mass in C, and an evening of Bizet ́s Carmen under Maestro Paul Nadler.
He continues his studies with Michael Paul.