Javier Abreu, tenor

Puerto Rican tenor Javier Abreu has been described as a commanding force on stage, incorporating a rich, sweet and agile voice, and ample acting skills. 

Recently, he garnered critical acclaim for his portrayal of Don Ramiro in Rossini’s La cenerentola with Wolf Trap Opera, as well as for Count Libenskof in Rossini’s Il viaggio a Reims with New York City Opera.  The 2005-2006 season also included his European debut as Count Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia with the Stuttgart Stattsoper and an appearance as a soloist with the New York Festival of Song. He was also seen as Pedrillo in The Abduction from the Seraglio with Opera Omaha and Florida Grand Opera.  This past summer, he returned to Wolf Trap Opera, where he portrayed the title role in Rossini’s Le Comte Ory.  He also sang the tenor solo in Carmina Burana with the National Symphony Orchestra. 

In the 2004-2005 season, Mr. Abreu made his New York City Opera debut in the world premiere of Charles Wuorinen’s Haroun and the Sea of Stories, as well as his Wolf Trap Opera debut as Tobias in Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd.  His awards include Second Place at the Great Lakes Region of the Metropolitan Opera Council Auditions in 2002 and Finalist of the MacAllister Awards the same year.  He is also the recipient of a 2003 Richard F. Gold Career Grant given by the Shoshana Foundation of New York. 

Most recently he was awarded third place at the 2005 Liederkranz Foundation Competition.  Other prizes include second place in the Student Division of the 1998 Palm Beach Opera Competition.  Mr. Abreu made his Alice Tully Hall debut as the tenor soloist in Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle with the Juilliard Choral Union.  He is an alumnus of the University of Houston, the University of Miami, the Juilliard Opera Center, and the young artists program at the Pittsburgh Opera Center.  He previously appeared with NYFOS in All Together Now (2006).