Andrew Gangestad

Accomplished bass Andrew Gangestad has been applauded for his dark, rich sound and strong musicality by audiences throughout the world. Of his performance as Don Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia, the Kansas City Star wrote “Andrew Gangestad demonstrated a glorious bass voice,” and, of his performance of Leporello in Don Giovanni with Opera Pacific, the Orange County Register wrote “Andrew Gangestad portrays the long-suffering Leporello with aplomb, crisp in accent, dark of voice and understated in comedy.”

Recently, Andrew returned to the roster of the Metropolitan Opera for its production of Wozzeck, performed Sprecher in Die Zauberflöte with Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Alidoro in La Cenerentola with Opera Omaha, and Méphistophélès in Berlioz’s La damnation de Faust with the Richmond Symphony. This season, he will cover Colline in La bohème and Sam in Un ballo in maschera at the Metropolitan Opera, perform Zaccaria in Verdi’s Nabucco at Opera Carolina, Zuniga in Carmen at the Pacific Symphony, and then, will head to Nashville to appear as the Captain in Daniel Catán’s Florencia en el Amazonas with Nashville Opera.

Andrew is widely known for his interpretation of Leporello in Don Giovanni, which he has performed with such companies as the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Sarasota Opera, Opera Pacific, and in his début with Arizona Opera. He also performed Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia with several companies such as Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Opera Omaha, and Opera Cleveland. Mr. Gangestad’s recent international highlights include Ramfis in Aïda with the Bregenz Festival in Austria; the title role in Le nozze di Figaro at the Macao International Music Festival; and his Welsh National Opera début as Ramfis in Aïda.

Since his Metropolitan Opera début in Berg’s Lulu, Mr. Gangestad has returned to the coveted house each season, having performed as Brander in La damnation de Faust, Tom in Un ballo in maschera, Colline in La bohème, Truffaldino in Ariadne auf Naxos, Count Ceprano in Rigoletto, Lignière in the company première of Cyrano de Bergerac, Vaudemont in I vespri siciliani, Cappadocian in Salome, The Imperial Commissioner in Madama Butterfly, Timur in Turandot, as well as productions of La fanciulla del West, Don Carlo, Idomeneo, Dialogues des Carmélites, and Les Troyens. Also a company favorite with Seattle Opera, he has appeared there in such roles as Zuniga in Carmen, Tom in Un ballo in maschera, Alidoro in La Cenerentola, and Leporello in Don Giovanni.

Andrew’s extensive list of concert engagements include Händel’s Messiah with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra and Pacific Symphony; Mozart’s Coronation Mass and Haydn’s The Creation with the State College Chorale Society (Pennsylvania); Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the Berkshire Choral Festival; Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra; Verdi’s Requiem with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra; soloist in Honegger’s Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher with Oregon Bach Festival under Marin Alsop; and Tan Dun’s Theatre Orchestral II: Re with the Duluth Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Gangestad also performed several opera roles in concert, such as Brander in La damnation de Faust in his début with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Maestro James Levine in Boston and at Carnegie Hall; The Monk in La Gioconda and as The Hermit in Der Freischütz with Opera Orchestra of New York at Carnegie Hall; Méphistophélès in Szenen aus Goethes Faust with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra; Lodovico in excerpts from Otello for the 2006 Richard Tucker Gala; various Opera Gala Concerts with the Yakima Symphony Orchestra; and in L’enfant et les sortilèges with the Minnesota Orchestra.

Additional engagements include performances as Nourabad in Les pêcheurs de perles with Pittsburgh Opera; Der Tod in Der Kaiser von Atlantis with Cincinnati Opera; Rodolfo in La sonnambula with Michigan Opera Theatre; Ramfis in Aïda with Hawaii Opera Theater; Colline in La bohème with New York City Opera, Kentucky Opera, Arizona Opera, and Opera Pacific; Ferrando in Il trovatore with Minnesota Opera and Toledo Opera; the title role in Le nozze di Figaro with Lyric Opera of Kansas City and Bellingham Music Festival; Commendatore in Don Giovanni in his début with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis; Nourabad in Les pêcheurs de perles, Banquo in Macbeth, and Candy in Of Mice and Men with Sarasota Opera; Sparafucile in Rigoletto with Sacramento Opera; Timur in Turandot with Kentucky Opera; and Ramfis in Aïda and Angelotti in Tosca with the former Opera Pacific.

Mr. Gangestad was the First Place Winner of the 2005 Fritz and Lavinia Jensen Foundation Voice Competition and the recipient of the Robert Lauch Memorial Grant from the Wagner Society of New York.