Nathan Berg Canadian operatic bass-baritone Date of Birth: 11.07.1968 Country: Canada

1. Biography of Nathan Berg
2. Education and Early Career
3. Early Career Success
4. Operatic and Concert Performances
5. Operatic Engagements

Biography of Nathan Berg

Nathan Berg is a Canadian operatic bass-baritone who is renowned for his performances in opera and concerts in both North America and Europe. He was born on July 11, 1968, in Spalding, Saskatchewan, Canada, and grew up in Camrose, Alberta, where he began studying vocal music as a teenager.

Education and Early Career

Berg received his musical education in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. He studied at the University of Western Ontario and Maîtrise nationale de Versailles before becoming a student at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where he trained under the legendary vocal teacher Vera Rozsa. During his time at Guildhall, Berg participated in numerous competitions and won awards, including the Kathleen Ferrier Competition, The Royal Overseas League, Peter Pears Competition, and Walter Gruner International Lieder Competition. He was also awarded the Guildhall's Gold Medal for Singers.

Early Career Success

English journalist Bernard Levin described Berg as a "Canadian baritone named Nathan Berg, with a voice not only powerful and expressive but of such velvety beauty that comparisons are inevitable - of course, the young Fisher-Dieskau sounded like him." Since his debut in 1992, when he performed in Messiah in Paris, Berg has gained recognition for his contributions to early music performances in opera and concerts. His early career highlights include collaborations and recordings with the baroque orchestra Les Arts Florissants. He has also recorded Dvořák's "Stabat Mater" with the late conductor Robert Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, as well as German songs accompanied by pianist Julius Drake.

Operatic and Concert Performances

Berg divides his time between opera and concert stages. He has performed solo concerts at Wigmore Hall in London, Lincoln Center in New York, and the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. While initially focusing on Renaissance and early Baroque music, he has gradually expanded his repertoire to include works by Romantic composers. He has made his mark as the Dutchman in Wagner's Der Fliegende Holländer, Scarpia in Puccini's Tosca, and Bluebeard in Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle. He has also performed Gustav Mahler's song cycle "Kindertotenlieder." Berg has collaborated with renowned conductors such as Kurt Masur, Charles Dutoit, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Christoph Eschenbach, Lorin Maazel, Leonard Slatkin, Seiji Ozawa, and Michael Tilson Thomas. He has appeared with major orchestras worldwide, including the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Symphony, Berlin Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

Operatic Engagements

Berg has performed at prestigious opera houses, including the Paris National Opera, Glyndebourne, Netherlands Opera, La Monnaie, New York City Opera, English National Opera, Welsh National Opera, and Bavarian State Opera. In December 2012, he is scheduled to perform in Haydn's "Creation" at Carnegie Hall.