West Bay Opera

Jorge Orlando Gomez

Jorge Gomez is a native of Santiago, Chile. This young tenor received his Bachelor of Music from the Pontificia Universidad de Chile, and his Master of Music degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he studied under the guidance of Sylvia Anderson. Among his operatic roles, Mr. Gomez has appeared most recently as Rodolfo in La bohème with the Washington Summer Opera. He has sung Nemorino in L'elisir d'amore and Fracaso in La finta semplice with the San Francisco Opera Guild. He portrayed Count Almaviva in North Bay Opera's 1995 production of Il barbiere di Siviglia. In 1993 he made his West Bay Opera debut as Don José in Carmen. During that same year he sang Diego in the American premiere of Frida Kahlo.

Mr. Gomez is a versatile artist with a repertoire including oratorio as well as opera. Among the variety of works he has performed are the Stabat Mater and The Creation of Haydn, Cantata Actus Tragicus and the B-minor Mass of Bach with the Symphony Orchestra of Chile, and Mozart's Requiem and Schubert's Mass in G-major with the Solano Symphony Orchestra. He has sung Handel's Messiah at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco and performed as tenor soloist with the San Francisco Symphony and the Santa Barbara Symphony Orchestra. In 1991, Mr. Gomez was a guest soloist with the Hispanic Chorus of San Francisco, with whom he toured in Mexico City.

Mr. Gomez was a regional finalist in the 1992 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and the same year was invited to the Music Academy of the West. In 1993 he was a prize winner in the East Bay Opera League Vocal Competition. In the summer of 1993 he was awarded a fellowship in the Pacific Music Festival in Japan, where he appeared in the title role of Bernstein's Candide with the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra.

From 1993-94, Mr. Gomez participated as a member of the Greater Miami Opera Apprenticeship program. There he appeared as Ferrando in Così fan tutte and in the title role of El retablo de Maese Pedro. During his apprenticeship he was awarded the prestigious Panvini-Rice Artist award for singers. From 1995-96, he was a member of the Chicago Lyric Opera Center for American Artists. During this time he studied with Margaret Harshaw. He made his debut with the Chicago Lyric Opera in The Ghosts of Versailles and sang the role of Alfredo in their 1995 production in the park of La traviata. During the summer of 1997, Mr. Gomez made his debut in zarzuela; he sang the role of Rafael in La dolorosa with the Jarvis Theatre in Napa Valley. In the summer of 1997 he performed in the Rossini Festival in Wildbad, Germany, singing the roles of Edoardo in La cambiale di matrimonio and Atlei in Eduardo e Cristina. In 1996, Mr. Gomez was invited to perform with the Deutsche Oper Berlin, where he has appeared in several productions, including the premiere of Der Prinz von Homburg, Die Zauberflöte, Aida, and Siegfried. Future engagements include Pollione in Norma in Washington, D.C. and the 1999 Rossini Festival in Wildbad.

29 Aug 1999