American tenor Peter Tantsits has established an international reputation as a leading interpreter of 20th- and 21st-century opera and contemporary music. He has appeared at Teatro alla Scala, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Bayerische Staatsoper, Salzburg Festival, Grand Théâtre de Genève, La Monnaie, Gran Teatre del Liceu and New National Theatre Tokyo, as well as with orchestras including the Berliner Philharmoniker, London Symphony Orchestra and New York Philharmonic.

A passionate advocate for new music, Tantsits has collaborated closely with leading composers, conductors and stage directors and has taken part in the world premieres of more than 50 works for the opera and concert stage. His repertoire ranges from Strauss, Berg and Stravinsky to Stockhausen, Nono, Henze, Ligeti and Zimmermann, alongside works by leading composers of today.

2026/27 SEASON

The 2026/27 season reflects Tantsits’ close association with the music of Hans Werner Henze, as he performs Voices at the Kölner Philharmonie with Ensemble Modern and Ingo Metzmacher, at the Romaeuropa Festival with the New European Ensemble, and subsequently at the Wiener Konzerthaus and Auditorio Nacional de Música in Madrid with Klangforum Wien and Metzmacher.

He returns to the New National Theatre Tokyo as Herodes in Richard Strauss’s Salome, following his acclaimed creation of the leading role of Cooper in Dai Fujikura’s A Dream of Armageddon for the company.

In spring 2027, Tantsits returns to Theater Basel to debut as Lykos in the world premiere of Herakles Mad, the first opera by Bryce Dessner, with a libretto by Anne Carson and conducted by André de Ridder.

RECENT HIGHLIGHTS

Recent highlights include the Emigrant in Luigi Nono’s Intolleranza 1960 at Theater Basel and  Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, Oscar Ekdahl in the world premiere of Mikael Karlsson’s Fanny och Alexander at La Monnaie, and Walter Benjamin in Benjamin à Portbou at the Gran Teatre del Liceu.

Among the defining roles of his career is Max Aue in Hèctor Parra’s Les Bienveillantes, which he created in the world premiere at Opera Ballet Vlaanderen and for which he was nominated as Singer of the Year by Opernwelt.

Tantsits’ wide-ranging repertoire includes Herodes in Salome, Desportes in Zimmermann’s Die Soldaten, Aegisth in Elektra, Piet vom Fass in Ligeti’s Le Grand Macabre, Gandhi in Glass’s Satyagraha, the Emigrant in Nono’s Intolleranza 1960, Perelà in Dusapin’s Perelà, uomo di fumo and Michael in Stockhausen’s Donnerstag aus Licht.

He has collaborated with conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, Kirill Petrenko, Thomas Adès, Sakari Oramo and Joana Mallwitz, and with directors including Lydia Steier, Peter Sellars, William Kentridge, Calixto Bieito, Ivo van Hove, Milo Rau and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui.

SELECTED ROLES

Herodes · Salome
Theater Basel · New National Theatre Tokyo

Desportes · Die Soldaten
Finnish Radio Symphony · WDR Sinfonieorchester

Max Aue · Les Bienveillantes
Opera Ballet Vlaanderen

Un emigrante · Intolleranza 1960
Theater Basel · Opera Ballet Vlaanderen

Oscar Ekdahl · Fanny och Alexander
La Monnaie / De Munt

Michael · Donnerstag aus Licht
Theater Basel