Canadian tenor Roger Honeywell has been acclaimed as a performer “with the right kind of heroic mettle to his voice” (Opera Now). The 2012-13 will see Mr. Honeywell as Aegist in Sir David McVicar’s production of Elektra conducted by Sir Andrew Davis with Lyric Opera of Chicago. Mr. Honeywell will return to Portland Opera this season to sing Cavaradossi in Tosca with Portland Opera. Later in the season Mr. Honeywell returns to Vancouver Opera to sing Frederic in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance.

Mr. Honeywell’s exciting 2011/12 season included appearances with the Portland Opera in their opening night gala as well as in the role of Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, with the Fort Worth Opera as Cavaradossi in Tosca, and with the Bard Festival as Midas in Die Liebe der Dannae.  He also appears in concert with the Vancouver Symphony, the Calgary Philharmonic, and the Tucson Symphony.

The 2010/11 season was highlighted by two world premieres; first the world premiere of Lillian Alling in the role of Jimmy by John Estacio and John Murrell, followed by the world premiere of The Inventor by Bramwell Tovey and John Murell in the role of Smoot.  Additional operatic appearances included Narraboth in Salome with the Opéra de Montréal, and The Officer, as well as the cover of Bacchus, in Ariadne auf Naxos with the Canadian Opera Company. 

In the 2009/10 season Mr. Honeywell was seen as Danilo in The Merry Widow with the Chicago Lyric Opera, and with Santa Fe Opera in Lewis Spratlan’s Pulitzer Prize winning Life Is a Dream. Other performances of note included Don Jose in Carmen with the Pittsburgh Opera, and as Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly and also in Tan Dun’s critically acclaimed contemporary opera Tea, both with the Opera Philadelphia, and La Boheme with Opera Ontario.

Recent career highlights include the role of James Nolan in Doctor Atomic with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, which he then reprised with the Metropolitan Opera for his debut there in 2008, his role debut of Cavaradosi in Tosca with the Florida Grand Opera, Troilus in Troilus and Cressida with the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, the American premier of Tan Dun’s Tea a mirror of Soul with Santa Fe Opera, and the World premier of Ricky Ian Gordon’s The Grapes of Wrath at the Minnesota Opera and Utah Symphony and Opera, Macduff in Macbeth with the Opéra de Montréal, his debut with the Fort Worth Opera as Don Jose in Carmen, and a world premiere of Paul Moravec’s The Letter with the Santa Fe Opera. He has also made role debuts of Erik in the Flying Dutchman for Utah Opera and Don Jose in Carmen with Opera Calgary to great critical acclaim, as well as Rodolfo in La Boheme for the Opera Company of Philadelphia and Dick Johnson in La Fanciulla del West for the Glimmerglass Opera.

Other notable performances include the role of Laca in a new production of Jenufa by Jonathan Miller for the Glimmerglass Opera and a new production of Daphne in the role of Leukippos at the New York City Opera, Pinkerton in a new production of Madama Butterfly by Jun Kaneko for the Omaha Opera, and the World premier of Margaret Garner for Michigan Opera, Cincinnati Opera and the Opera Company of Philadelphia. After a career as an actor in Canada working at many of the country’s foremost companies including 5 season with Shaw Festival and 5 seasons with the Stratford Shakespearean Festival of Canada, Mr Honeywell joined the Canadian Opera Company’s young artist program where he was heard in the title role of Giulio Cesare by Antonio Sartario, and Narraboth in Salome. He then joined the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Ryan Center where he sang the role of Frederick in The Pirates of Penzance with Elizabeth Futral.

In addition to his opera performances Mr. Honeywell has performed concert work with The Montreal Symphony, Toronto Symphony, Albany Symphony, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic, Nashville Symphony Orchestra and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. He is a graduate of the Ryerson Theatre school in Toronto and has received numerous awards, among which are a Dora Mavor Moore award for his role of Arnaud de Tilh in The House of Martin Guerre, a Maureen Forrester Award and a Tyrone Guthrie Award from the Stratford Festival.