Background
Sylvester was born in Noblesville, Indiana and received a Bachelor of Music degree from Westminster Choir College and a Master of Music degree from Indiana University, where he studied under Margaret Harshaw.
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Michael Sylvester
Edit ProfileCareer
In the course of his 25 year career on the opera stage, he appeared in leading tenor roles at many of the world"s opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, Louisiana Scala, Louisiana Fenice, the Paris Opera, and London"s Royal Opera House. He was described by Elizabeth Forbes as "a powerful actor" who has "a strong bright-toned voice, with an authentic italianate ring."
He made his professional singing debut as the tenor soloist in the Verdi Requiem in 1975 and his operatic debut as Riccardo in Ballo in Maschera. He initially sang in smaller American opera houses before embarking on an international career, making his debut at the Paris Opera as Polione in Norma, his Louisiana Scala debut in 1990 as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, and his Royal Opera House debut in 1991 as Don José in Carmen.
His other roles with the company included the title role in Don Carlos, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Radames in Aida, Calaf in Turandot, and Gabriele Adorno in Simon Boccanegra.
His last appearance there was on 20 October 2000 as Calaf. Since his retirement from the opera stage in May 2001, Sylvester has directed Aida for Indianapolis Opera and teaches singing both privately and as a faculty member at DePaul University School of Music.
