Baritone Andrew Tees is one of the most dynamic singers of his generation. Blessed with a rich baritone, he is at home whether singing opera, oratorio, pops, or music theatre.
On the operatic stage Tees has performed for companies such as the Canadian Opera Company, Pacific Opera Victoria, Cleveland Opera, Opera Lyra Ottawa, Edmonton Opera, Manitoba Opera, Vancouver Opera, Opera Ontario and Opera York, singing roles such as the title roles in both Nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni (Mozart), Silvio in I Pagliacci(Leoncavallo), Escamillo in Carmen (Bizet), Sonora in La Fanciulla del West (Puccini), Marcello in La Boheme (Puccini), ,Danilo in The Merry Widow (Lehar), Monterone in Rigolett , Figaro in Barber of Seville, the title role in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, among others.
A frequent guest of Maritime Concert Opera, Andrew is looking forward to singing Tonio in I Pagliacci this season. His other roles for them include Scarpia (Tosca), Marcello (Boheme), Escamillo (Carmen), Germont (Traviata), For Toronto’s Opera by Request Andrew has performed Golaud in Pelleas et Melisande as well as Wotan in Rheingold, Die Walkure & Siegfried. While a member of the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio Tees made frequent appearances on the main stage. He won praise for the as Tarquinius (Rape of Lucretia), Donald in Billy Budd, Sonora in La Fanciulla del West, as well as Fiorello in Il Barbiere di Siviglia. While with the COC he covered many roles including Marcello, Belcore, Don Giovanni, Figaro, Billy Budd, and Krusina. With the COC Ensemble he sang Papageno in their Magic Flute tour and Peter in their Hansel and Gretel tour. Since leaving the Ensemble Studio Andrew has returned to the COC to sing several roles including the Mill Hand in Lady McBeth of Mtstensk and Marquis D`Aubigny in La Traviata.
This spring Andrew performs Tevye in the Westben Festival’s Fiddler on the Roof. He was a swashbuckling Pirate King for Cleveland Opera. Andrew won rave reviews as Private Willis for Toronto Operetta Theatre’sIolanthe. His other Gilbert and Sullivan roles include Pooh bah (Mikado) and Giuseppe (The Gondoliers) both for Montreal’s Savoy Society. Andrew played Old Bill in Rogers and Hammerstein with Hart for Hamilton’s Theatre Aquarius. He played Karl Magnus for Second Company’s A Little Night Music, other theatrical roles include Sky Masterson (Guys and Dolls) Lun Tha (The King and I) Maximillian (Candide). For Bravo Television he recorded an Evening with Cole Porter, while his film credits include John Masterson in Film 4’s True Blue and Polar Bear in Masato Harada’s Rowing Through. For Ensemble Tryptych Andrew has sung tributes to the music of Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby and Stephen Sondheim.
Andrew’s engaging and natural ease with an audience makes him a favourite on the pops stage. He has sung pops with the Toronto Symphony, the National Arts Center Orchestra, Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, Windsor Symphony, Oakville Symphony, Thunder Bay Symphony, Hamilton Philharmonic, Oshawa Symphony, and Guelph Symphony to name but a few.
No stranger to debuting new works, Tees has premiered Ian McAndrew’s Cassandra for Amphion Opera. He sang the role of the unprincipled Oil Executive Walter Swenson in Isa Suarez’ Carpe Diem for Bravo Television. He played Gandalf in Dean Burry’s The Hobbit with the Canadian Children’s Opera Chorus. For the Stratford Summer Music Festival he depicted a tyrannical Claudius in the Premier of Mark Richard’sHamlet. He was a Madrigalist in Henze’s Venus und Adonis for the Canadian Opera Company, a role he repeated at Amsterdam’s Concertgebou. He made a sympathetic Stash in the North American premiere of And the Rat Laughed by Israeli composer Ella Milch-Sheriff.
Andrew revisits Mendelsohn’s Elijah this spring with the Georgian Bay Concert Choir. Passionate about oratorio, Andrew has had the pleasure of singing with many choirs and orchestras across the country. He has received praise for his interpretation of Verdi’s Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Handel’s Messiah, Saul, and Solomon Brahms’ Requiem, Durufle’s Requiem, Mendelssohn’s St Paul, Faure’s Requiem. He has sung several works of Haydn: The Creation, The Seasons, Mass in a Time of War and the Lord Nelson Mass. Andrew has performed the haunting Five Mystical Songs as well as the Fantasia on Christmas Carols, both by Vaughan Williams. He has performed as soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Mass in C. He has also sung the Jean Gilles’ Requiemand Howard Goodal’s Eternal Light Requiem.