About
Praised by the Chicago Tribune for possessing “a voice of multifarious sumptuousness,” Chicago native and Romanian-American bass-baritone Alex Soare has earned international acclaim for his riveting stage presence and commanding vocal beauty. He has appeared with leading companies including Opera Hong Kong, Florida Grand Opera, Nashville Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera Carolina, Opera Grand Rapids, Madison Opera, Anchorage Opera, and at Carnegie Hall. A standout in major competitions, he was a finalist in the Francisco Viñas International Singing Competition in Barcelona and the Marcello Giordani Vocal Competition, and received Third Prize from the Jensen Foundation.
Highlights of recent seasons include his “riveting” debut as Leporello in Don Giovanni with Opera Hong Kong, a role he later reprised with Opera Carolina and Opera Grand Rapids. He made his Carnegie Hall debut as Der Tod in Der Kaiser von Atlantis and has been heard as Escamillo in Carmen with Anchorage Opera, Don Basilio in Il barbiere di Sivigliawith Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera, Angelotti in Tosca with Madison Opera, and Figaro in Le nozze di Figarowith Opera Roanoke. Appearances with Chicago Opera Theater include Carmen, Becoming Santa Claus, The Nose, and the North American premiere of Ferdinando Paër’s Leonora, in which he sang the role of Giacchino.
With Florida Grand Opera, Soare performed Don Basilio, Zuniga in Carmen, Prince Gremin in Eugene Onegin, Tomin Un ballo in maschera, and the First SS Officer in The Passenger, and appeared in the world premiere of Before Night Falls. At Nashville Opera, he sang Samuel in The Pirates of Penzance, and at Des Moines Metro Opera he covered Jack Rance, Orest, and *Capulet. At the Aspen Music Festival, he appeared as Prince Gremin and Escamillo. Early career roles include the title role in Gianni Schicchi, Superintendent Budd in Albert Herring, and King Balthazar in Amahl and the Night Visitors.
Additional performances include Sulpice in La fille du régiment, Der Sprecher in Die Zauberflöte, and Elisha Fitzgibbon and Legs Diamond in the workshop premiere of Rosco with Opera Saratoga, Opera North, and the Kenosha Opera Festival; Colline in La bohème with Finger Lakes Opera; the Father in Hansel and Gretel with Brava Opera Theater; and leading roles in the world premieres of American Gothical as John and 8 Woods and a Van as the Sultry Night Farmhand with Cedar Rapids Opera Theater.
Alex Soare began his studies at Universitatea Transilvania in Brașov, Romania, continued at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, and completed his Master’s Degree at Northwestern University. He has received awards from the Mary Jacobs Smith Singer of the Year Competition, the Pantazelos Performing Artists Foundation, the National Society of Arts and Letters, the Bel Canto Foundation, the Sherrill Milnes Opera Idol Competition, and the Romanian National Song Competition.
In addition to his performing career, Soare serves as the General Director of Chicago Summer Opera, one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing summer training programs for emerging artists.
Reviews
“As Giachino, Soare is also a find. Though his features are few — the character never gets an aria of his own — his voice is a thing of multifarious sumptuousness.”
Chicago Tribune
Leonora, Chicago Opera Theater
“Alex Soare brought a likable stage presence and ample bass to Giachino, Marcellina’s ill-used lover.”
Chicago Classical Review
Leonora, Chicago Opera Theater
“Alex Soare as Giachino, with the latter delivering a standout performance.”
Around the Town Chicago
Leonora, Chicago Opera Theater
Joining her as part of the comic relief was Giachino, who was given a jaunty performance by bass Alex Soare.
Seen and Heard International
Leonora, Chicago Opera Theater
Cavaradossi is hiding an old friend and recently escaped political prisoner. The guy’s name, Angelotti, sounds like a pasta, though Alex Soare sings his bit wonderfully well.
The Cap Times
Tosca, Madison Opera
“These are headliners, and including rising star Alex Soare (Escamillo), these are legends. This degree of above-the-line casting is alone worth making every effort to see the production…
The character of Escamillo is always a favorite, and Alex Soare is no exception as he dazzled the audience with his charming Toreador Song, “Votre toast, je peux vous le rende,” winning more hearts than Carmen’s!”
- American Press Wire
Carmen, Anchorage Opera
"The opera begins with Leporello, servant to the titular character, singing of a wish to be free of his master. This production is set in contemporary times, as his clothes make clear; he might have been an Eastern European man headed for a night at the club. Alex Soare portrayed him convincingly, his rich voice investing the character with dignity and even nobility."
- The Rapidian
Don Giovanni, Opera Grand Rapids
"Soare was startlingly convincing as Leporello when the servant was called upon to masquerade as his master."
- CVNC
Don Giovanni, Opera Carolina
Sulpice is played by rich-voiced bass-baritone Alex Soare with endearingly awkward, bearish benignity.
- My Scena
Daughter of the Regiment, Opera Saratoga
"Alex Soare’s Leporello, on the other hand, was a lout who looked like a sailor on the lam. Vocally and dramatically, the two formed a riveting pair."
- Asian Review of Books
Don Giovanni, Opera Hong Kong
"Alex Soare glories in all the comic wickedness of Mustafa."
Steve Callahan KDHX St. Louis
"Some very fine voices here, Tombaugh, Schmidt, and Soare in particular, working the zippy, tuneful score. Soare is wonderfully glowering as the bey."
Ann Lemons Pollack St. Louis Eats and Drinks
"There’s also fine work by bass-baritone Alex Soare as the imperious but easily duped Mustafa, whose thick-witted ways offer a suitable contrast to the quick-thinking Isabella."
Mark Bretz Ladue News
"Soare finds the right element of gratitude and the necessary pinch of worry that Gremin finds in his unexpected marriage; greatly moving and beautifully sung."
- Concerto Net, Jeff Haller
Eugene Onegin, Florida Grand Opera
“Alex Soare, does not enter until the next to final scene, as Tatyana's husband. He has my personal favorite aria, and sings it magnificently. Stentorian, yet emotional, he essentially stands still and breaks your heart."
- Talk in Broadway
Eugene Onegin, Florida Grand Opera
"Alex Soare had the dignified bearing for Prince Gremin and his low bass notes and lyric line communicated his love for Tatyana."
- South Florida Classical Review
Eugene Onegin, Florida Grand Opera
"As the officer Zuniga, the bass-baritone Alex Soare brought assurance befitting his rank as he tried to replace Don José in Carmen’s life."
- South Florida Classical Review
Carmen, Florida Grand Opera
"A particular delight was bass-baritone Alex Soare as Sergeant Sulpice, Marie’s father-figure. Soare’s deep vocal and physical presence seemed to anchor the performance." - Times Argus
Daughter of the Regiment, Opera North
"American bass-baritone Alex Soare, showed off an impressive voice in his few lines as an SS man (he was quite a good Don Basilio earlier in the season for FGO’s Barber of Seville)."
- Palm Beach Arts Paper
The Passenger, Florida Grand Opera
"Alex Soare, as Don Basilio, here reconceived as a photographer as well as a music master, demonstrated a rich, elegant bass-baritone"
- Palm Beach Arts Paper
Barber of Seville, Florida Grand Opera
"Alex Soare, tall, lithe and thin, was refreshing in his characterization of the music coach and paparazzi, Don Basilio. His big instrument brought delicious slime to La calunnia è un venticello."
- Miami Art Zine
Barber of Seville, Florida Grand Opera