Reviews
Teatro Grattacielo came up with an attractive pair of romantic leads, both musical of phrase and instinct. John Bellemer sang gracefully, able to let his tenor ring but reaping especial dividends from dynamic restraint.
[L’amico Fritz – Teatro Grattacielo (NYC)]
Still, the piece managed to work its magic, thanks largely to the strength of its cast. In the title role, John Bellemer offered a sweet tenor and charming stage presence, as well as a fine sense of dynamics.
[L’amico Fritz – Teatro Grattacielo (NYC)]
The most accomplished singing came from John Bellemer’s Rodolfo, whose ‘Quando le sere al placido’… rang out sweetly and sincerely.
[Luisa Miller – Buxton Festival]
Leading the cast, John Bellemer’s Sali was an attractive presence both vocally and dramatically. His is a technique that leaves nothing to chance, finishing and finessing each phrase with great attention. A lovely open top register brings colour to the more impassioned moments, and he balanced a convincing sense of youthful uncertainty with a mature delivery.
[A Village Romeo and Juliet – Wexford Festival]
John Bellemer as Macduff … [gives a] superlative performance that serve[s] as a moral compass to the actions of the usurper of Macbeth. Macduff … is a creature of revenge for the sake of the greater good, and Bellemer imparts a well-placed sadness.
[Macbeth – Vancouver Opera]
You haven’t fully experienced that Verdi chestnut “La donna è mobile” until you’ve heard a Duke like tenor John Bellemer sing it
[Rigoletto – OTSL]
Recordings
Trailer zur Oper "Der leuchtende Fluss" von Johanna Doderer
Adelaide - John Bellemer, tenor; David Holkeboer, piano
“His is a technique that leaves nothing to chance,
finishing and finessing each phrase with great attention.”
Possessed of a voice the New York Times calls “clarion-toned”, the American tenor John Bellemer has gained a reputation for his strong portrayals in a wide range of repertoire. Bellemer has appeared in leading roles at opera houses across North America and Europe and was featured as Gounod’s Faust in the Academy Award-nominated film Lincoln.
In the 2020-2021 season, Bellemer was to have made his debut with Teatro Communale di Bologna in Haydn’s Die Schöpfung; and with the Atlanta Master Chorale in Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis which were either canceled or postponed due to COVID-19.
Engagements in recent seasons have included include Nadir in Les Pêcheurs de Perles with North Carolina Opera; Duca in Rigoletto with Michigan Opera Theater; featured artist with the Salt Bay Chamber Festival, and concert performances of Beethoven’s Mass in C and Verdi’s Requiem. Bellemer made debuts with Teatro Reggio Torino as both the tenor soloist in Orff’s Carmina Burana and the Evangelist in the world premiere of Newton’s St. Matthew Passion. He was Lysander in Hawaii Opera’s production of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Peter Quint in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw in China (Beijing); and Steuermann in Der fliegende Holländer with Austin Opera. He returned to Wexford Festival Opera as Gabriele in Foroni’s Cristina, Regina di Svezia; and to the Berkshire Choral Festival as Gerontius in Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius and Britten’s Spring Symphony; and performed Toni in Henze’s Elegy for Young Lovers at Venice’s Teatro la Fenice.
Bellemer has performed with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center works by Schubert, Schumann and Brahms; at Florence’s Maggio Musicale in the The Rape of Lucretia; with Florida Grand Opera as Alfredo in La Traviata; as Nebuchadnezzar in Britten’s The Burning Fiery Furnace and as Herold in the world premiere of Grassl’s Tassilo with Festival Mattseer Diabelli Sommer in Austria; at the Buxton Festival as Riccardo in Donizetti’s Maria di Rohan; and with Boston Lyric Opera as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni as well as Sandy/Officer One in Davies’ The Lighthouse.
Other international appearances include Opéra National de Bordeaux, Opéra National de Lorraine, Opéra de Rouen, Teatro San Carlo di Napoli, Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, Teatro delle Muse, Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi, Opéra de Rennes, Theater Erfurt, Stadttheater Giessen, Opéra Royal de Wallonie, Estonian National Opera, and Teatro Arriaga among others.
Mr. Bellemer’s extensive North American credits also include performances with New York City Opera, San Francisco Opera, San Diego Opera, Madison Opera, Cleveland Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Vancouver Opera, Arizona Opera, Calgary Opera, Minnesota Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Dayton Opera, Opera Omaha, Opera Grand Rapids, Opera Ontario, Opera Birmingham, Opera San José, and the Berkshire Opera.
As concert artist, Mr. Bellemer has also appeared with the Columbus Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Winnipeg Symphony, Pacific Symphony, L’orchestre de Bretagne, Orchestra de Leonardo da Vinci, Toledo Symphony, New York Choral Society, Calgary Philharmonic, Bangor Symphony, American Symphony Orchestra, Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, Choral Arts Society of Washington DC, Oratorio Society of New York, and concerts in Paris and New York City sponsored by UNESCO.
In addition to his appearance in Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, Bellemer has appeared on stage in productions led by film directors Werner Herzog and Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
Bellemer began choral singing as a young child and continued throughout his school years, eventually choosing to study voice over medicine at James Madison University where he received his Bachelor of Music degree. He went on to complete his master’s degree in music at the University of Illinois.
Bellemer has always derived a joy from singing that is evident to his audiences around the world for whom he has sung throughout his distinguished career. “As long as I continue to grow as a performer and a person and as long as the joy continues,” Bellemer says, “I hope to be singing for a very long time.”
Bellemer lives in New York with his wife, Sarah Blaze and their two Parson Russell Terriers.
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Photos
Representation
Europe (outside of Italy)
