ERIC FERRING

Tenor Eric Ferring, a native of Dubuque, Iowa, graduated magna cum laude from Drake University in 2014 with his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and The Boston Conservatory in 2016 with his Master of Music in Opera Performance under the tutelage of Dr. Rebecca Folsom. 

 The works of Mozart feature heavily in Eric Ferring’s 2019-2020 season, singing Tamino in Die Zauberflöte in house debuts with North Carolina Opera, New Orleans Opera, and Santa Fe Opera. He also returns to the Ryan Opera Center at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, where his assignments include performances of the Older Brother in Dead Man Walking, Tchaplitsky in Queen of Spades, the Sergeant in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and he appears as a tenor soloist in the Lyric’s Three Queens Concert featuring Sondra Radvanovsky. He also covers Count Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, and the Major Domo in Queen of Spades. In concert, he joins the Jacksonville Symphony for Handel’s Messiah.

Last season Mr. Ferring joined the Ensemble of the Ryan Opera Center at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, where he made his mainstage debut to great praise as Lurcanio in Handel’s Ariodante. Other assignments included performances of the Young Servant in Elektra and Giuseppe in La traviata,and covering roles in Idomeneo (High Priest), Il trovatore (Ruiz), Cendrillon (Dean of the Faculty), and La traviata (Gastone). He also appeared in concert for Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Evansville Philharmonic. 

 During the 2017-2018 season, as a Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist, Mr. Ferring performed as Spoletta in Tosca, Basilio/Curzio in Le nozze di Figaro, Ricky in The Long Walk, The Protagonist in the world premiere of Ashes & Snow in collaboration with American Opera Projects, Flask in Moby-Dick, and Nemorino in the student matinee of in L’elisir d’amore. During the tenor’s first year as a Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist, he performed as Gastone in La traviata, as Fourth Jew in Salome, and Señor Alcalde in the world premiere of The Summer King. Mr. Ferring was an Apprentice Singer at Santa Fe Opera where he covered Oronte in Alcina and was awarded the 2017 Richard Tucker Memorial Scholarship.

 Heralded by the Boston Musical Intelligencer for being “powerful and direct…while conveying a range of conflicting emotions with distinction and subtlety” and by having a “bold precision to his substantial sound,” Mr. Ferring has been seen at many prestigious summer programs and received a number of awards. In the 2015-2016 summers, Mr. Ferring appeared at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as a Gerdine Young Artist performing Parpignol in La bohème, Zahir in Shalimar the Clown (world premiere), as well as covering Scaramuccio in Ariadne auf Naxos and Prunier in La rondine. While at OTSL, Mr. Ferring received a career award from the Richard Gaddes Fund for Young Artists given in recognition of his great vocal potential. Mr. Ferring has also been a Studio Artist at Wolf Trap Opera performing Lacouf in Les mamelles de Tirésias and covering Remendado in Carmen. Mr. Ferring was a Young Artist at both the Seagle Music Colony and Cedar Rapids Opera, and performed numerous roles with both companies.

 A multi-dimensional artist, Mr. Ferring is also an accomplished conductor, having conducted To Hell and Back, Old Maid and the Thief, A Chorus Line, Sweeney Todd, Anything Goes, and A Little Night Music, as well as assistant conducted productions of Iphigénie en Tauride and Le nozze di Figaro.

 Mr. Ferring received Third Prize at the 2017 Gerda Lissner Foundation International Voice Competition and has received three Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions District Encouragement Awards, as well as most recently a Regional Encouragement Award from the Great Lakes Region. Mr. Ferring took 2nd Place in the 2014 Hal Leonard Vocal Competition.