Hailed by the New York Times for his “strong voice and presence,” Glenn Seven Allen has appeared on Broadway and at major theatre, concert and opera venues throughout the United States. Upcoming 2011 appearances include Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Intermountain Opera, Il Duca in Rigoletto with the Queens Symphony, Don Jose in Carmen at the Buck Hill/Skytop Music Festival and Ernesto in Don Pasquale with Hubbard Hall Opera Theatre. He will also sing leading roles with American Lyric Theatre’s Opera in Eden project, a concert of new American operas supervised by Mark Adamo. Highlights of Mr. Allen’s 2009/10 season included Alexius in The Chocolate Soldier at Bard Summerscape, for which Opera News praised him as “an Edwardian matinee idol, giving by far the most detailed dramatic performance”; Il Duca in Rigoletto with Bleeker Street Opera; Alfredo in La traviata with Long Island Opera; Roméo in Roméo et Juliette and Don José in Carmen with New York Lyric Opera; and Rodolpho in a new production of William Bolcom’s A View from the Bridge under the supervision of the composer.
A champion of new musical and theatrical works, Mr. Allen originated the role of the young hero Giuseppe in Adam Guettel’s The Light in the Piazza, a role for which he was responsible during the initial year of the show’s Tony-winning Broadway run. Other principal Broadway credits include Girl Crazy with City Center Encores and Casino Paradise with Lincoln Center’s American Songbook series. For his starring performance in A Fine and Private Place at York Theatre, he was singled out by CurtainUp as “a special bonanza for ears eager for that most beautiful of instruments – the pure human voice.” Other recent highlights include Rutledge in 1776 at Goodspeed Opera House, Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance at Utah Shakespeare Festival, Pilate in Jesus Christ Superstar at North Carolina Theatre, and Clifford Bradshaw in Cabaret at Washington D.C.’s Arena Stage, for which he received The Helen Hayes Award nomination for Best Actor.
Mr. Allen’s concert performances include featured appearances at The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Wortham Center (Houston), Wharton Center/Lansing Symphony, Music Hall (Detroit), New York Historical Society, Symphony Space, Joe’s Pub, and The Brooklyn Museum. This season will see his debut at The Morgan Library and with the Queens Symphony.
A compelling recording artist, Mr. Allen can be heard on the original cast recordings of The Light in the Piazza (Nonesuch) and A Fine and Private Place (Jay Records) and on Glen Roven’s critically acclaimed Poetic License (GPR). In 2011, Mr. Allen will be featured as the principal tenor on a new compendium recording of William Bolcom’s operatic scenes, in collaboration with the composer (GPR).
Acclaimed for his dramatic gifts in addition to his clarion tenor, Mr. Allen’s appearances as an actor include Julius Caesar at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, The Ark at the Village Theatre, and Mrs. Bromley at The Harold Clurman Theatre. He has performed featured roles in film and television, most recently on As the World Turns and on the MTV series Say What?. Mr. Allen holds an M.F.A. in Acting from the University of Washington and a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre from the University of Michigan, and has taught master classes in “Acting The Song” for Bard Summerscape, the Collaborative Arts Project 21 Conservatory, The University of Washington, Opera New Jersey, Sing for Hope, and Columbia University’s M.F.A. Acting Program.
