About

Issachah Savage is a distinguished American tenor celebrated for his powerful and clear trumpet-like voice, widely revered as one of the leading tenors of his generation. His career leapt into the international spotlight when he swept the board at the 2014 Seattle International Wagner Competition, earning the main prize, audience favorite, orchestra favorite, and a special honor from Speight Jenkins. Since then, Issachah has firmly established himself in the opera world with acclaimed debuts as Siegmund in Wagner’s Die Walküre at Canadian Opera Company, and Opéra National de Bordeaux, Bacchus in Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos at Théâtre du Capitole Toulouse and Seattle Opera, and Radamès in Verdi’s Aida with Houston Grand Opera and Austin Lyric Opera. He also made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Don Riccardo in Verdi’s Ernani opposite Placido Domingo and under the baton of James Levine, with a notable return as Gran Sacerdote di Nettuno in Mozart’s Idomeneo during the 2022/23 season, a role he first performed at the 2019 Salzburg Festival in the acclaimed Peter Sellars’ production.

Issachah Savage has appeared with many of the world’s leading orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, The Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, The Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, and the Melbourne Symphony and worked with some of the today’s foremost conductors including Yannick Nézet-Seguin, Gustavo Dudamel, Riccardo Muti, Fabio Luisi, James Conlon, Gianandrea Noseda, Marin Alsop, Jaap van Zweden, Robert Spano, and Susanna Mälkki.  Operatic Highlights: appearances with The Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, LA Opera, Seattle Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Opéra National de Bordeaux, Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse, and the Salzburg Festival. He has sung much of the great dramatic tenor repertoire including the title roles in Tannhäuser, Otello, and Rienzi, Siegmund in Die Walküre, Radamès in Aida, Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos, Manrico in Il trovatore, and Narraboth in Salome.

Recently Issachah debut at Dutch National Opera in the title role in Peter Grimes for which Bo van der Meulen in Place de l'Opéra, praising Savage for his "beautiful, sometimes raw when necessary, but always full, round and impressive tenor voice," capturing the character’s emotional complexity with "deep empathy" and "nuances" that made the portrayal deeply moving.  He also returned to The Metropolitan Opera for Die Frau ohne Schatten where he sang the punishing role of the Emperor Kaiser to great acclaim. On the concert stage, he makes returns to The Philadelphia Orchestra for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Cathedral Choral Society for Ethel Smyth’s rarely done  Mass in D, and returned to Quad City Symphony Orchestra for Omar’s Journey singing the title role and debuts with Rochester Philharmonic for Mozart’s Requiem and New Jersey Symphony for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.

Issachah is not short of opera awards; in addition to the Seattle Wagner completion win, he has also has received several prestigious awards, recognitions, and career grants from the Wagner Societies of New York, Washington, D. C., and Northern California, Licia Albanese International Puccini Foundation, Olga Forrai Foundation, Marcello Giordani Foundation, Gerda Lissner Foundation, Jensen Vocal Competition, Liederkranz Foundation, Opera Index, and Giulio Gari Foundation.