William Lewis

William Lewis is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Austrian American Mozart Academy in Salzburg, a six-week summer training program in opera performance. He received his education at the University of Colorado, Texas Christian University and New York University. He was professor of voice and opera at Penn State University and New York State University at Binghamton. Prof. Lewis enjoys a highly regarded reputation as a tenor whose versatility spans the operatic repertoire from Mozart to Schoenberg, having performed over one hundred thirty major operatic roles in ten languages. He made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Narraboth, where he continued as leading tenor for thirty-five years in such roles as Rodolfo, Cavaradossi, Pinkerton, Macduff, Arrigo, Alfredo, Gabriele, Turiddu, Hoffmann, Don Jose, Romeo, Aeneas, Dimitri, Ghermann, Stewa, Idomeneo, Alwa, the Tambourmajor, Oedipus Rex, and in the dual role of Steuermann and Erik. He made his San Francisco Opera debut in 1975 as Steuermann/Erik and appeared there in subsequent seasons as Stewa (Jenufa), Albert Gregor (The Makropoulos Affair), Boris (Katya Kabanova), Frank Sargent (Angle of Repose – world premiere), the title role in Le Cid, Sergei (Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk), Golitsin (Khovantschina), Eumete (Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria) and Loge (Das Rheingold). In Europe, the renowned tenor has received critical acclaim at Teatro alla Scala (Milan), Teatro Comunale (Florence), Teatro la Fenice (Venice), Teatro Regio (Torino), Théâtre Nationale de Paris, Opéra Toulouse, Royal Opera Covent Garden (London), English Opera North, Glasgow Opera, Hamburg Staatsoper, Vienna Staatsoper, Teatro São Carlos (Lisbon), Cologne Opera, as well as the festivals at Salzburg, Edinburgh, Spoleto (Italy and U.S.A.), Wexford, Ireland, and Amsterdam. Opera.