ARYEH NUSSBAUM COHEN
For Mr. Nussbaum Cohen's full press kit, contact his management here. Find all other publicity materials including a short biography and repertoire at the link below.
Countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen brings his “astonishingly beautiful,” "golden toned" (The Guardian) instrument to a broad range of repertoire spanning the Baroque to the contemporary. Acclaimed as both a “young star” and “complete artist” by the New York Times and as "extravagantly gifted... poised to redefine what’s possible for singers of this distinctive voice type” by the San Francisco Chronicle, Mr. Nussbaum Cohen’s passion for creating performances of great vocal beauty and dramatic intensity have earned him a reputation as “a redefining force in the countertenor field” (Limelight).
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In the 2025-26 season, Nussbaum Cohen makes three major title role debuts as part of his robust concert schedule: he sings Handel’s Rinaldo on an international concert tour with Harry Bicket leading The English Concert, Handel’s Tolomeo with Peter Whelan, Music Director Designate of Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, and Gluck’s Orfeo ed Eurydice with Dame Jane Glover conducting Music of the Baroque. On the opera stage, he makes his Spanish debut at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia in the title role of Handel's Giulio Cesare led by Mark Minkowski and directed by Vincent Boussard, and he returns to Houston Grand Opera as Alto Soloist in a fully-staged presentation led by Patrick Summers of Robert Wilson’s mesmerizing vision of the beloved Messiah, composed by Handel and arranged by Mozart. He brings his critically acclaimed Uncharted recital program to three more regions of the United States - Chicago, the Bay Area, and New England - alongside pianist John Churchwell. His vibrant concert schedule also includes a return to Deutsche Oper Berlin in a New Year's Celebration, Swingin' 26, and Messiah in returns to the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra led by Dinis Sousa and with the Ann Arbor Symphony at Hill Auditorium. ​
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Recent seasons have taken him to many of the world’s greatest theaters and orchestras: The Metropolitan Opera, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, the Bayerische Staatsoper (Munich), Opernhaus Zürich, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Opera, Ballet, and Symphony, Los Angeles Opera, Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, La Monnaie de Munt (Brussels), the Salzburger Festspiele, the Adelaide Festival (Australia), Komische Oper Berlin, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra at the Concertgebouw, Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Apollo’s Fire, Ars Lyrica Houston, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony, and the Buffalo Philharmonic. He has enjoyed collaborations with conductors Nicholas McGegan, Patrick Summers, Masaaki Suzuki, James Gaffigan, Dame Jane Glover, Nicholas Carter, Laurence Cummings, Richard Egarr, David Bates, Christopher Moulds, Hans Graf, and Harry Bicket.
​Mr. Nussbaum Cohen finds a close affinity between the ancient musical traditions of his Jewish heritage and the Baroque works composing much of his operatic repertoire. Equally invigorated performing new works, Nussbaum Cohen’s first commercial recording project – the world premiere of Kenneth Fuchs' Poems of Life with the London Symphony Orchestra under JoAnn Falletta – was honored with a GRAMMY® Award for Best Classical Compendium in 2019; and his interpretation of the Refugee’s aria from Jonathan Dove’s Flight provided the centerpiece for his extensive catalogue of competition successes, including winning the Grand Prize at the 2017 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, top prizes in Houston Grand Opera’s Eleanor McCollum Competition and the Dallas Opera Guild Competition, a George and Nora London Foundation Award, the Richard Tucker Study Grant and Career Grant, and in 2024, top prize in the Gerda Lissner Foundation’s International Vocal Competition.
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His growing recording catalogue includes a solo album of German lieder, Uncharted, which BBC Music Magazine hailed as “excellent… achingly beautiful… Nussbaum Cohen's countertenor is characterised by its richness and warmth, wielded with great technical skill.” Additional highlights include Handel’s Jephtha with Music of the Baroque led by Dame Jane Glover (2024), Handel’s Saul with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra (2020), a solo program of Gluck, Handel, and Vivaldi with American Bach (2019), and releases of Bach’s Easter Oratorio and Magnificat (2025) and Bach’s St. John Passion (2023) with the Cantata Collective led by Nicholas McGegan, about which Early Music America wrote, “Countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen…triumphs in the alto arias, with a voice of arresting beauty, singing with the utmost expressiveness and artistry.”
THE NEW YORK TIMES
In 2024, Nussbaum Cohen performed the title role in Sir David McVicar’s production of Giulio Cesare in Egitto at Glyndebourne to great acclaim, with OperaNow citing his “commanding projection and plenty of agility to negotiate Handel’s challenging runs” and Bachtrack declaring that “the title role was superbly sung…strong and stirring…tender and poignant.” His recent roles include David (Handel’s Saul), Endimione (Cavalli’s La Calisto), Olga (Eotvös’ Tri Sestry), Oberon (Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Medoro (Handel's Orlando), Prince Go-Go (Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre), Rosencrantz (Dean's Hamlet), Ottone (Handel's Agrippina), and Athamas (Handel’s Semele).
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After earning his bachelor's degree in history from Princeton University, along with academic certificates in vocal performance and Judaic studies, Nussbaum Cohen went on to become the first countertenor in the history of the Houston Grand Opera Studio. He is also a graduate of San Francisco Opera’s Merola and Adler Fellowship Programs and the Wolf Trap Opera Studio. ​
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In recent years, Aryeh has given masterclasses at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, University of Michigan, Buffalo Philharmonic, and his alma maters, Princeton University and Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of the Arts. He currently resides in Northern California with his wife Abbi and son Eli, where he serves as Western Region Soloist Representative on the board of the American Guild of Musical Artists, the union that represents America's operatic, dance, and choral artists.
Mr. Nussbaum Cohen is represented by Bill Palant/Étude Arts LLC. For full press kit materials and booking inquiries, please be in touch here. Other publicity materials can be downloaded as PDFs via the links below.
