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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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 performd 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.
In the 2024-25 season, Nussbaum Cohen performs the role of Ismael alongside Thomas Hampson and Anne Sofie von Otter in the world premiere of Mikael Karlsson and Royce Vavrek’s adaptation of Ingmar Bergman’s Fanny and Alexander at La Monnaie de Munt in Brussels, directed by Ivo van Hove and conducted by Ariane Matiakh. He also returns to Deutsche Oper Berlin to reprise the role of Angel / The Boy in Katie Mitchell’s heralded production of Sir George Benjamin’s Written on Skin led by Marc Albrecht. Nussbaum Cohen makes his debut this season with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra singing a program of Handel and Mozart led by Nicholas Kraemer, and he gives his French debut performing Vivaldi arias and cantatas at the Festival de Froville with I Gemelli under Emiliano Gonzalez Toro. His concert schedule also includes “Baroque and Beyond” with Deutsche Oper Berlin led by conductor David Bates, a program of Handel and Hasse with Ars Lyrica Houston and Matthew Dirst, Handel’s Messiah at Carnegie Hall with the Oratorio Society of New York under Kent Tritle, and concerts with his JIVE (Jewish Innovative Voices & Experiences) series in the Bay Area, California.
Lending his countertenor voice to the Romantic repertoire, Nussbaum Cohen sings the music of Clara and Robert Schumann, Korngold, and Brahms on a new solo album, Uncharted, set for release on AVIE Records in 2025. In conjunction with the release, this season he and pianist John Churchwell embark on a North American recital tour with performances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, as well as at venues in Houston and the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. His growing recording catalogue includes a solo program of Gluck, Handel, and Vivaldi with Jeffrey Thomas and American Bach (2019), and the 2023 release of Bach’s St. John Passion 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.”
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In the 2023-24 season, 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.” He counts among his career highlights his Metropolitan Opera debut as Rosencrantz in the U.S. premiere of Brett Dean's Hamlet, and other recent roles including David (Handel’s Saul), Sesto (Handel’s Giulio Cesare) Endimione (Cavalli’s La Calisto), Oberon (Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Medoro (Handel's Orlando), Prince Go-Go (Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre), Ottone (Handel's Agrippina), and Athamas (Handel’s Semele). Recent seasons have taken him to many of the world’s greatest theaters and orchestras: Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, the Bayerische Staatsoper, Opernhaus Zürich, the Adelaide Festival (AUS), Komische Oper Berlin, San Francisco Opera, Ballet, and Symphony, Los Angeles Opera, Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Houston Grand Opera, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra at the Concertgebouw, Music of the Baroque, Apollo’s Fire, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony, The English Concert, Buffalo Philharmonic, and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra; and 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. ​​
THE NEW YORK TIMES
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 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, 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.
