Noel Espíritu Vellasco, International Tenor

Tenor Noel Espíritu Velasco, hailed as "one of the Philippines' national treasures" and winner of the Pavarotti International Voice Competition, the Liederkranz Foundation Wagnerian Competition and the New York Oratorio Society Solo Competition, has received critical acclaim and public accolades worldwide.

In opera, Mr. Velasco was Artist-in-Residence and Principal Tenor of Sarah Caldwell's Opera Company of Boston for eight seasons, and has sung at the Royal Opera at Covent Garden, Paris' Opéra Comique, Opera Orchestra of New York, Houston Grand Opera, Welsh National Opera, Opéra de Montpellier, with lead roles in La Bohème, Lucia di Lammermoor, Carmen, Rigoletto, La Traviata, Il Trovatore, Tosca, Magic Flute, Abduction from the Seraglio, Der Rosenkavalier, La Favorite, La Sonnambula, Guglielmo Tell, Poliuto, Stiffelio, Il Pirata, Luisa Miller, Giovanna D'Arco, Le Coq d'Or, Benvenuto Cellini, and Dom Sébastien.

His concert work includes the Verdi, Mozart and Berlioz, Dvorák and Rossini Stabat Maters, Orff's Carmina Burana and Catulli Carmina, Britten's War Requiem and Serenade, Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde and Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Handel's Messiah, Samson and Praise of Harmony, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and Mass in C, Bach's Magnificat and St. John Passion, and Puccini's Messa di Gloria, with L'Accademia di Santa Cecilia, London Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra at Kennedy Center and Festival Casals, Festival International de Radio France, Gstaad AlpenGala Concerts (Switzerland), Ural State Philharmonic (Russia), Houston Symphony, Florida Philharmonic, Florida Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic, San Diego Symphony, under Rostropovich, Frühbeck de Burgos, Robert Shaw, Hans Graf, Rudolf Barshai, James Judd, Jahja Ling and Claus Peter Flor.Equally at home on the recital stage, Velasco has performed over 300 recital concerts worldwide. Velasco has also sung duo recitals with his wife, mezzo-soprano Gigi Mitchell-Velasco, in Manila, Honolulu, San Francisco, Little Rock and throughout their home state of Rhode Island.