Jesse Donner

A graduate of the Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago, tenor Jesse Donner has distinguished himself on operatic and concert stages with his “vibrant” (Chicago Classical Review) and “fresh and juicy” (Chicago Tribune) voice. Donner has sung at  the Metropolitan Opera in Boris Godunov and Die Meistersinger. Recent seasons have included a return to Union Avenue Opera in his role debut as Rodolfo (La bohème), a role debut as Danilo (The Merry Widow) with St. Petersburg Opera, and a return to DuPage Opera in that role. In prior seasons, Mr. Donner joined the Louisville Orchestra as a soloist in Mozart’s Requiem and Handel’s Messiah, Toledo Opera for its Fall Gala Concert, and the Chicago Philharmonic. He also made debuts with Union Avenue Opera as Ismaele (Nabucco), DuPage Opera as Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus), and sang Emperor Alteum (Turandot) with Cedar Rapids Opera.

As a resident artist at Lyric Opera of Chicago from 2014–2017, Mr. Donner was commended for his “polished” and “heroic” tenor (Chicago Classical Review). Donner won a Luminarts Fellowship and the Bel Canto Foundation grand prize in 2015, a special encouragement award from the 2014 Metropolitan Opera National Council Regional Auditions, and first place in the 2012 Michigan Friends of Opera Competition. A native of Des Moines, IA, Mr. Donner completed graduate and post-graduate studies at the University of Michigan and received his Bachelor of Music degree from Iowa State University.