NELSON
EBO
Tenor
Tenor NELSON EBO is making a notable impact on today's opera and concert stages, with a busy schedule that includes upcoming performances as Don Jose in Carmen with Opera Sao Carlo in Lisbon and, in Spain, the title role in Otello with Santander Opera, and Canio in Pagliacci with Cadiz Opera.
Born in Angola during the civil war, throughout his childhood Ebo struggled against that war and illness which claimed the lives of both parents and several siblings. With his powerful tenor voice and musical soul, Ebo was able to lift himself out of hardship while inspiring all those who heard him. Introduced to choral music at a young age in his local church, Ebo's fascination with opera began by chance when he heard a CD of opera luminaries Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo and taught himself to sing like them. He began to sing in Casa 70 in Luanda to pay for his own education and family’s wellbeing. Subsequently, he was invited to sing at a human rights song contest organized jointly by the UN and the Angolan Ministry of Justice and, impressed with the young tenor's extraordinary talent, the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation supported Ebo to pursue his music studies in Spain.
As a college student, Ebo moved to the USA on scholarship at the Hartt School of Music where he studied with Wayne Rivera. He later auditioned for and was accepted as a Resident Artist at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia where he studied with renowned teacher Bill Schuman. An award winner of the Gerda Lissner Foundation, the Giulio Gari Foundation and Opera North, Mr. Ebo has performed in concerts in the United States, Europe, and Angola. Renowned tenor Marcello Giordani invited Ebo to perform with him in concerts in New Jersey and Sicily.
Twelve years after leaving Angola to study singing abroad, this esteemed tenor was invited back by Carlos Cunha to perform at the 14th anniversary of Casa 70. Through this concert, and the support of the First Lady of Angola, Mr. Ebo has returned numerous times to give concerts in Angola and Portugal and continue his professional development in Italy and Germany. He currently resides in the United States.
Performances include Mario Cavaradossi in Tosca and Lensky in Eugene Onegin with La Forza Dell’Opera; an Italian debut as Pollione in Norma with Teatro Communale di Treviso and Teatro Communale de Ferrara; Knight Antonius Bloc in Seventh Seal with International Brazilian Opera Company; Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with Utah Festival Opera; Florestan in Fidelio with Heartbeat Opera in New York City, to great critical acclaim; a featured soloist alongside soprano Sofia Escobar in Portugal's SIntra Festival; Macduff in Macbeth with Syracuse Opera, and Gustavo in the zarzuela Los Gavilanes with Teatro Lirico of Washington DC.
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Reviews
"A genuine heroic tenor is rare, but that's what the role of Florestan [in Fidelio] demands and what Nelson Ebo is. The simplest indicators are the might of his upper register and the heft in his lower and middle voice. At the top of his range, Ebo's ring doesn't cut through the orchestral texture so much as overwhelms it. It's thrilling to hear an instrument as extraordinary as Ebo's live." - Schmopera.com
Personal Website
https://www.nelsonebo.com/home
Media
Compilation
https://youtu.be/5SmbBpk0MZY
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