Richard Stilwell

American Richard Stilwell returns to the COC as The Music Master in Ariadne auf Naxos after his performance as Danilo in The Merry Widow (1988). He has appeared with major opera companies throughout North America and Europe performing a wide range of roles in operas including Monteverdi’s Orfeo, L’incoronazione di Poppea and Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria; the title role in the premiere of Britten’s Billy Budd at the Metropolitan Opera; Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte; Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia; Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin; Verdi’s Falstaff and Don Carlos; Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande; and, Pasatieri’s The Seagull and Inês de Castro. In the 2007/2008 season he took the stage of the New York City Opera as the Doctor in Samuel Barber’s Vanessa, as well as performing the role of Mr. Redburn in Billy Budd with Santa Fe Opera. He can be heard as the Count and Don Giovanni on the soundtrack of Miloš Forman’s award-winning film Amadeus. In addition to his singing career Mr. Stilwell also teaches at Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts.