Baritone

Deeply committed to the art of the vocal recital, Mr. Sylvan and his long-time collaborator, pianist David Breitman, have performed extensively throughout the United States and Europe, in major venues in London, New York, Washington, Boston, Philadelphia and San Francisco. Their recitals and recordings have earned exceptional praise from critics and audiences, including three Grammy nominations for Best Classical Vocal Performance.

In the realm of opera, Mr. Sylvan is an acclaimed Mozartean. His portrayals of Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro and Don Alfonso in Cosi fan tutte have been seen internationally, including PBS Great Performances. He has been much acclaimed for the role of Leoprello in Don Giovanni, which he sang for his Glyndebourne Festival debut in 1994 and with New York City Opera where he has since become a regular performer in such operas as The Magic Flute, Ariodante and most recently The Rape of Lucretia. Sanford Sylvan has become closely associated with the productions of renowned directors: Peter Sellars in works of John Adams, and Andrei Serban. He has developed longstanding relationships with major composers who have written for him: John Adams' Nixon In China (Chou En-Lai), the title role of The Death of Klinghoffer and The Wound Dresser; and numerous works of John Harbison. He was in the US premiere of The Lighthouse by Peter Maxwell Davies, the world premiere of Philip Glass' The Juniper Tree, and sang Sir Michael Tippett's The Ice Break at the BBC Proms, recorded for Virgin Classics. In Spring 2003, Mr. Sylvan's appeared with New York City Opera in the role of Collatinus in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia. In summer 2005 he made his Gilmmerglass Opera debut in Mozart's Cosi fan tutte.

Sanford Sylvan has performed with many of the leading orchestras of the world including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Detroit Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouworkest, London Symphony, the Tonhalle Orchestra of Zurich, Academy of Ancient Music, Melbourne Symphony, Australian Chamber Orchestra and the NHK (Japanese Broadcasting Corporation) Symphony. He has collaborated with such conductors as Simon Rattle, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Herbert Blomstedt, Christopher Hogwood, Kent Nagano, Bruno Weil , Roger Norrington, and Edo De Waart, among many others. The Los Angeles Philharmonic commission Steven Stucky's American Muse for him, and the premiere was conducted by Esa Pekka Salonen. More recent performances include debuts with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra under Herbert Blomstedt, the Minnesota Orchestra under Yakov Kreizburg and the Kansas City Symphony and Civic Orchestra of Chicago, both under Anne Manson. His return performances include the BBC Symphony in London, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, VARA Symphony Orchestra at the Concertgebouw, Orchestra of St. Luke's at Carnegie Hall and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, where he sang Haydn's Creation for the first week of subscription concerts in their new Walt Disney Concert Hall in fall 2004.

Sylvan's festival appearances have included the Edinburgh, Tanglewood, Vienna, Holland, Schleswig-Holstein and Ojai. He has longstanding relationships with the Carmel Bach Festival and the New England Bach Festival where he performs annually. In 2003, he made his debut with the Oregon Bach Festival under Helmuth Rilling, where he returned this summer. As a chamber musician he has performed, toured and recorded with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Music from Marlboro, Ensemble Sequentia, Emmanuel Music and the Boston Symphony Chamber Players with whom he recorded John Harbison's Words from Paterson.

Sanford Sylvan's recordings are known throughout the world and appear on the Nonesuch, Decca, Harmonia Mundi, Musicmasters, Bridge, Koch, Virgin Classics, New World and CRI labels. A Grammy and Emmy Award winner for his role in John Adams' Nixon In China, he has received Grammy nominations for his recording with David Breitman, L'Horizon Chimérique which features chanson of Gabriel Fauré, Beloved That Pilgrimage, a program of American songs with music by Barber, Copland and Chanler, and for John Adams' The Wound Dresser.