Stefan Szkafarowsky
bass
bass
Stefan Szkafarowsky has been praised for the beautiful quality of his voice and for his impeccable technique. Recent engagements include Ferrando IL TROVATORE with Opera Tampa, Hunding DIE WALKURE with the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, and Benoit/Alcindoro LA BOHEME with Calgary Opera and Sagrestano TOSCA with Opera Orlando.
Mr Szkafarowsky has enjoyed a long and busy career in America where his many roles have included: Commendatore DON GIOVANNI with Opera Idaho; Hunding DIE WALKURE with the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra; The Old Hebrew SAMSON AND DELILAH with Virginia Opera Company; Dikoi KATYA KABANOVA with Seattle Opera Company; High Priest NABUCCO with the Lyric Opera of Chicago; Benoit/Alcidoro LA BOHEME with Dallas Opera; Monterone/ Sparafucile RIGOLETTO with Opera Colorado; Ferrando IL TROVATORE, Crespel THE TALES OF HOFFMANN, Pimen and Varlaam BORIS GODUNOV with the Washington Opera Company; Banquo MACBETH and Zaccaria NABUCCO with Florentine Opera; Ramfis AIDA with New Jersey Opera; title-role ALEKO with New York City Opera; The Bonze MADAMA BUTTERFLY with the LA Opera; and performances at many other renowned companies including the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Grand Rapids Opera, New Orleans Opera, Arizona Opera, San Diego Opera and Pittsburgh Opera.
Of special note is Mr Szkafarowsky’s association with the Metropolitan Opera where his roles have included: The Bonze MADAME BUTTERFLY; Monterone RIGOLETTO; and covering roles in AIDA, LA BOHEME, NABUCCO, THE NOSE and THE RAKE’S PROGRESS. Appearances in Canada include performances in Hamilton, Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Winnipeg, and Vancouver in roles such as Grand Inquisitor DON CARLO, Ramfis AIDA, Banquo MACBETH, Sparafucile RIGOLETTO, Wurm LUISA MILLER, Prince Gremin EUGENE ONEGIN, and Daland THE FLYING DUTCHMAN.
Internationally Mr Szkafarowsky has sung Zaccaria NABUCCO in Ukraine at the Lviv Opera House; in Italy he has performed at the Cagliari Opera House in Tchaikovsky’s OPRICHNIK; in Finland at the Savonlinna Opera Festival as Sacristan TOSCA and The Old Hebrew SAMSON AND DELILAH; Dr Bartolo THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO at the Macau Music Festival; and in Brazil as Raimondo LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR at the Theatro Municipal de Sao Paulo.
As a concert artist, in 2017 Mr Szkafarowsky made his debut at the Lviv Philharmonic Concert Hall in Lviv, Ukraine, in a solo recital, and has been a featured soloist with the leading symphony orchestras of Pittsburgh, Minnesota, St. Louis, Colorado, Hartford, Milwaukee, Vancouver, Montreal, and the National Symphony in Washington D.C. He has worked under the batons of many eminent conductors including Plácido Domingo, Michael Lankaster, James Levine, Mstislav Rostropovich, Leonard Slatkin and Michael Tilson Thomas. A native of New York, Mr. Szkafarowsky attended the American Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Westchester Conservatory of Music. He is a recipient of grants from the Sullivan Foundation and the Tito Gobbi Award from the Rosa Ponselle Foundation. He is also a regional winner of the Metropolitan Opera Auditions.