Voice, Vision and Verdi: An Exclusive Conversation with Tenor Adam Smith

In my opinion the only thing that can help opera to maintain it’s relevance is to make sure we remember the core values of the art form.
Alice Lechner

Author:

by Alice Lechner
March 24, 2025

INTRODUCTION

This month, we’re excited to feature tenor Adam Smith, hailed as “the tenor the whole opera world is talking about” (Marie Claire). Known for his powerful voice and dramatic performances, Adam has graced stages worldwide in roles like Don José in Carmen and Cavaradossi in Tosca. With an exciting 2024/25 season ahead, Adam shares insights into his career and the art of opera.

BIOGRAPHY

Hailed as the “tenor that the whole opera world is talking about” (Marie Claire) and a “revelation” (Bachtrack), Adam Smith is known for his voice that “overflows with dramatic conviction and heroic impact” (Opera Now Magazine). Recent standout roles include Don José in Carmen at the Royal Ballet and Opera, Cavaradossi in Tosca at the Staatsoper Hamburg and Roméo in Roméo et Juliette at Washington National Opera. Adam Smith’s 2024/25 season begins with his role debut as Radamès in Verdi’s Aida at Opéra de Rouen Normandie, conducted by Pierre Bleuse. This is followed by his debut at Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, where he sings The Prince in Dvořák’s Rusalka alongside Asmik Grigorian in a new production by Dmitri Tcherniakov. To commence the new year, Adam Smith reprises the role of Pinkerton in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly as he returns to Opera national de Lyon. He then makes his debut at the Staatsoper Berlin as Pinkerton in a production by Eike Gramss. On the concert stage, he makes his debut in Verdi’s Requiem in October with the Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, conducted by Carlo Goldstein. Recent highlights include his heralded debut at the La Monnaie de Munt as both Luigi and Rinuccio in a new Tobias Krazer production of Puccini’s Il Trittico conducted by Alain Atinoglu. Bachtrack commented on the performance: “[the] tenor knows how to pierce the orchestral wall with insolence without however neglecting the line and the most subtle nuances,” as well as Luigi under the baton of Sir Mark Elder at the BBC Proms. Further highlights include Florestan in Fidelio at the Glyndebourne Festival, and his South American debut at Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo as Cavaradossi in Tosca, a role which he also performed with the English National Opera and at the Staatsoper Hamburg, Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana with Kansas City Opera, Roméo in Roméo et Juliette with Washington National Opera, Don José in Carmen at the Royal Ballet and Opera, Rodolfo in Puccini’s La bohème, Duca di Mantova in Verdi’s Rigoletto at Scottish National Opera, and the Prince in Dvořák’s Rusalka at Les Arts Valencia. On the occasion of his debut in France, at Opéra national de Bordeaux as the title role in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, he was praised for his French diction, “The pronunciation, to which we French are so attached when it comes to opera in our language, is neat, the natural emission of the voice has the ideal timbre so that the poet stands out from the other tenors without forcing the line.” (Forumopera) Mr. Smith also made his Greek debut with this role at Greek National Opera in a production by Krzysztof Warlikowski, and his Italian debut singing the role of Erik in Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna. In addition, Adam Smith has performed Boris in Káťa Kabanová at the Opera national de Lyon and Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with Cincinnati Opera, San Diego Opera and at the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence. Adam Smith has worked with a distinguished list of conductors and directors including Calixto Bieito, Christof Loy, Andrea Breth, Mariame Clément, Alexander Joel, Daniel Kramer, Emmanuel Villaume, Daniele Rustioni, Sir Jonathan Miller, Tomaš Netopil, Giacomo Sagripanti, and Alberto Zedda among many others. Born in the UK, Mr. Smith began his musical studies with the violin at the age of four. He graduated from the RNCM with a first-class honours degree in music with additional degrees from the International Opera Course at the Guildhall and a Master of Music with Distinction. From 2014-2017 Adam was a member of the ensemble at Opera Vlaanderen in Antwerp, during his time there he performed a diverse collection of roles.

Read more

Read less

INTERVIEW

Dear Adam, it’s a pleasure to have this conversation with you! Currently, you are at Staatsoper Berlin for Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. Every production brings a new vision of its characters. What do you think this staging will add to your understanding of Pinkerton? Also, how do you hope the Berlin audience will perceive your portrayal […]

Your access is restricted because you don’t have a subscription or your subscription doesn’t include this type of content.
Already have an account?
Buy one of our subscription to get access to our exclusive content

RELATED POSTS

Marko Mimica: The Power and Depth Behind the Bass-Baritone Voice
I believe that’s one of the most beautiful aspects of being a singer: the ability to play with the colors of our own voice and soul.
April 2025
Alice Lechner
Behind the Voice: Ruzan Mantashyan's Path to Opera Stardom
I become so involved in the role that it becomes a part of me—or even becomes me.
April 2025
Alice Lechner

Alice Lechner

Alice Lechner comes from a music-loving family. Her first encounter with the opera universe was at the tender age of six. The grandeur of the stage productions and costumes, the backstage chatter, and last, but definitely not least, the music left her in awe, beginning with Mozart’s Don Giovanni. The overall feeling that opera awakens in anyone who gets a glimpse into this part of artistic eternity, that each and every day passes the test of time, was what drew her to stay and be a part of this world. The Opera House of Brașov became her second home, and the people who worked there were her second family.

Since then, Alice has devoted her spare time to maximising her musical knowledge through instrumental studies, studying both piano and violin for a short time. In the following years, her number one passion stepped out of the limelight and graciously gave way to Law Studies.
Since 2018 she has been studying Law at “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University in Iași.

Her passion for opera, even if it is no longer her top professional priority in terms of career, it has most definitely become her priority during her free time. Wanting to experience the best of both worlds and extend her musical horizons, she regularly attends opera performances throughout Romania and abroad.
With OPERA Charm Magazine, Alice aims to nurture her creative side to help it flourish and bloom and to discover, alongside the magazine’s readers, the fascinatingly complex world of opera.

Currently, she is an LL.M. in Business Law at “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University in Iași.

Oana Zamfir

Oana Zamfir is a second year MA student at the “George Enescu” National University of Arts, at the Department of Musicology.

She studied violin for 12 years at the “Stefan Luchian” High School of Art in Botosani, later focusing on the theoretical aspects of music. In 2019 she completed her bachelor studies in Musicology as a student of the National Academy of Music “Gheorghe Dima” in Cluj-Napoca. Her research during 2018-2019 brought to the forefront elements of the archaic ritual within works of composers who activated during the communist period, giving her the opportunity to start a research internship at the “Carl von Ossietzky” University in Germany. In this context, she recorded conversations with members of the Sophie Drinker Institute in Bremen, and had access to documents directly from the Myriam Marbé archive.

Since 2019 she has been a teacher of Music Education and Theoretical Music Studies, making full use of interactive methods in the musical training of students and working, at the same time, with the children’s choir founded in the first year of her activity.

Her interests include pursuing a degree in interior design in 2020.

Alexandru Suciu

Alexandru Suciu inherited his passion for art growing up in a family of several generations of musicians. He began his musical studies at the “Augustin Bena” School of Music in Cluj, where he studied piano and guitar. Even though his main study direction was philological, his passion for music prevailed. He began his academical journey at the Faculty of Letters of the “Babeș-Bolyai” University, studying Comparative literature and English. He continued by studying Opera Singing at the “Gheorghe Dima” National Music Academy. He also graduated the Musical Education section, followed by Artistic Directing at the Musical Performing Arts department.

His multidisciplinary education opened the doors towards research, which is seen both through his participation in national and international conferences and symposia, such as the Salzburg Easter School PhD-forum, organized by the Salzburg Universität or the Silesian Meeting of Young Scholars, organized by the Institute of English at the University of Silesia, as well as the collaboration with Opera Charm Magazine.

During his student years, he won several prizes, including the Grand Prize at the “Paul Constantinescu” National Musical Interpretation Competition, the Romanian Composers and Musicologists’ Union Prize at the same competition, the First Prize and the Schubert Prize at the “Ada Ulubeanu” Competition.

He further developed his artistic skills by specializing in courses and masterclasses held by personalities such as Vittorio Terranova, Giuseppe Sabbatini, Marian Pop, Ines Salazar, Riccardo Zanellato, Paolo Bosisio, Valentina Farcaș and Manuel Lange in contexts such as the Internationale Sommerakademie für Operngesang Deutschlandsberg, Corso Internazionale di Canto Lirico I.M.C. Licata or the Europäische Akademie für Musik und darstellende Kunst Montepulciano. Besides his activity on-stage, he currently teaches Opera Singing Didactics, and Pedagogical Practice within the Department for Teacher Education and Training at the “Gheorghe Dima” National Music Academy.

Cristina Fieraru

Cristina is a 24 year-old Romanian soprano & a student at the National University of Music Bucharest, where she pursues the MA program in Vocal Performance.

She made her debut in Pamina from “Die Zauberflöte” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at only 19 years old at the Bucharest National Opera House, as a member of the Ludovic Spiess Experimental Opera Studio. Over the years she made her debut in roles such as Contessa d’Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Mimì & Musetta (La Bohème), Alice Ford (Falstaff), Erste Dame (Die Zauberflöte) in her university’s opera productions.
Her passion and experience extends in the field of choral music, too.

She has been part of our dream team since the fall of 2021. For a good period of time she took care of OPERA Charm’s social media and took you on the monthly journey through the history of opera through our Legends rubric – and a few times through the Theaters around the World rubric.

Her little soul rubric – from 2021 to present – is definitely the Conductors of the Future, where, every month, she gives you the chance to meet a young star of the world of conducting and, of course, to find out what’s the most charming feature of opera in these artists’ views.

BIANCA L. NICA

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consetetur sadipscing elitr, sed diam nonumy eirmod tempor invidunt ut labore et dolore magna aliquyam erat, sed diam voluptua. At vero eos et accusam et justo duo dolores et ea rebum. Stet clita kasd gubergren, no sea takimata sanctus est Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consetetur