Nathaniel Bear is a tenor currently based in Philadelphia. He recently completed a summer season at Wolf Trap Opera as a Studio Artist where he sang L’Aumônier in Dialogues des Carmélites as well as covered Don José in Carmen. His recent credits include Don José in La tragédie de Carmen with Seaglass Theater Company, as well as Giovanni in Daniel Catán’s La hija de Rappaccini and Oronte in Alcina with the Boston Opera Institute. Past roles include Rodolfo in La bohème (Northwestern Opera), David in the Midwest premiere of Jake Heggie’s If I Were You (Northwestern Opera), Alfred in Die Fledermaus (Oswego Opera), and Gérard in Philip Glass’s Les Enfants Terribles (Eastman Opera Theater).

Nathaniel was a Vocal Arts Fellow with the Tanglewood Music Center for two consecutive seasons, where he sang Tamino in scenes from Die Zauberflöte with the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, and took part in a wide range of art song and chamber music projects. Highlights include the North American premiere of Quatre stances de Jean Moréas, an unpublished set of songs by Les Six composer Louis Durey, performed with pianist Elias Dagher at The Linde Center for Music and Learning, as well as chamber performances of Britten’s Canticle III and selected songs by Amy Beach. He also was featured as a tenor soloist in TMC’s Bach Cantata series, singing BWV 20 under the baton of John Harbison. With the Eastman Philharmonia and Eastman-Rochester Chorus, Nathaniel covered tenor Anthony Dean Griffey in a performance of Britten’s War Requiem.

Nathaniel’s artistic accolades include the Cynthia Sparks Scholarship and the Howard Scarrow Memorial Fellowship from the Tanglewood Music Center as well as the Schubert Fellowship from SongFest. He holds a Master of Music degree from Northwestern University, and earned a Bachelor of Music in Voice and Opera as well as a Bachelor of Arts in History through University of Rochester and Eastman School of Music’s Dual Degree Program. His studies were supported by full-tuition merit scholarships at both institutions: The Eckstein Scholarship at Northwestern and the Howard Hanson Scholarship at Eastman.

Nathaniel has a deep connection to Jewish cantorial music. The son of two cantors with a rich knowledge of Hazzanut, he was immersed from an early age in the liturgical music of the synagogue. He has since served as a cantorial soloist in synagogues across the country, and considers it both a privilege and a responsibility to share this unique musical tradition, as well as the music of contemporary Jewish composers.