Lunga EricHallam
Contact
Mark Hildrew
Angelica Conner
Seb Mallet
Representation
About Lunga Eric
In the 2024/25 season Hallam will make major orchestral debuts, firstly singing Mozart's Mass in C Major with Nathalie Stutzmann and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, later performing Handel's Messiah with Masaaki Suzuki and the National Symphony Orchestra and also singing a baroque programme with Emmanuelle Haim and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He will also sing debut Schubert's Mass no.5 in A-flat with the São Paulo Symphony and sing a recital with Craig Terry at the Kennedy Center in Washington for Vocal Arts DC. On the stage, Lunga will make a debut at Minnesota Opera returning to the role of Count Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia.
Last season saw debuts at Houston Grand Opera, Pittsburgh Opera and a return to Wolf Trap Opera for his first Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte. He began his career in Cape Town, where he studied at the University of Cape Town College of Music, and was in the Young Artist Programme at Cape Town Opera. There he performed the roles of Tebaldo (I Capuleti e i Montecchi), Edgardo (Lucia di Lammermoor), Roberto (Maria Stuarda), and Ramiro (La Cenerentola). He also founded a non-profit organisation called Phenomenal Opera Voices in his home of Cape Town.
At the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Lunga appeared in the Harris Theater’s Beyond the Aria series alongside Joyce DiDonato, and his recent debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Riccardo Muti as the Judge in Un ballo in maschera. Recent performances at the Lyric Opera include the Sunday in the Park with Lyric’s Rising Stars concert, as well as in the Chicago premieres of Fire Shut Up in My Bones (Adult Nathan) and Le Comte Ory (First Courtier). In the 2022/23 season, he debuted at Wolftrap Opera as Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni) and Jupiter (Semele).
Representation
Season Highlights
Video
Lunga Eric Hallam sings Handel's Messiah
Lunga Eric Hallam sings “Comfort Ye” and “Every Valley” from Handel’s Messiah, with Craig Terry on the piano. Credit: Lunga Eric Hallam
PlayingLunga Eric Hallam sings Semele
Lunga Eric Hallam sings “Where’er you walk” from G.F. Handel’s “Semele” with Craig Terry in a recital at the Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago in 2023. Credit: Askonas Holt
PlayingLunga Eric Hallam sings "Ten Thousand Miles Away"
Lunga Eric Hallam sings the traditional song “Ten Thousand Miles Away”, arranged by Steven Mark Kohn, accompanied by Yasuko Oura. Credit: Lunga Eric Hallam
Playing
Audio
- Lunga Eric Hallam sings “Magische Töne” from Karl Goldmark’s “Die Königin von Saba” in 2022.
Selected Repertoire
Blanchard | Fire Shut Up In My Bones (Adult Nathan) |
---|---|
Donizetti | L’Elisir d’Amore (Nemorino) • Lucia di Lammermoor (Edgardo) • Maria Stuarda (Roberto) |
Handel | Semele (Jupiter) |
Mozart | Don Giovanni (Don Ottavio) • Cosi fan tutte (Ferrando*) |
Rossini | Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Il Conte d’Almaviva) • Le comte Ory (First Courtier) • La Cenerentola (Ramiro) |
Verdi | Ballo in Maschera (The Judge) |
Sample Programmes
Recital Programme 1
George Frideric Handel “Comfort Ye…/Ev'ry Valley” (Messiah) John Ireland: Songs Sacred and Profane “When I'm dead my Dearest” “Down by the Salley gardens” “If there were dreams to sell” Karl Goldmark “Magische tone” (Die Königin von Saba) Gaetano Donizetti “Me voglio fa na casa” Steven Mark Kohn “Ten thousand miles” “Poor Wayfaring Stranger” Will Liverman “A Golden Day” Marta Keen “Homeward Bound” Vincenzo Bellini “A tanto duo... Ascolta, o padre” (Bianca e Fernando) Judith Sephuma "Cry,Smile and Dance” Baxabene Oxam “Miriam Makheba”
Recital Programme 2
Vincenzo Bellini “Vaga luna, che inargenti” Franz Schubert “Vier Canzonen”, D.688 Paolo Tosti “Non t amo piu” Maude Valerie White “How do I love thee” “So we ll go no more a roving” Moses Hogan “Deep river” Gustav Mahler “Rückert-Lieder” George Friderick Handel “Pastorello d un povero armento” (Rodelinda) Gaetano Donizetti: L’elisir d’amore “Una furtiva lagrima” Mbeki Mbali “Buya”
News
Press
Cosi fan tutte
Wolf Trap OperaJun 2024South African tenor Lunga Eric Hallam, the major star of Wolf Trap’s 2023 season, returned as Ferrando. His dulcet top range made his performance of “Un’aura amorosa” a highlight of the evening, with a gorgeous pianissimo applied to the slow repeat of the opening section.
- Washington Classical Review
- 22 June 2024
Tenor Lunga Eric Hallam got onto my radar last year in WTO’s excellent Semele. Mr. Hallam sang beautifully with deep emotion saying how much his love meant to him and then later when confessing he still loved Dorabella despite her infidelity. Meaning it as a compliment, I am often reminded of Lawrence Brownlee when I hear Mr. Hallam sing.
- Opera Gene
- 24 June 2024
Hallam’s tenor had a beautiful gleam and flutter to it, its amber color a lovely complement to White’s rounder, more rustic baritone.
- Washington Post
- 22 June 2024