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Jon Morrell

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Jon Morrell (born 24 March 1962) is an America opera singer, director and impresario.  


Early Years

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Jon Morrell was born in New York City. At the age of 8, his family moved to Estepona in southern Spain to run the Iberia International School. His mother, an actress/singer who had performed the role of the Reporter during the original run of Damn Yankees on Broadway, was the head of the school’s music program and his first teacher. While studying music, Morrell was for 10 years a vice president of his family’s business, Morrell and Company (founded 1947), where he was responsible for Operations and Human Resources.[1][2]

Career

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Morrell began studying voice at an early age, and made his first stage appearance at 19 as Beppino in Leoncavallo’s  I Pagliacci. It was not until later that his voice developed into a heldentenor, first under the guidance of the American Wagnerian Soprano Roberta Knie, and later with the teacher Bill Schuman and heldentenor Jon Frederic West[3]. Morrell made his professional debut as Siegmund in Die Walküre with the Ithaca Opera[4].

The diagnosis of his son with autism led to a hiatus from performing in opera, and Morrell became a stay-at-home dad to help raise his family. His return to opera was in 2009 as Otello/Gedick in the world premiere of Carlo Pedini’s opera Jago at the Teatro degli Avvaloranti in Citta Della Pieve, learning the complex and demanding role in just 10 days[5]. This led to other important role debuts: Peter Grimes with One World Symphony (USA)[6], Siegmund in Die Walküre  with Fulham/Regents Opera (UK), and Samson in Saint-Saëns’ Samson et Dalila with St Petersburg Opera, under conductor Mark Sforzini[7] earning him critical acclaim for his portrayals.

Morrell is a respected recitalist and soloist, and highly praised for Schubert’s Winterreise[8], Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde and Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and mass in C, Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang and Cherubini’s Chant sur la mort de Haydn.

The United Kingdom

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Morrell was a member of the Concordia Foundation[9] in London, which gave him his first professional performances in the UK. Under their auspices, Morrell performed in Handel’s Messiah at St. Paul’s Cathedral, and as Candide in excerpts from Bernstein’s Candide at Queen Elizabeth Hall, under conductor Rebecca Miller; Morrell also recorded Wagner and Verdi arias with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by David Charles Abel. He has since been heard in Schubert’s Winterreise at Smith Square Hall, and again in Oxford with conductor Anthony Negus accompanying;  the Woodhouse Copse Festival in Surrey (soloist for Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder), And Tristan in Act ll Tristan und Isolde with the Northern Wagner Orchestra.

Producer

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A producer and artistic director, Morrell founded The Garage in Chatham summer arts festival (the GAC)[10], currently in its 5th season. For 10 years, starting in his early 20’s, he founded Manhattan Opera Ensemble, a ground-breaking opera workshop that used ensemble format to produce full-scale operas, both staged and concert, with chorus and orchestra : Faust, Manon, La Traviata, Tales of Hoffman, Carmen, La Gioconda, Le Cid, Die Walkure, La Boheme and Turandot, all in various locations throughout New York City. He was also at that time General Manager of Long Island Opera[11] for 2 seasons; his productions of Tosca and Fidelio are still considered the benchmark for standard and quality in the company’s 50-year history.

Morrell is a writer and a playwright. His play, A Neapolitan Tragedy, was published in 2025.

References

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  1. ^ "Morrell and Company | LinkedIn". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2025-08-23.
  2. ^ "Morrell Fine Wine & Spirits Merchants, Briarcliff Manor, NY". Morrell Fine Wine & Spirits Merchants, Briarcliff Manor, NY. Retrieved 2025-08-23.
  3. ^ "Bill Schuman – Academy of Vocal Arts". Retrieved 2025-08-27.
  4. ^ "HOME". Opera Ithaca. Retrieved 2025-09-04.
  5. ^ Pieve, Visit Città della (2021-04-11). "Teatro Comunale". Città della Pieve (in Italian). Retrieved 2025-09-04.
  6. ^ "One World Symphony: Peter Grimes: The Divided Self". www.oneworldsymphony.org. Retrieved 2025-09-04.
  7. ^ "Videos | Mark Sforzini". Retrieved 2025-09-04.
  8. ^ "Schubert: Winterreise - Jon Morrell, tenor & Constanze Beckman, piano". www.kaufmanmusiccenter.org. Retrieved 2025-08-23.
  9. ^ Home; TrusteesPatrons, ABOUT/GILLIAN HUMPHREYSHistory of ConcordiaYoung AudiencesHealing Power of MusicThe TeamThe; Humphreys, Gillian; Concordia, History of; Audiences, Young; Music, Healing Power of; Team, The; Trustees, The; Patrons. "Concordia Foundation". Concordia Foundation. Retrieved 2025-09-04.
  10. ^ "The Garage at Chatham". The Garage at Chatham. Retrieved 2025-09-04.
  11. ^ "An Opera Director's Optimistic Libretto (Published 2000)". 2000-02-27. Retrieved 2025-09-04.

External Links