Baritone Gregory Dahl stands as one of Canada’s foremost baritones, acclaimed for his “commanding presence” and his “ample tone and impeccable legato.” Renowned for his compelling portrayals in dramatic works by Verdi, Puccini, Wagner, and Strauss, Dahl has earned a well-deserved reputation for his signature roles, including the Dutchman in Die Fliegende Hollander, the “grittily sinister” Scarpia in Tosca (Calgary Herald) and the title character in Rigoletto, the group of which he has sung with companies including Vancouver Opera, Calgary Opera, Opéra de Québec, Opera West, and l’Opéra de Montréal. His Dutchman has been described as “fearsome and seductive in slightly terrifying fashion…a pretty enticing figure” and delivering a “memorable performance with vocal and dramatic aplomb” (Vancouver Sun, The Tyee), and his Scarpia “virile and weighty”…”an authoritative blend of focused tone and polished phrasing” (Calgary Herald, Montreal Gazette)

 

In the 2023-2024 season, Dahl made his role debut as Benoit/Alcindoro in La Bohème at the Canadian Opera Company (COC), and performed Handel’s Messiah alongside the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre classique de Montréal. He also appeared as the baritone soloist in Brahms’ Requiem with the Orchestre symphonique de Gatineau and made his debut in the title role of Don Pasquale at Vancouver Opera. In the 2024/25 season, he returned to cover the title role in Nabucco at the COC and will debut with the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra and the Lethbridge Symphony in Handel’s Messiah.

 

Favorite roles with the Canadian Opera Company have included Escamillo in Carmen (Canadian Opera Company, l’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and the Virée Classique Festival with Maestro Nagano), the Baron Douphol in La traviata, covers of Rigoletto and the Dutchman, and Sharpless in Madama Butterfly (Canadian Opera Company, Manitoba Opera).  He has performed Germont in La traviata, Sebastian in Ades’ The Tempest and the title role of Gianni Schicchi for l’Opéra de Québec, has sung Alfio in concert performances of Cavalleria Rusticana and Iago in Otello with Vancouver Opera, and Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor, Donner in Das Rheingold, Ford in Falstaff and Amonasro in Aida with Opéra de Montréal. He has also sung Swallow in Peter Grimes with the Vancouver Symphony. Other roles include Peter in Hansel and Gretel with the Oregon Symphony, the title role of Macbeth with Kentucky Opera, and an engagement at the Metropolitan Opera covering the role of Mandryka in Arabella.

 

In concert, he was seen as a soloist in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with Brott Festival, Symphony Nova Scotia, was a soloist in Manitoba Opera’s 50th Anniversary Concert and in a Rodgers and Hammerstein concert with Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Messiah for Orchestre classique de Montréal, Rhode Island Philharmonic, and Winnipeg Symphony, On the concert stage, he sang Messiah for the Vancouver Bach Choir.

 

Mr. Dahl first came to national attention as Francis Chancy in the world premiere of James Rolfe’s Beatrice Chancy. He recently performed Hermogines in Rufus Wainwright’s opera Hadrian at Teatro Real and the world premiere of the work with Canadian Opera Company.  Other world premieres he’s participated in include Estacio and Murrell’s Filumena for the Calgary Opera, Lillian Alling for Vancouver Opera, Wainwright’s Hadrian for the COC, and Shalimar the Clown for the Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Filumena was filmed for release in the DVD format and joins Beatrice Chancy on his list of operas-on-film. Mr. Dahl has also created roles for Tapestry New Opera Works (Robert Peary in Smith’s Facing South and The Alchemist in Schafer’s The Palace of the Cinnabar Phoenix) and sang the role of George in the Canadian Premiere of Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, presented by the Calgary Opera.

 

With an enduring passion for education, Dahl shares his expertise as a member of the voice faculty at the University of Toronto.