J. Patrick Raftery was a teenager when he sang for Opera Star George London (then General Director of the Washington Opera) who personally encouraged his musical studies in voice and opera. While still in High School Mr. Raftery was invited to audit the Wolf Trap Summer Opera Program where he met his mentor and teacher John Moriarty. J. Patrick Raftery’s professional debut was in 1979 when he sang Schaunard in La bohème sharing the stage with Luciano Pavarotti. After his years at The Boston Conservatory and The Juilliard School of Music, Patrick was taken up by The Richard Tucker Music Foundation (Award Winner 1981) and C.A.M.I. artists when his career soared and took him to the lion’s share of major opera houses of the world in less than a decade.

Orchestra and Symphony concerts followed with debuts at numerous Festivals including but not limited to: The Cleveland Orchestra, The National Symphony (Washington, DC), The New York Philharmonic, The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, The Paul Hill Chorale (currently the Master Chorale of Washington), The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, L’Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice, The Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra (Central Park Concert Series), The Glyndebourne Festival Opera, The Mostly Mozart Festival of New York City, The Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, The Salzburg Mozart Festwochen, The Tanglewood Music Festival with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the Westdeutscher Rundfunkorchester Köln

Often associated with the works of Mozart and Rossini, J. Patrick Raftery sang the role of Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia over 225 times including performances with The Vancouver Opera in 1991. Rossini’s Figaro was Mr. Raftery’s debut with The Paris Opera, The Washington Opera, The Frankfurt Opera, and the Opéra de Monte-Carlo. After an international singing career as a baritone Mr. Raftery made the transition to tenor and made return debuts with: London’s Covent Garden, Paris Opera, The Canadian Opera Company in Toronto, The Hamburg State Opera, and La Scala of Milan. Tenor repertoire includes a broad range of Verdi, Bizet, Beethoven, and the works of Richard Wagner. Mr. Raftery has sung Tristan, Erik, Parsifal, Siegmund and participated in four different Ring Cycles (Frankfurt, Liege, Wiesbaden, and Seattle).

WATCH: Professor Raftery performs with pianist Mark Anderson at the Oscar Morawetz Centennial Celebration Concert.

Some significant debuts:

• Théâtre du Châtelet Paris, Zurga in Les pêcheurs de perles (debut France and Europe)
• The San Francisco Opera, Marcello in La bohème (house debut)
• The Hamburg State Opera, Arcalaüs, Amadis de Gaule, (debut Germany)
• The Canadian Opera Company, Marcello in La bohème (debut Canada)
• Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte (debut United Kingdom)
• Royal Opera House of London’s Covent Garden, Count in Le Nozze di Figaro (house debut)
• The Rossini Opera Festival-Pesaro, Poeta in Il Turco in Italia (debut Italy)
• The Metropolitan Opera, Lescaut in Manon Lescaut (house debut)
• The Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center, Lucio Silla (tenor debut)
• La Scala di Milano, Cinna in La Vestale (house debut)

Summer Music Program faculty positions: C.O.S.I. (Canadian Opera Studies in Italy-Sulmona), Opera Kelowna, Cowtown Opera-Calgary, and since 2016 The Taos Opera Institute-Taos, New Mexico

Teachers and Mentors have included: George London, Todd Duncan, Armen Boyajian, Stuart Hamilton, Grace Hunter, Jane Klaviter (The Metropolitan Opera), John Moriarty, Janine Reiss (Paris Opera), Frank Rizzo, Beverly Sills, Alberto Zedda (Pesaro Festival) and directors Dario Fo, Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, John Copley, Tito Capobianco, Peter Mussbach, Louis Erlo, and Francesca Zambello

Frequently invited for Master Classes Professor Raftery has lead classes for: The Cologne Opera, Graz Opera, San Diego Opera, Hawaii Opera Theater, The Pacific Opera Victoria, and the Universities of Lethbridge, Maryland, Manitoba, Edmonton, Montreal (McGill), and Arizona State

Current areas of focus: A member of the LGBTQ+2 community since coming out in 1973 Professor Raftery’s work is in the mental health and wellness area focusing on this community. Currently in the works are re-imaginings of Operatic works for inclusive/diverse casts and creative teams of “out” members of the queer community.

Previous teaching posts include The University of Western Ontario and The University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music. In 2014 Professor Raftery accepted an appointment with The University of British Columbia’s School of Music as Assistant Professor and has since been promoted to Associate Professor of Voice and Opera.

Recording:

A North American Songbook (J. Patrick Raftery and Mark Anderson) – Link takes you to Amazon Music.

LISTEN: Vancouver Opera Offstage podcast. Host Leslie Dala chats with J. Patrick Raftery. Originally aired Oct. 7, 2020.