Robert Gambill

Robert Gambill (born March 31, 1955 in Indianapolis) is an opera singer (Heldentenor). Gambill studied mathematics at Purdue University (1973-1976) before becoming an exchange student at Hamburg University in Germany, where he added German studies to his curriculum. He enrolled at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg where he studied voice with Prof. Hans Kagel. At 25 he made his La Scala debut in the leading role of Michael in the world premiere of Karlheinz Stockhausen's Donnerstag aus Licht, directed by Luca Ronconi.

He remained in Europe, and in 1984 joined the ensemble of the Zurich Opera in Switzerland. For three years he sang the leading lyric and belcanto tenor roles in operas such as Don Giovanni, The Magic Flute, The Barber of Seville and Die Lustigen Weiber von Windsor. His international career kicked off after he sang the role of Lindoro in Rossini's The Italian Girl in Algiers in 1987, directed by Michael Hampe.

It was followed by engagements at the leading European and international opera houses including the Vienna State Opera, the Royal Opera Covent Garden in London, the Opera in Paris, the Munich State Opera and the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

In 1995, he successfully made the change into the dramatic German repertoire. He studied with Prof. Irmgard Hartmann-Dressler and was quickly recognized with appearances as Painter in Berg's Lulu at the Salzburg Festival and Narraboth in Strauss' Salome at both the Stuttgart State Opera and London's Royal Opera House. He continued as a Heldentenor with acclaimed and ongoing performances as Wagner's Tannhäuser, Tristan, Siegmund and Parsifal on opera and concert stages around the world.

He sang the heroic tenor parts under the baton of important conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Daniel Barenboim, Claudio Abbado, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Simon Rattle or Zubin Mehta at the opera houses in New York, London, Paris, San Francisco, Chicago, Berlin, Munich, Vienna, Milan as well as at Carnegie Hall and at the festivals in Salzburg (Easter & Summer), Aix-en-Provence, Tanglewood, Glyndebourne and many others.