A Top Rising Tenor:
Meet Kalil Wilson

Tenor Kalil Wilson is now in his third successful season with the Los Angeles Opera. Lead roles he has sung include those of Raúl in Holdridge’s Journey to Cordoba and Rashid in Holdridge’s Tanis and Rashid. During two seasons as a Fellow at the Aspen Summer Music Festival, he appeared in the title role in Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring as well as in the lead tenor role of Egeo in Cavalli’s Giasone. In addition, the Oakland, California native appeared as tenor soloist in Dvorák’s Stabat Mater and Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess with the Oakland East Bay Symphony and sang the role of Ferrando in Mozart’s Cosí fan tutte at the Mendocino Music Festival.

An alumnus of the Young Musicians Program at U.C. Berkeley and a summa cum laude graduate from the Vocal Music and Ethnomusicology Departments at UCLA, where he was a Gluck Foundation fellow, Kalil has performed in numerous productions of Opera UCLA.  Lead tenor roles included Leonardo in the world premiere of Ian Krouse’s Lorca, Child of the Moon, Albert Herring in Britten’s Albert Herring, Il Contino Belfiore in Mozart's La Finta Giardiniera, Gonzalve in Ravel's L'Heure espagnole, and Cavaliere Belfiore in Rossini's Il Viaggio a Reims. He has also appeared as a soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, the Angeles Chorale, the Santa Cecilia Orchestra, the Long Beach Chamber Orchestra, the Oakland East Bay Symphony, the U.C. Berkeley Symphony Orchestra and the UCLA Symphony Orchestra.

The young tenor has earned numerous awards as well – most recently as First Place Winner in the 2007 Metropolitan Opera National Council Western Region Auditions. He was also First Place Winner of both the Palm Springs Opera Guild of the Desert Vocal Competition and the Los Angeles Young Artists of the Future competition and a Finalist in the inaugural José Iturbi International Vocal Competition.

Yet, for all the acclaim and awards he has received, Kalil does not confine his artistry to the operatic stage. He sings a variety of genres, including musical theater, spirituals, jazz, pop, and world music.