"The sound of David Margulis’s tenor voice was honey for the ears..."
Opera Today
Biography
Tenor David Margulis has established himself as a strong lyrical singer and actor on domestic and international opera stages alike. He has been called “radiant voiced,” and been praised for his “clear, pleasing tenor.” Of his portrayal of Tamino in Die Zauberflöte in his mainstage début at Arizona Opera, Opera Today raved: “David Margulis was an energetic Tamino who was only momentarily laid low by Pollard’s iconic monster. He sang with sumptuous lyrical sounds conveyed on a well-honed legato.”
In the 2018-19 Season, Mr. Margulis reprises the role of Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Cleveland Opera Theater, debuts as Kronprinz in Silent Night with Austin Opera and makes his house debut at Palm Beach Opera, singing Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni. In the summer for 2018, Mr. Margulis debuted with Teatro Nuovo as Argirio in Tancredi rifatto. Earlier in the season, Mr. Margulis also sang in Ballet Tucson’s concert, A Tribute to Leonard Bernstein, as part of the Tucson Desert Song Festival, performed as the tenor soloist with Buffalo Philharmonic in selections from Cosí fan tutte, Don Giovanni, and Le Nozze di Figaro and returned to Arizona Opera as Almaviva for Il barbiere di Siviglia.
During the 2016-17 season, Mr. Margulis appeared as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland, Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Opera Grand Rapids, Will in Middlemarch in Spring with Ash Lawn Opera, Florville in Il signor Bruschino with Zurich Chamber Orchestra, and Gherardo in Gianni Schicchi and Torquemada in L’heure espagnole both with Opéra national de Lorraine in Nancy, France.
During the 2015-16 season, Mr. Margulis joined the prestigious Internationales Opernstudio at Opernhaus Zürich where he demonstrated his refined dramatic sensibilities in a variety of operas including Jonathan Dove’s musical fairy tale The Enchanted Pig, Rossini’s colorful comic opera Le comte Ory, Haydn’s rarely seen “heroic-comic drama” Orlando paladino, Mozart’s hilarious comic singspiel Der Schauspieldirektor, and Tchaikovsky’s Pique Dame. Additional operatic engagements include the role of Borsa in Rigoletto in his main stage début with Opera Santa Barbara; a double bill of Der Schauspieldirektor/Le rossignol in his main stage début with Santa Fe Opera; the inaugural New York Festival Song at North Fork program; and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Phoenix Symphony. He also was seen at Tuscon Desert Song Festival performing on a program for the Ravinia Steans Music Institute on Tour with Kevin Murphy.
Mr. Margulis has earned a reputation as a champion of new works after being a part of numerous workshops including Theodore Morrison’s first opera, Oscar, at The Santa Fe Opera and the workshop première of Bohmler's Riders of the Purple Sage at Arizona Opera. He has also premièred several new works including the tenor solo in Robert Kyr's Pacific Sanctus.
Additionally, Mr. Margulis has been engaged by some of the finest training programs in the country, where his assignments have included: Goro in Madama Butterfly and Léon in The Ghosts of Versailles at Wolf Trap Opera; Ernesto in Don Pasquale, Alfredo in La traviata, Steuermann in Die fliegende Holländer, Ralph Rackstraw in H.M.S. Pinafore, Basilio/Curzio in Le nozze di Figaro, and Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor at Arizona Opera; Young Servant in Elektra at Des Moines Metro Opera; Selimo in Maometto II at Santa Fe Opera; Molqi in The Death of Klinghoffer at Opera Theatre St. Louis; and Tybalt in Roméo et Juliette at Seagle Music Colony. While a fellow at the Ravinia Steans Music Institute, he was privileged to work with some of the most respected coaches and conductors in the world, including Kevin Murphy, Malcolm Martineau, and James Conlon.
Mr. Margulis holds degrees from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, The University of Washington, and Florida State University. David is a three-time Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and recently, became a finalist in the Giulio Gari 2017 International Vocal Competition.
Media
An die Hoffnung (Beethoven)
"Ho viaggiato in Francia, in Spagna"
Orlando Paladino (Haydn)
"Se ostinata ancor non cedi"
Tancredi rifatto (Rossini)
The Moon's Aria,
Das Verzauberte Schwein (Dove)
"Dalla sua pace"
Don Giovanni (Mozart)
Publicity
Performance
Acclaim
Tancredi rifatto, Teatro Nuovo
"The work of David Margulis as Argirio gave me yet a new occasion to be grateful for the current profusion of Rossini tenors. His voice was slender but focused, his phrasing was sensitive, and his articulation of rapid coloratura was expert."
Fred Cohn, Opera News
Die Zauberflote, Arizona Opera
“David Margulis was an energetic Tamino who was only momentarily laid low by Pollard’s iconic monster. He sang with sumptuous lyrical sounds conveyed on a well-honed legato."
Maria Nockin, Opera Today
Don Pasquale, Arizona Opera
“The sound of David Margulis’s tenor voice was honey for the ears."
Maria Nockin, Opera Today
Elektra, Des Moines Metro Opera
“David Margulis made an especially fine impression with his clear, pleasing tenor, making the most of his brief turn as the Young Servant."
Jim Sohre, Opera Today
Tancredi rifatto, Teatro Nuovo
“Tenor David Margulis excelled in the role of the considerate statesman and father Argirio, singing high notes with fine-tuned, clear sound and elegant phrasing."
Edward Sava-Segal, Bachtrack
Orlando Paladino, Opernhaus Zürich
“Pasquale is a kindred spirit to Mozart’s Leporello. In fact, Pasquale’s bragging, tongue-twisting buffo aria Ho viaggiato in Francia, in Spagna will remind contemporary audiences of Leporello’s Catalogue aria, from Mozart’s “Don Giovanni”, which premiered five years later. Margulis performed these immediately accessible arias brilliantly."
Opera Warhorses
Orlando Paladino, Opernhaus Zürich
“Virtuosic and full of character was American tenor David Margulis as Pasquale.”
Alessandro Anghinoni, Opera Magazine (Netherlands)
Il Signor Bruschino, Zürich Chamber Orchestra
“David Margulis is a vocally winning, elegant tenor.”
Felix Michel, Neue Zurcher Zeitung
Mozart’s Operatic Favorites, Buffalo Philharmonic
“…in "Don Giovanni," David Margulis soared in the famous tenor showpiece ‘Dalla Sua Pace.’”
Mary Kunz Goldman, Buffalo News