Deemed an “impressive tenor” (The New York Times), Gene Stenger is a Bach specialist who is also heralded for his “crisp, clear tenor in action” (Washington Post) of his performances of oratorios by Handel, Haydn, Mendelssohn, and Mozart. He regularly performs with leading ensembles and interpreters of early music while continuing to expand his repertoire to include music of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Mr. Stenger’s 2025-26 season features solo engagements with Toledo Symphony (Handel’s Messiah), Portland Symphony (Bach’s Mass in B Minor), Bach Society of St. Louis (Mozart’s Requiem & Schubert’s Mass in G), Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra (Handel’s Messiah), Colorado Bach Ensemble (Handel’s Messiah & Bach’s St. John Passion), Berkshire Bach Festival (Bach’s St. John Passion), Princeton Pro Musica (Bach’s Magnificat), WindSync’s OnStage OffStage Chamber Music Festival (Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde), Bach Collegium San Diego (BWV 106 & TVWV 4:17), Fifth Avenue Presbyterian NY Chamber Orchestra (Bach’s St. John Passion), and the Rockefeller Chapel Baroque Orchestra at the University of Chicago (Bach’s St. John Passion).
Equally at home in opera, Gene has performed with Teatro Nuovo at Lincoln Center, Opera LaFayette at the Kennedy Center, and premiered new works with both Odyssey Opera at Jordan Hall (Rosner’s The Chronicle of Nine), and the Harvard University Choirs (Kallembach’s American Jezebel: The Trial of Anne Hutchinson). In 2024, he received a jump-in offer from ResonanceWorks Pittsburgh to sing his first Rossini role in Rossini’s opera La donna del lago for which he was lauded by The Pittsburgh Tatler as “particularly stunning…. with a vibrant and powerful voice and a charismatic stage presence.” He recently made his debut with Winter Opera St. Louis, performing the role of Alexis in Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Sorcerer, and this summer will be performing Spoletta in Puccini’s Tosca with Opera Theater of Connecticut, and Don Ottavio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with the Staunton Music Festival.
Originally from Pittsburgh, Gene holds degrees from Yale University’s School of Music, and Institute of Sacred Music, Colorado State University, and Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Music.