Norman Shankle, tenor

American tenor Norman Shankle is currently enjoying worldwide acclaim for his portrayals of Mozart and Rossini’s most famous tenors. The Boston Globe called Shankle, “a real find, a singer of elegance, grace and conviction,” and the San Francisco Chronicle praised him equally as “clearly a singer to watch.”

In the 2025-2026 season, Mr. Shankle is pleased to return to The Metropolitan Opera as Peter in Porgy & Bess and début with Orpheus PDX as Publio in Il sogno di Scipione. The 2024-2025 season saw his début with Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra for Sanctuary Road, his début with South Florida Symphony in Handel’s Messiah and Mozart’s Requiem, his return to Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra for the premiere of Home Run Away from Me paired with Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, and a return to National Philharmonic for their Messiah. Previous seasons’ engagements include his return to Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra for Saint-Saëns’ Oratorio de Noël and Handel’s Messiah and the National Philharmonic for their Messiah, in addition to Elijah with the Washington Chorus. Mr. Shankle has also been featured in the National Philharmonic’s performances of Berlioz’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, and Adolphus Hailstork’s Symphony No. 5; Mozart’s Requiem with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra; Messiah with Glacier Symphony Orchestra; Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra’s Classical Christmas concert; and Sanctuary Road with Penn Square Music Festival.

Other notable engagements for Mr. Shankle have included the tenor solo in Mozart’s Requiem, Adolphus

Hailstork’s A Knee On a Neck, and Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis for the National Philharmonic; Sanctuary

Road with North Carolina Opera; it all falls down and The Rift for the Washington National Opera;

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 for Helena Symphony; Cassio in Otello for Pacific Symphony; and the

performance and recording of Damien Geter’s An African American Requiem at the Kennedy Center with

the Choral Arts Society of Washington. Shankle also returned to Northern Lights Music Festival as Ramiro

in La Cenerentola and performed a gala concert for Knoxville Opera. He sang Lindoro in L’italiana in Algeri

with Opera Memphis and Piedmont Opera, Ferrando in a concert performance of Così fan tutte with the

National Philharmonic at the Kennedy Center, Remus in Treemonisha with the Phoenicia International

Festival of the Voice, Nick in La fanciulla del West with Opera Colorado, Count Almaviva in Il barbiere di

Siviglia with the Northern Lights Music Festival, the tenor soloist in Atlanta Symphony’s performances of

Bach’s Cantata No. 29 and Vaughn Williams’ Serenade to Music, and Handel’s Messiah with Boston

Baroque, Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, and the National

Philharmonic. He also reprised the role of Elder Barber/Gus Greenlee in The Summer King, a new opera

that explores the life of Josh Gibson, “one of the greatest Negro League baseball players,” with Michigan

Opera Theatre — a role he had previously created for Pittsburgh Opera.

Norman’s vast international concert experience includes Carlo in Rossini’s Armida and Laïos in Enescu’s

Œdipe at the Edinburgh International Festival; Handel’s Saul conducted by René Jacobs at Palais de Beaux

Arts, Brussels; Tito in La clemenza di Tito with the Münchener Kammerorchester in Amsterdam; and

Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn & Strings with the International Bach Akademie. US symphonic

engagements include Messiah with the Cincinnati Symphony and Houston Symphony Orchestra; Britten’s War Requiem with the San Francisco Choral Society; as well as appearances with the Essen Philharmonic,

Choral Arts Society of Washington, and New Century Chamber Orchestra.

Norman began his career with San Francisco Opera’s Merola Opera Program and as an Adler Fellow. He

made his company mainstage début as Valletto in L’incoronazione di Poppea, and he subsequently

appeared in SFO’s productions of Tristan und Isolde, Don Carlo, Prokofiev’s Betrothal in a Monastery,

Louise, Lucia di Lammermoor, Idomeneo, and Don Giovanni. Norman was selected as a winner of the

distinguished ARIA award; other awards include a Richard Tucker Career Grant and the McAllister Award.