Tenor
With a radiant voice, intense theatricality, and a profound understanding of art song and operatic literature, tenor Isaí Jess Muñoz has collaborated with some of the world’s leading ensembles. Highlights have included performing with the Israel Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, American Symphony Orchestra, Mostly Mozart Festival (Lincoln Center), Voices of Ascension (New York), Verbier Festival (Switzerland), Bard Music Festival, New York City Opera, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre on Broadway.
A champion of contemporary and underrepresented works, Mr. Muñoz has recorded the 2009 Grammy-nominated album Song of the Stars with The Voices of Ascension, as well as world premiere releases of Pasatieri’s The Seagull (Albany), J.D. McClatchy and Francis Thorne’s Mario and the Magician (Albany), Hafez Nazeri’s Rumi Symphony Project Untold (Sony Classical), and David Lang’s Prisoner of the State (Decca Gold). His latest solo album, Visca L'Amor: Catalan Art Songs of the XX and XXI Centuries, is a 2021 BBC Music Magazine 5-Star honoree available on Bridge Records with worldwide distribution by Naxos. Mr. Muñoz has performed frequently with New York’s Center for Contemporary Opera; premieres included James Dashow’s electronic opera Archimides and McClatchy and Thorne’s Mario and the Magician. Reviewing Opera Omnia’s production of Cavalli’s Giasone, the New York Post declared him to be the “Funniest of the comic crew in the decidedly non PC role of the stuttering hunchback Demo.”
Mr. Muñoz is the recipient of numerous awards, including from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts Career Grant for contributions to the dissemination of Iberian and Latin American art song. For his ongoing creative activities in interdisciplinary performances, he has been recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts, National Opera Association, National Association of Teachers of Singing, American Prize, Delaware Division of the Arts, and others. From 2015-2021, he served as chair and senior editor of the Sacred in Opera Initiative, which explores the interplay between music-drama and the ideologies of world religions through research and performance.
A graduate of the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Manhattan School of Music, and Stony Brook University, Dr. Muñoz currently serves the leadership of Boston Conservatory at Berklee as Interim Dean of Music and Artistic Director of the Conservatory's Opera Innovators Series in partnership with Boston Lyric Opera. He is President of the National Opera Association.
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