American tenor AJ Glueckert has made a name for himself internationally, particularly for his interpretation of demanding roles from Romantic, late Romantic and Modern operas, with composers such as Wagner, Strauss, Mahler, Zemlinsky, Szymanowski, Orff, Stravinsky, Janáček, Dvořák and others.

In the 2024/25 season, he will perform at Oper Frankfurt in new productions of Berg’s Lulu (Alwa) and Magnard’s Guercœur (Heurtal), as well as in Janáček’s From a House of the Dead (Skuratov). In Amsterdam, he will appear at the Dutch National Opera as the Emperor in Die Frau ohne Schatten and at the Concertgebouw as Macho et al. in Otto Ketting’s Ithaka under Antony Hermus. In summer 2025, he will then sing Erik in Der fliegende Holländer in the first Wagner production of the Opera in the Quarry in St. Margarethen, which will also be broadcast on Austrian national television, in a production by Philipp M. Krenn and under the musical direction of Patrick Lange. At the turn of the year, he will perform Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra under Pablo Gonzales and he will sing Verdi’s Requiem with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under Domingo Hindoyan.

He opened his 2023/24 season as Doctor Marianus in Mahler’s 8th Symphony with the Basque National Orchestra and the Navarre Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Robert Treviño. At Opera Cologne, he made his house and role debut as the Emperor in Die Frau ohne Schatten by Richard Strauss, and in addition to various revivals at Frankfurt Opera, he gave his role debut as Görge in a new production of Alexander von Zemlinsky’s Der Traumgörge there. As in the previous season, he returned to Deutsche Oper Berlin for Antikrist by Rued Langaard. He also performed Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra under Domingo Hindoyan at the Freiburg Konzerthaus.

Important productions in 2022/23 included Zemlinsky’s Florentine Tragedy at Deutsche Oper Berlin, in which he sang Guido Bardi, as well as the new production of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at Frankfurt Opera and that of the Budapest Wagner Days in June 2023, where AJ Gluecker could be heard as Walther von Stolzing. He also returned to the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and the Macerata Opera Festival in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony conducted by Zubin Mehta.

AJ Glueckert had made his house debut at the Maggio Musicale in this piece under Maestro Mehta in the 2021/22 season, and had also returned there as Bacchus in Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos conducted by Daniele Gatti. At the Deutsche Oper Berlin, he gave his house debut in the opera Antikrist.

At Frankfurt Opera, where he has been a member of the ensemble since 2016/17, he has appeared on stage as Don José (Carmen), as the eponymous character in Wagner’s Lohengrin and as Herod in Strauss’ Salome, amongst others. In recent years, he has won over audiences there in versatile roles such as Edrisi (Król Roger), Count Vaudémont (Iolanta), Flamand (Capriccio), Lyonel (Martha, CD on OehmsClassics), Froh (Das Rheingold), Skuratov (From the House of the Dead), Erik (Der fliegende Holländer), Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly) and as the Prince in Rusalka, a role he had also previously sung at Minnesota Opera and New Orleans Opera.

His role debut as the Emperor (Die Frau ohne Schatten) at Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam, planned for the 2019/20 season, was unfortunately cancelled due to the Corona pandemic. His important role debut as Lohengrin at the Tyrolian Festival in Erl as well as concerts with the Budapest Festival Orchestra under Iván Fischer (Ariadne auf Naxos/ Bacchus) in Vicenza and with the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra (Beethoven’s 9th Symphony) in Tokyo could fortunately take place despite the pandemic.

In the summer of 2018, he could be heard as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly at Santa Fe Opera. In 2016/17 AJ Glueckert made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Erik in Der fliegende Holländer under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin.  He gave his debut at the Glyndebourne Festival as Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos, a role that he had previously sung at the Opera Theatre of Saint-Louis. He made his role debut as Don José in Carmen with Pittsburgh Opera in 2015. At Philadelphia Opera and Minnesota Opera, he sang in the world premiere of Kevin Puts’ Silent Night.

In concert, AJ Glueckert has collaborated with the Utah Symphony, the Santa Clara and Sacramento Symphony Orchestra and others.

As a former Adler Fellow and alumnus of the Merola Opera Program, AJ Glueckert has special ties to San Francisco Opera. He was also part of the Santa Fe Opera and Utah Opera Young Artists programs. A graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, he has twice won regional Metropolitan Opera National Auditions competitions.