Albertson’s first foray into Wagner’s demanding vocal universe came in his house début at Lyric Opera of Chicago for their production of Das Rheingold, in which he subsequently performed the role of Donner in Minnesota Opera’s production shortly thereafter. He then went on to cover Greer Grimsley’s Wotan in Francesca Zambello’s production of Der Ring des Nibelungen for San Francisco Opera and returned to the Lyric Opera of Chicago for their production of Siegfried.

 

In his début as Wotan in Wagner’s epic masterpiece Die Walküre, in Maestro Jaap van Zweden final performance with the Dallas Symphony, Theater Jones exclaimed, “the most impressive aspect of this performance came undoubtedly from Wotan…his voice masterfully brought the character to life…Albertson’s interactions throughout the performance with his most beloved daughter, Brünnhilde, were ingeniously convincing. Coupled with Albertson’s commanding, though endearing, baritone, these moments did not seem like an opera concert at all, rather a fully realized engagement of dramatic and musical interpretation.” The Dallas News called his performance “gripping… I can't recall the opera's final parting of father and daughter so emotionally intense…this high-intensity performance will surely rank as a legend in Dallas musical history.'' This tour-de-force performance left no doubt that the next great American Wotan had arrived.         
 

Previous engagements have included his début as Scarpia in Tosca for Virginia Opera, Lieutenant Horstmayer in Silent Night with Opera San José, Escamillo in Carmen for the Phoenicia Festival, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly with New Jersey Festival Orchestra and the Northern Lights Music Festival, Zuniga in Carmen with Dallas Opera, Sacristan in Tosca with Houston Grand Opera, the Sergeant of Police in The Pirates of Penzance with The Atlanta Opera, Lescaut in Manon Lescaut with Opera Grand Rapids, DeGuiche in Cyrano with Michigan Opera Theatre and Opera Carolina, the title role in Sweeney Todd with Syracuse Opera, Sam in Trouble in Tahiti with Opera Parallel at SFJazz, and JP Morgan in the World Première of Tesla with SoBe Arts in Miami. In addition, he performed Lyndon B. Johnson in the workshop of David T. Little’s JFK and Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Fort Worth Opera; Porthos in Les Trois Mousquetaires with the Phoenicia Festival; Rucker Lattimore in Cold Sassy Tree with Sugar Creek Opera Festival; and the roles of the Prison Warden in Dead Man Walking, Hobson in Peter Grimes, and the Duke in Roméo et Juliette, all with Des Moines Metro Opera.

 

As a sought-after concert artist, a few recent highlights include Bruckner’s Te Deum with Houston Symphony; Verdi’s Requiem with The Handel Society of Dartmouth; Handel’s Messiah with Boise Philharmonic; Papageno in Boston Youth Symphony’s concert performance of Die Zauberflöte at Symphony Hall; a Carnegie Hall début in Rutter’s Mass of the Children and a subsequent return for Kevin Padworski’s Wanderlust; and a concert version of Der Rosenkavalier with Christoph Eschenbach and the National Symphony.

 

Albertson is a graduate of the Santa Fe Opera Program, Minnesota Resident Artist Program, the Glimmerglass Festival, Aspen Opera Theater Center, and Chicago Opera Theater. He appeared in a variety of productions during his training including Les contes d’Hoffmann, Le nozze di Figaro, Un ballo in maschera, Roméo et Juliette, La donna del lago, and performed the roles of Escamillo in Carmen, Harašta in The Cunning Little Vixen, Geronimo in Cimarosa’s Il matrimonio segreto, Gus O’Neill in John Musto’s Later the Same Evening, Nilakantha in Lakmé, about which critics lauded, “Kyle Albertson made an imposing Nilakantha, bringing life to a character that is barely two-dimensional,” Quince in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Henry Kissinger in Nixon in China, praised by The Chicago Sun Times and The Chicago Tribune for his “watchful” and “effective” portrayal.

 

Albertson has placed as a finalist in several competitions such as The Gerda Lissner Foundation International Vocal Competition, the George London Foundation Competition, the Marcello Giordani Competition, the Liederkranz Competition, and the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. He holds a Master of Music degree from DePaul University where he studied with world renowned mezzo-soprano Susanne Mentzer, and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Northern Iowa where he studied with David Smalley. He is currently in the studio of Dr. Steven King.