American lyric tenor, James Baumgardner, has garnered much praise and attention for his versatile vocal and dramatic abilities. He has performed across the tenor repertoire in lyric roles including Alfredo in Verdi's La Traviata and Pinkerton in Puccini's Madama Butterfly, to the lighter lyric challenges of Almaviva in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia and Ferrando in Mozart's Cosi fan tutti. Other recognizable roles have included Tonio in Donizetti's La fille du Régiment, Don Ottavio in Mozart's Don Giovanni, and George Gibbs in Rorem's Our Town. James feels at home in both dramatic and comedic roles and is consistently recognized for his acting and characterization.
Originally hailing from Denver, Colorado James has performed with many of the Colorado area's top opera companies including Opera Colorado, Opera Fort Collins, Opera Theatre of the Rockies, and the Central City Opera. James' performance with Opera Fort Collins in the role of Tonio in Donizetti's La file du Régiment, was met with great acclaim; especially for his interpretation of the famous tenor aria "Ah mes amis". He has also been a finalist for both the Rocky Mountain Region of the Metropolitan Opera and Denver Lyric Opera Guild Competitions.
In 2011, James moved to New York City to continue his pursuit of a national and international career and quickly became one of the most sought after young tenors in the New York artist’s community. While living in New York, James had his European debut in Vienna, Austria with Opera Moderne’s production of Der Kaiser von Atlantis. The production was highly acclaimed by both American and Austrian papers including the prestigious Opera News and the Vienna Daily Standard. James also worked for companies around the Northeastern region including the North Shore Music Festival, Dicapo Opera, Amore Opera, Church of the Redeemer Concert Series, and as a regular soloist and assistant director for the Central Church Chorale located on Park Avenue.
As a young artist, James trained with two of North America's premier apprentice programs at the Central City Opera, and the Santa Fe Opera. In 2009, James received the award for "Studio Artist of the Year" at Central City Opera. In 2010 he was given the great privilege to join the Apprentice Singer Program at Santa Fe Opera. While there, he performed in the Apprentice Artist Showcase as Laurie from Mark Adamo's Little Women, and in the comedic role of Lippo Fiorentino in the famous "Ice Cream Sextet" in Kurt Weill's Street Scene. James also covered the role of Nathanäel in that summer's production of Les contes de Hoffmann.
Outside of opera, James performs in concerts and recitals around the Western and Northeastern region of the United States as both a classical artist and as the most recent member of the well beloved men’s quartet “Legacy” which performs regularly on a national and international basis.
Originally hailing from Denver, Colorado James has performed with many of the Colorado area's top opera companies including Opera Colorado, Opera Fort Collins, Opera Theatre of the Rockies, and the Central City Opera. James' performance with Opera Fort Collins in the role of Tonio in Donizetti's La file du Régiment, was met with great acclaim; especially for his interpretation of the famous tenor aria "Ah mes amis". He has also been a finalist for both the Rocky Mountain Region of the Metropolitan Opera and Denver Lyric Opera Guild Competitions.
In 2011, James moved to New York City to continue his pursuit of a national and international career and quickly became one of the most sought after young tenors in the New York artist’s community. While living in New York, James had his European debut in Vienna, Austria with Opera Moderne’s production of Der Kaiser von Atlantis. The production was highly acclaimed by both American and Austrian papers including the prestigious Opera News and the Vienna Daily Standard. James also worked for companies around the Northeastern region including the North Shore Music Festival, Dicapo Opera, Amore Opera, Church of the Redeemer Concert Series, and as a regular soloist and assistant director for the Central Church Chorale located on Park Avenue.
As a young artist, James trained with two of North America's premier apprentice programs at the Central City Opera, and the Santa Fe Opera. In 2009, James received the award for "Studio Artist of the Year" at Central City Opera. In 2010 he was given the great privilege to join the Apprentice Singer Program at Santa Fe Opera. While there, he performed in the Apprentice Artist Showcase as Laurie from Mark Adamo's Little Women, and in the comedic role of Lippo Fiorentino in the famous "Ice Cream Sextet" in Kurt Weill's Street Scene. James also covered the role of Nathanäel in that summer's production of Les contes de Hoffmann.
Outside of opera, James performs in concerts and recitals around the Western and Northeastern region of the United States as both a classical artist and as the most recent member of the well beloved men’s quartet “Legacy” which performs regularly on a national and international basis.