Home

„Was ist Henry, saget an.....?“

Henry Pleas is a classically trained tenor.  Many people talk about getting something (enjoyment, realization, connection) from his singing and what his powerful voice and approach communicate from the stage. This, he believes, is the power of the sung word.

”We are all about trying to say something to one another.  Trying to tell a story, express our personal feelings about love, life, the universe…or just make a connection with one another.  Words strung together in logical patterns do this, as do music.  I have the privledge of being good at expressing both together.”

Henry Pleas has appeared as leading tenor in many operatic productions, including work as soloist for Lyric Opera of Chicago, Opera Grand Rapids, Skylight Opera Theater and Chicago Opera Theater. In orchestral performance he has appeared as soloist in such works as the Beethoven Missa Solemnis, Mozart Requiem, Messiah, Vaughan William's Hodie and Adolphus Hailstork's "Done Made my Vow".

"I’ve had the priviledge over the years of working with many, many talented artists; some of them have been well known, others have not.  But I have enjoyed almost every encounter, and grown as a result from all."

For the past several years he has lived in Germany, working, improving his use of the German language and coming to understand a little better a culture that gave birth to a wealth of important poets, composers and great singers.  In Germany clearly articulated and beautiful singing  is one of the highest forms of artistic expression. His artistic focus of late has been on increased performance in the chamber format; To date he has performed such works as  Schubert's Winterreise, Liszt's Petrarch Sonnets, and a good deal of the song repetoire from Benjamin Britten.

"I’m a native Chicagoan and started making music and singing from an early age. For college, I went to Brown University, and at graduation, received the school's Madeira Prize for Excellence in Music.  After Brown, I continued music studies attending the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and later Northwestern University where I received a Master of Music degree. These days I perform, and in these opportunities try to communicate something about the nature of our existence and the history of humanity."