Was ist Henry?

An accomplished soloist in venues across the United States and Europe, Henry Pleas is a tenor equally at home on the operatic stage and intimate recital halls. Mr. Pleas studied at Brown University, the University of Illinois, and Northwestern University.

Mr. Pleas has sung under conductors Helmut Rilling, Christoph Eschenbach, James Conlon, Bruno Bartoletti, and Roger Norrington. Principal roles include the title role in Offenbach's Tales of Hoffman,Turriddu in Cavalleria Rusticana, and Don Jose in Carmen. Mr. Pleas has also appeared as soloist in presentations of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, Handel's Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, Vaughan Williams’s Hodie and the extended cantata, Done Made my Vow by american composer Adolphus Hailstork with the Grand Rapids Symphony.

Henry Pleas was a finalist in the 2008 Lotte Lehman CyberSing competition, past winner of the Maderia award for Excellence in Music at Brown University, and a past participant in the Lyric Opera Center for American Artists. He performed both Schubert’s Schwanengesang and Die Winterreise at the Pianoforte Foundation’s Schubertiade and other venues.

Henry Pleas' recent performances with Chamber Opera Chicago in Maria la O was described by ChicagoClassicalReview.com as "riveting".  He performend the role of Camille with Sinfonietta Bel Canto in Die Lustige Witwe (German) in November, 2011.  Mr. Pleas is the tenor in the Vocal Ensemble Salon, gaining increased attention for its classically based, yet diverse, entaining programming and beautiful sound.  He appears frequently in performances of Deep River: A spiritua Journey, an inspiring presentation of an original story written for Mr Pleas and accompanied by his singing of African-American spirituals.  Deep River will be presented on February 23 at Naperville's North Central College in the evening.

Mr. Pleas appears on three commercially released recordings:Deep River: a Spiritual Journey (1998), Cantata (2003)and Chris Garofalo’s recording of original compositions, Silhouettes (2005).