Jacob Scharfman
baritone
Video & Audio
Biography
American baritone Jacob Scharfman joined the ensemble of Theater Lübeck in the autumn 2022 and has already made highly successful role debuts there as Heerrufer Lohengrin, Conte Le nozze di Figaro, Sid Albert Herring and Paolo Albiani Simone Boccanegra. This season his new roles include the title role in Eugene Onegin, Valentin Faust and Schaunard La Bohème.
His house debut at Staatsoper Hannover took place in 2022 as Demetrius A midsummer night’s dream. Jacob Scharfman sang Steuermann Tristan und Isolde at Theater Chemnitz, where his scheduled role debuts as Vater Hänsel und Gretel and Escamillo Carmen were cancelled, due to the pandemic.
In the 2019-2020 season he was an opera studio member at Opéra national du Rhin, where he performed Hunter/ Gamekeeper Rusalka, Ramiro L’heure espagnole and Le maître-nageur in the world premiere of the children’s opera Marlène Baleine. In 2018-2019, as a member of the Gerard Mortier opera studio at Salzburger Landestheater, he made his role debuts as Guglielmo Cosi fan tutte, Masetto Don Giovanni, Lescaut and De Brétigny in Massenet’s Manon, Filippo in Rossini’s La gazzetta and Willem/ Priest in Philip Glass’ The Trial.
Jacob Scharfman obtained his Master of Music and a Novick Career Grant from The Juilliard School in 2018. During his studies he sang Nardo La finta giardiniera, Pallante in Händel’s Agrippina and covered the roles of Fluth in Nicolai’s Merry Wives of Windsor and Steward in Jonathan Dove’s Flight. In 2017 he was a Studio Artist with Central City Opera in Colorado and spent the summer of 2018 with the Merola Opera Program at San Francisco Opera, performing Nick Shadow The Rake’s Progress and Malatesta Don Pasquale. His early roles include Charlie in Jake Heggie’s Three Decembers with Opera Fayetteville, Rugby in Vaughan Williams’ Sir John in Love with Odyssey Opera and Mr.Webb in Ned Rorem's Our Town with Boston Opera Collaborative.
He competed in the finals of the Toulouse International Singing Competition 2019 and won the Oratorio-Lied Prize at the Viñas Contest 2019 in Barcelona, appearing in the Prizewinner Concert at Gran Teatre del Liceu. He was nominated for Best Male Newcomer by Österreichischer Musiktheaterpreis 2020 and won 1st Prize at the National Opera Association Vocal Competition 2021. His concert repertoire includes Bach’s Cantatas and Matthäus-Passion, Brahms’ Deutsches Requiem, Händel's Israel in Egypt, Messiah, Joshua, Judas Maccabeus, Israel in Egypt, Fauré's Requiem, Mendelssohn’s Paulus and Saint-Saens’ Christmas Oratorio. He participated in masterclasses with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Pablo Heras-Casado, both streamed for Medici.tv.
His house debut at Staatsoper Hannover took place in 2022 as Demetrius A midsummer night’s dream. Jacob Scharfman sang Steuermann Tristan und Isolde at Theater Chemnitz, where his scheduled role debuts as Vater Hänsel und Gretel and Escamillo Carmen were cancelled, due to the pandemic.
In the 2019-2020 season he was an opera studio member at Opéra national du Rhin, where he performed Hunter/ Gamekeeper Rusalka, Ramiro L’heure espagnole and Le maître-nageur in the world premiere of the children’s opera Marlène Baleine. In 2018-2019, as a member of the Gerard Mortier opera studio at Salzburger Landestheater, he made his role debuts as Guglielmo Cosi fan tutte, Masetto Don Giovanni, Lescaut and De Brétigny in Massenet’s Manon, Filippo in Rossini’s La gazzetta and Willem/ Priest in Philip Glass’ The Trial.
Jacob Scharfman obtained his Master of Music and a Novick Career Grant from The Juilliard School in 2018. During his studies he sang Nardo La finta giardiniera, Pallante in Händel’s Agrippina and covered the roles of Fluth in Nicolai’s Merry Wives of Windsor and Steward in Jonathan Dove’s Flight. In 2017 he was a Studio Artist with Central City Opera in Colorado and spent the summer of 2018 with the Merola Opera Program at San Francisco Opera, performing Nick Shadow The Rake’s Progress and Malatesta Don Pasquale. His early roles include Charlie in Jake Heggie’s Three Decembers with Opera Fayetteville, Rugby in Vaughan Williams’ Sir John in Love with Odyssey Opera and Mr.Webb in Ned Rorem's Our Town with Boston Opera Collaborative.
He competed in the finals of the Toulouse International Singing Competition 2019 and won the Oratorio-Lied Prize at the Viñas Contest 2019 in Barcelona, appearing in the Prizewinner Concert at Gran Teatre del Liceu. He was nominated for Best Male Newcomer by Österreichischer Musiktheaterpreis 2020 and won 1st Prize at the National Opera Association Vocal Competition 2021. His concert repertoire includes Bach’s Cantatas and Matthäus-Passion, Brahms’ Deutsches Requiem, Händel's Israel in Egypt, Messiah, Joshua, Judas Maccabeus, Israel in Egypt, Fauré's Requiem, Mendelssohn’s Paulus and Saint-Saens’ Christmas Oratorio. He participated in masterclasses with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Pablo Heras-Casado, both streamed for Medici.tv.