Hawaiian Baritone Jordan Shanahan made his professional debut as Silvio / I PAGLIACCI with the Natchez Opera Festival in 2002. Since then, he has performed over 70 major roles, including appearances at The Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera Chicago, the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, and other leading theaters and festivals around the world.
His repertoire includes a wide variety of roles including both Rossini`s and Mozart’s FIGARO, bel canto roles such as Donizetti’s Belcore / L’ELISIR D’AMORE, or Enrico / LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR, and even Tchaikovsky’s EUGENE ONEGIN and Prince Yeletsky / PIQUE DAME. In addition to standard repertoire, his ability to interpret roles such as Joseph de Rocher / DEAD MAN WALKING, Robert Oppenheimer / DR. ATOMIC, The Protector / WRITTEN ON SKIN, and Il Uomo / SENZA SANGUE has earned him the trust of many of the most important composers of our own day and age.
Today Jordan is best known for his interpretations of the some of the most dramatic roles in the operatic repertoire. He is in high demand for roles such as the title parts in DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER and RIGOLETTO, as well as Jochanaan / SALOME, Scarpia / TOSCA, Telramund / LOHENGRIN and Don Carlo di Vargas / LA FORZA DEL DESTINO.
In the summer of 2019 Jordan Shanahan celebrated his debut at the Bregenz Festival as Monterone and also in the title role in RIGOLETTO in Philipp Stölzl's celebrated new production. Future engagements include Escamillo in Bern, Pizarro in Biel as part of a concert version of FIDELIO, SENZA SANGUE under Peter Eötvös with theBrussels Philharmonic, Posa in a new production of Verdi's DON CARLO in Essen, the title role in DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER at the Rheinoper in Düsseldorf and various gala concerts e.g. at the KKL in Lucerne.
On the concert stage Jordan Shanahan has found success in an equally wide ranging repertoire. From Verdi’s REQUIEM to the Cantata’s of J.S. Bach he has enjoyed critical acclaim at Carnegie Hall, MUPA Budapest, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and with other major orchestras across Europe and the United States.
As a teenager he found early success performing in locally produced musicals in Honolulu, and at age 17 was named principal trombonist of the Hawai’i Youth Symphony. At the University of Hawai’i Manoa he studied Trombone and Composition before focusing his study on singing. In 1998 he moved to Philadelphia and accepted a full scholarship to study Opera Performance at Temple University. Later he was invited to join Opera Studio Nederland, and the Ryan Center at Lyric Opera Chicago.
Jordan now lives in Switzerland and performs regularly in Europe, North America, Asia, and of course in Hawai’i.