Joshua Kohl

Artistic Director

American tenor Joshua Kohl has been hailed for his “firm technique and dynamic phrasing" (The Baltimore Sun) and for his “strong, ringing” tone (The Washington Post). Praise for the recently released recording of Franck’s Hulda continues to roll in, but critics have been effusive: “Kohl may well be the finest singer in the opera and thus the greatest vocal strength on this recording” (MusicWeb International).

This powerful and engaging artist begins the 2021-2022 season — his fifth as a member of the ensemble at Theater Freiburg — with a role debut as Des Grieux in Manon, followed by a new production of Madama Butterfly (Pinkerton) and another role debut as Tom Rakewell in The Rake’s Progress (postponed to a future season due to the pandemic).

Suffice it to say that 2020-2021 was nothing but ordinary, as the opera world came to a halt. Mr. Kohl, however, was fortunate to be a part of a number of exciting online projects. In the fall, the newly formed Decameron Opera Coalition commissioned a number of short operas to be presented online, stitched together by a clever bit of storytelling in a collaboration titled Tales from a Safe Distance. Representing Fargo-Moorhead opera in this endeavor, the tenor played the role of the Lover in Michael Ching and Deborah Brevoort’s Dinner 4 3. In the winter, Seattle Opera’s planned live production of Jonathan Dove’s Flight was creatively repurposed into a full-fledged film. With the Museum of Flight as a backdrop, Mr. Kohl was able to present his character, Bill, in a new medium. In the spring and once again at home in Fargo, his role debut as Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia was filmed on stage and presented online in April.

The 2019-2020 season in Freiburg brought forth appearances as Fenton in Falstaff, Prologue/Peter Quint in The Turn of the Screw, and Lenski in Eugene Onegin. On the concert stage, he appeared with the Philharmonisches Orchester Freiburg as the tenor soloist in Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde. Additionally, the Stadtjubiläum in Freiburg was to celebrate the 900th anniversary of the city with hundreds of projects and over 1000 events, culminating with a performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony on the Münsterplatz. Unfortunately, Mr. Kohl’s debut performance as the tenor soloist in this seminal work was canceled as a result of the worldwide pandemic. In the United States, Mr. Kohl was to return to Fargo-Moorhead Opera as Turiddu in Cavalleria rusticana, however this production was also canceled due to the pandemic.


Regina Thiel

Executive Director