Miles Mykkanen (Bessemer, MI) is acclaimed around the world for his “powerful lyric tenor seemingly capable of infinite dynamic gradations.” (Opera) His performances have brought him to the stages of The Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, Hamburg State Opera, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, and Lincoln Center. Mykkanen’s repertoire spans from the operas of Mozart, Tchaikovsky and Wagner, to songs of Schumann, Britten and Debussy, to cabarets of Sondheim, Menken and Styne.
This season Miles sang two title roles in Switzerland and Chicago, Verdi in Hamburg, Wagner in Toronto, understudied the legendary Lawrence Brownlee at The Metropolitan Opera, and made his NYC cabaret debut with Adam Rothenberg in the Café Sabarsky at the Neue Galerie — which led to a commission from The Metropolitan Museum of Art for the duo to perform a new cabaret act next to the Van Gogh exhibit earlier this summer.
Mykkanen’s passion is to create art that is entertaining, provoking and accessible to the communities it serves. When he’s off the stage, Miles frequently teaches master classes and develops new work with composers. He created the Emberlight Festival as a way to expose his hometown to world-class artists while also celebrating the many artists who live in this region and, frankly, created him.
He holds AD, MM, BM degrees from The Juilliard School and trained at the Interlochen Arts Academy, Franz Schubert Institute, Marlboro School of Music, Wolf Trap Opera, and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. The tenor is the recipient of prizes from the Sullivan Foundation, Tucker Foundation, Toulmin Foundation, Novick Career Advancement Grant, youngARTS, Juilliard’s Joseph W. Polisi Award, and The Metropolitan Opera.
Follow Miles @TheMilesShow and MilesMykkanen.com