Ric Furman
The Heldentenor Ric Furman is one of the internationally sought-after interpreters of his Fach. Regular engagements take him to renowned opera houses and festivals around the world. He is particularly valued for his interpretations of the German and late-Romantic repertoire, especially the major Wagner roles.
His engagements in the 2026/27 season include Siegfried (Götterdämmerung) at Deutsche Oper am Rhein, a return invitation to perform Liszt’s Faust Symphony with the Polish Baltic Philharmonic, as well as Siegmund (Die Walküre) with the Dresdner Musikfestspiele in Shanghai and at the Wiener Konzerthaus.
Recent career highlights include his debut as Tristan (Tristan und Isolde) at Theater Lübeck, Florestan (Fidelio) in Bari, the new production and revival of Die Walküre at Theater Basel, as well as concert performances of the same work under Kent Nagano in Amsterdam and Cologne. He also sang Siegmund (Die Walküre) in Beijing with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Petr Popelka. In the past 2025/26 season, he appeared as the tenor soloist in Liszt’s Faust Symphony with the Polish Baltic Philharmonic, as Der Fremde (Das Wunder der Heliane) at the Opéra National du Rhin, and as Tristan (Tristan und Isolde) at the Internationalen Maifestspielen Wiesbaden.
Other important stages in his career took Ric Furman to Theater Magdeburg, where he established himself with his debut as the Prince (Rusalka) and later in further roles such as Siegmund (Die Walküre), Anatol (Vanessa) and the title role in Peter Grimes. He subsequently also performed the latter role at Staatstheater Augsburg. Further engagements took him as Erik (The Flying Dutchman) to the Budapest Wagner Days, as Boris (Káťa Kabanová) to Scottish Opera Glasgow, and with Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 to the Orchestre National de Lille. He appeared as Bacchus (Ariadne auf Naxos) and Matteo (Arabella) at renowned German opera houses; with Opera North, he toured Great Britain as Bacchus (Ariadne auf Naxos). Further career highlights include appearances as Augustin Moser, the Tailor (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg) at the Bayreuth Festival, and the title role in The Tales of Hoffmann at the Komische Oper Berlin.
His ensemble engagement at Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden from the 2015/16 season laid the foundation for his international career. There he developed a wide-ranging repertoire and appeared, among others, as Dimitri (Boris Godunov), Don Álvaro (La forza del destino), Rodolfo (La Bohème), Cavaradossi (Tosca), Pollione (Norma), the Emperor (Die Frau ohne Schatten) and Siegmund (Die Walküre). Since then, Ric Furman has enjoyed an internationally successful career as a freelance artist.
Ric Furman began his musical training at the College Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati and continued his studies at Western Illinois University. His first engagements took him to Seattle Opera, Virginia Opera, Portland Opera and the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra. In 2014, as one of nine finalists, he reached the final round of the International Wagner Singing Competition and was named a prize winner by the New York City Wagner Society.