Biography
In spring 2012 the self-titled album Noah placed tenor Noah Stewart at the summit of Britain’s classical music charts, the first Black musician ever to reach that position. Years of intensive study and a persistent search for a personal artistic identity lay behind what looked like sudden fame, yet his path still unfolded like a classic ascent from hardship to recognition.
He and his sister grew up in Harlem under their mother’s care. From an early age Stewart loved to sing and gained admission to LaGuardia Arts High School, where he performed in a Caldara opera and provided backing vocals for Mariah Carey, Coolio, and Hootie & the Blowfish. An encounter with Leontyne Price, whose trailblazing career he had long admired, prompted him to enter and win a scholarship to Juilliard. The school’s exacting standards differed sharply from his previous experience, yet the training proved invaluable; he was on tour in Germany with the Bach Society of Columbia, singing Acis and Galatea, when he missed his own graduation ceremony.
Initially buoyed by self-assurance, Stewart next sought roles and further awards, only to be repeatedly rejected and advised to pursue additional preparation. For three years he held a succession of ordinary jobs, one of them as receptionist at Carnegie Hall, until he secured a scholarship to the San Francisco Opera. That opportunity led to another three-year fellowship, during which he made his professional debut in the world premiere of Philip Glass’s Appomattox.
Thereafter Stewart assumed several prominent parts and accumulated further honors. He portrayed the Prince in John Adams’s A Flowering Tree, sang Don José in Carmen for Chicago Opera Theater, and performed Luigi in Il Tabarro under Lorin Maazel. He also joined Opera Africa for a tour of South Africa and collected multiple prizes, among them the Mario Lanza Competition for Tenors, named for another of his inspirations. In 2012 he stepped onto the Covent Garden stage for the first time in Judith Weir’s Achterbahn, reprising the role of Hassan that he had created at the Bregenzer Festspiel premiere.
His debut release on Decca reflected the breadth of his musical interests, moving among opera, gospel, and popular repertoire. Stewart’s assured command of these varied idioms, together with the arc of his career, has endeared him to crossover listeners while his operatic engagements continue to expand.
He and his sister grew up in Harlem under their mother’s care. From an early age Stewart loved to sing and gained admission to LaGuardia Arts High School, where he performed in a Caldara opera and provided backing vocals for Mariah Carey, Coolio, and Hootie & the Blowfish. An encounter with Leontyne Price, whose trailblazing career he had long admired, prompted him to enter and win a scholarship to Juilliard. The school’s exacting standards differed sharply from his previous experience, yet the training proved invaluable; he was on tour in Germany with the Bach Society of Columbia, singing Acis and Galatea, when he missed his own graduation ceremony.
Initially buoyed by self-assurance, Stewart next sought roles and further awards, only to be repeatedly rejected and advised to pursue additional preparation. For three years he held a succession of ordinary jobs, one of them as receptionist at Carnegie Hall, until he secured a scholarship to the San Francisco Opera. That opportunity led to another three-year fellowship, during which he made his professional debut in the world premiere of Philip Glass’s Appomattox.
Thereafter Stewart assumed several prominent parts and accumulated further honors. He portrayed the Prince in John Adams’s A Flowering Tree, sang Don José in Carmen for Chicago Opera Theater, and performed Luigi in Il Tabarro under Lorin Maazel. He also joined Opera Africa for a tour of South Africa and collected multiple prizes, among them the Mario Lanza Competition for Tenors, named for another of his inspirations. In 2012 he stepped onto the Covent Garden stage for the first time in Judith Weir’s Achterbahn, reprising the role of Hassan that he had created at the Bregenzer Festspiel premiere.
His debut release on Decca reflected the breadth of his musical interests, moving among opera, gospel, and popular repertoire. Stewart’s assured command of these varied idioms, together with the arc of his career, has endeared him to crossover listeners while his operatic engagements continue to expand.
Albums
