Andrew Wilkowske

Andrew Wilkowske – when singing a “virile, sturdy Marcello” or a “garrulous yet endearing” Papageno – displays an engaging combination of musical talent and masterful stage presence. According to Opera News, Wilkowske’s recent performance in L’elisir d’amore with Utah Opera was “played with on-the-nose hubris and vocal swagger.” 

Recent engagements have included Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore with Dayton Opera; the world premiere of Joel Puckett and Eric Simonson’s The Fix with Minnesota Opera; Le nozze di Figaro with Cincinnati Opera; Così fan tutte with Mil City Summer Opera; Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with the Shreveport Symphony; preview performances of Stay, a newly commissioned opera by John Glover and Kelley Rourke with On Site Opera; Die Zauberflöte with Komische Oper Berlin and Minnesota Opera; Don Pasquale with Fort Worth Opera and Minnesota Opera; Dead Man Walking with Minnesota Opera; Il barbiere di Siviglia with Florentine Opera; Silent Night with Austin Opera and Atlanta Opera; and Ein Deutsches Requiem with the Duluth Symphony.  

Current engagements include Papageno in Die Zauberflöte with Des Moines Metro Opera; and a return to Minnesota Opera as Sulpice in La fille du régiment.  

Wilkowske recently sang in the world premiere of The Invention of Morel by Stewart Copeland with Chicago Opera Theater and Long Beach Opera. Other recent premieres include Lucy, by John Glover and Kelley Rourke with Milwaukee Opera Theatre and Urban Arias; Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell’s Silent Night with Minnesota Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Cincinnati Opera, Atlanta Opera, Austin Opera and Lyric Opera Kansas City; Kirke Mechem’s The Rivals with Skylight Music Theatre; The Grapes of Wrath, by Ricky Ian Gordon and Michael Korie with Minnesota Opera and Pittsburgh Opera;  The Fly, by Howard Shore and Henry David Hwang with Los Angeles Opera. He has also been heavily involved in Minnesota Opera’s New Works Initiative, having participated in workshops for Doubt and The Shining.  

Wilkowske co-created the rock recital Guns N’ Rosenkavalier with composer John Glover, featuring the music of Schubert, Schumann, Faurè, Strauss, Van Halen, Bruce Springsteen, Alicia Keys and Madonna.  The concert was most recently heard at 5 Boroughs Music Festival in New York, and has also played to acclaim at Mill City Summer Opera, Glimmerglass Opera and Milwaukee Opera Theatre.   

On the musical theatre stage, Wilkowske’s performance in Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris was called “chilling” and “deeply moving” by the St. Paul Pioneer Press, and his performance in the world premiere of Sleeping Beauty with the Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati earned him a nomination for a Cincinnati Entertainment Award. 

Wilkowske’s escapades as opera’s favorite barber are documented in his award-winning “A Year of Figaro” blog.