Jesse Blumberg

Baritone Jesse Blumberg is known for performances in opera as well as for recitals that often feature the noted accompanist Martin Katz. He has an impressively wide repertory that stretches from the Renaissance to contemporary music. Blumberg's many recordings are indeed a varied group, including work with early music ensembles as well as conventional musicians and ensembles. They include A Few Words About Chekhov: Songs and Cycles of Dominick Argento, with Katz and others (2025). Blumberg was born in Westfield, New Jersey, in July of 1979. He attended the University of Michigan, pursuing a double major in music and history. After graduating, he went on to the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music for a master's degree. Blumberg rounded out his education by participating in young artist programs at the Santa Fe Opera, Glimmerglass Opera in New York State, the Ravinia Festival near Chicago, and the Chicago Opera Theater. He won first prize at the International Hilde Zadek Singing Competition in Vienna in 2007, and the following year, he took third prize at the International Robert Schumann Competition in Zwickau, Germany, becoming the first U.S. prize winner there in more than 30 years. By that time, Blumberg was already an experienced recording artist, having made his debut on the 2004 Naxos album David Amram: Symphony - Songs of the Soul; Shir L'erev Shabbat; The Final Ingredient. He appeared on two albums of music by composer Ricky Ian Gordon, The Grapes of Wrath (2008) and Green Sneakers (2010); on the latter, he was a primary artist, joining the Miami String Quartet. Blumberg moved to New York City in 2003 and has continued to be based there. He has a long list of operatic credits that includes appearances with the Minnesota Opera, Atlanta Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, and Boston Lyric Opera. Blumberg is noted for recital appearances with accompanist Martin Katz, and the pair released a recording of Schubert's song cycle Winterreise, D. 911, in 2016. The versatile singer has also collaborated with Baroque music ensembles, appearing with the Boston Early Music Festival Chamber Ensemble on the album Marc-Antoine Charpentier: Les Plaisirs de Versailles; Les Arts Florissants on the CPO label in 2020, as well as several other recordings with that group. In 2025, on the Bridge label, Blumberg joined Katz and others on the album A Few Words About Chekhov: Songs and Cycles of Dominick Argento. By that time, his recording catalog comprised more than 25 items. ~ James Manheim, Rovi