Christopher Pfund

Highly lauded for his irreverent portrayals of the Roasting Swan in Carmina Burana, tenor Christopher Pfund has made the role a pillar of his career, performing it with countless orchestras across North America. In past seasons he has performed Carmina Burana with the symphony orchestras of Alabama, Des Moines, Cleveland, Colorado, Fort Wayne, Hartford, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Nashville, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Reading, and San Diego.

Recently, Christopher Pfund continued his role in performances of Carmina Burana with the Pacific Symphony and the Des Moines Symphony. Mr. Pfund performed Bach BWV 189 at the Idaho Bach Festival, of which he is co-director. Other recent engagements include performances with the Orchestre Symphonique de Quebec, the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, the Tucson Symphony, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Spokane Symphony and Duluth Superior Symphony.

In addition to his signature concert role, Mr. Pfund has appeared in concert performing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Charlotte and Stamford symphonies; Handel’s Messiah with the Buffalo Philharmonic, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic, Syracuse Symphony, and Virginia Symphony; and Haydn’s Creation with the Louisiana Philharmonic. He also appeared at Carnegie Hall with the Rochester Philharmonic as a part of the Spring for Music Festival as Sir Gower Lackland in a concert performance of Howard Hanson’s Merry Mount. He created the role of Rev. Eugene Hendrix in a world-premiere concert performance of Gregory Vajda’s opera Georgia Bottoms with the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra.

Christopher Pfund’s opera engagements include Sempronio in Haydn’s Lo Speziale with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s; Pong in Turandot with El Paso Opera, New Jersey State Opera, and the Florentine Opera; Tonik in Smetana’s The Two Widows with the Chautauqua Opera; the New York City premiere of Ernst Krenek’s Vertrauenssache with the organization Elysium between Two Continents; and performances with Glimmerglass Opera, New York City Opera, and Florentine Opera.

Mr. Pfund’s recordings include the title role in Britten’s Albert Herring on the Vox label and Distant Playing Fields: Vocal Music of Amy Beach and William Maye on Newport Classics.

A Colorado native, Christopher Pfund holds degrees from both the University of Northern Colorado and Manhattan School of Music. He was an opera apprentice with the Santa Fe, Glimmerglass and Chautauqua operas, and was a 20th Century Song Recitalist at the Banff Centre.

March 19, 2022: Christopher Pfund Performes ‘Carmina Burana’ with the Spokane Symphony
- Spokane Symphony

October 1, 2019: Christopher Pfund Celebrates 20 Years with Maestro Carl St. Clair of the Pacific Symphony
- The Pacific Symphony

‘CARMINA BURANA’ MAKES FOR AN EPIC VALENTINE’S DAY CONCERT BY SYMPHONY
The three soloists were in full command of their vices and voices…Tenor Christopher Pfund’s roasting swan sizzled as the grease dripped earthward into the fire.
– Wayne F. Anthony, The Blade

REVIEW: GRAMS PERFORMS ‘CARMINA BURANA’ THAT WILL BE HARD TO FOLLOW
“And tenor Christopher Pfund, who sang only three verses in the performance, was the standout with his charismatic portrayal of a swan on a spit. His entrance on stage, glancing about the orchestra with the look of someone who had wandered in off the street with no clue why they were there, was priceless and fit his character of being an innocent and unwilling guest for dinner.”
– Cathalena E. Bursch, Arizona Daily Star

THE SACRED AND THE PROFANE: CARMINA BURANA A MASTERWORKS TRIUMPH FOR TBSO
“Pfund is gifted with the ability to powerfully reach notes higher than the rafters, yet just as intense in softer moments.”
– Melanie Larson, Walleye (CA)

CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA AT BLOSSOM: CARMINA BURANA WITH ANDREW GRAMS
“Not only did Tenor Christopher Pfund sing Olim lacus colueram, his only aria, with great skill, his stage-commanding gestures helped him vividly to impersonate ‘the swan who is now black and roasted to a turn.’”
– Robert Rollins, Cleveland Classical

‘CARMINA BURANA’ IS A VISCERAL BLAST
“And the tenor Christopher Pfund made the most of his brief appearance as a swan — or former swan — lamenting its life while roasting on a spit. It’s one of the tenor’s specialties; he’s sung the role more than 150 times on three continents.”
– Michael Morain, Des Moines Register

MSO, CHORUSES, SOLOISTS DELIVER A STUNNING ‘CARMINA BURANA’
“Tenor Christopher Pfund makes a brief but memorable appearance as a roasting swan:…. Pfund’s strong voice and body language elicited mild laughter from the audience, which clearly enjoyed Orff’s spectacle.”
– Thomas B. Harrison, Press-Register

Orchestral Repertoire

Bach
Magnificat

Beethoven
Symphony No. 9

Britten
Les Illuminations
Nocturne
Rejoice in the Lamb
St. Nicolas
Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings
Spring Symphony
War Requiem

Handel
Messiah

Mozart
Requiem

Orff
Carmina Burana

Schönberg
Gurre-Lieder (Klauss-Narr)

Stravinsky
Cantata
Les noces
Pucinella (Mentre l’erbetta)

Tippett
Child of Our Time

Vaughan Williams
Sancta Civitas

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Opera Repertoire

Argento
Postcard from Morocco (Lyric Tenor)

Britten
Albert Herring (Albert)
The Burning Fiery Furnace (Nebuchadnezzar, Meshach)
Curlew River (Madwoman)
Owen Wingrave (Lechmere)
The Prodigal Son (Tempter, Abbot)
The Rape of Lucretia (Male Chorus)
The Turn of the Screw (Peter Quint)

Floyd
Of Mice and Men (Ballad Singer)

Handel
Partenope (Emilio)

Menotti
The Consul (Nika Magadoff the Magician)

Mozart
Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Pedrillo)
Le Nozze di Figaro (Basilio)

Puccini
Turandot (Pong)
Tosca (Spoletta)
Madama Butterfly (Goro)

Ravel
L’enfant et les sortilèges (Teapot, Little Old Man)
L’heure espagnole (Torquemada)

Schönberg
Moses und Aron (Aron)

Stravinsky
Oediups Rex (Oedipus)
Perséphone (Eumolphe)
The Rake’s Progress (Tom Rakewell)
Le rossignol (Fisherman)

Tippett
King Priam (Paris)
The Knot Garden (Dov)

Verdi
Falstaff (Bardolfo)

Weisgall
Six Characters in Search of An Author (Director, Unmentionable Sin)

Zemlinsky
Der Zwerg (Der Zwerg)

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Lied Repertoire

Barber
Hermit Songs (Cycle)
I Hear an Army
Monks and Raisins
Sure on this Shining Night

Beethoven
Adelaide
An die ferne Geliebte (Cycle)
Der Kuβ
Sechs Gellert Lieder

Brahms
Die schöne Magelone (Cycle)
Heimkehr
Herbstgefühl
O kühler Wald
Liebeslieder-Walzer
Wie bist du, meine Königin
Zigeunerlieder

Britten
Canticle II “Abraham and Isaac”
Canticle III “Still falls the Rain”
Les Illuminations (Cycle)
Selected Folk Song Arrangements
The Holy Sonnets of John Donne
Winter Words (Cycle)

Debussy
Auprès de cette grotte somber
En sourdine
Green
Il pleure dans mon Cœur
La fille aux cheveux de lin
Le lilas
Mandoline
Nuits d’étoiles, lous tes voiles

Dvorák
By the still waters of Babylon
God the Lord my shepherd is
I lift up mine eyes
Lord, a new song I would fashion
Lord, O harken unto my crying
Sing a new song

Fauré
Après un Rêve
Au Bord de l’Eau
Au Cimetière
Chanson d’Amour
En Sourdine
Green
Ici-bas
La lune blanche luit dans les Bois
Le Secret
Les Berceaux
Mandoline

Hindemith
Sechs Hölderlin Lieder (Cycle)

Holst
Four Songs, Op. 35

Husa
Twelve Moravian Songs

Ives
At the River
Ann Street
Charlie Rutlage
The Cage
The Greatest Man
The Housatonic at Stockbridge
Two Little Flowers

Messiaen
Poemes pour Mi (Cycle)
Puccini
Avanti Urania!
Inno a Diana
Sole e amore
Storiella d’amore

Rorem
Cycle of Holy Songs (Cycle)

Rossini
Il Rimprovero
La Danza
La Gita in Gondola
La Partenza
La Pastorella delle Alpi
La Promessa
L’Invito
L’Orgia

Schubert
An die Musik
An mein Klavier
Auf dem Strom
Auf dem Wasser zu singen
Ave Maria
Die Forelle
Die schöne Müllerin (Cycle)
Du bist die Ruh
Erlkönig
Frülingsglaube
Heidenröslein
Nacht und Träume
Rastlose Liebe
Schäfers Klagelied
Wanderers Nachtlied
Winterreise (Cycle)

Schumann
Dichterliebe (Cycle)
Im Walde
Kennst du das Land
Schöne Wiege
Widmung

Strauss
Allerseelen
Ich trage meine Minne
Morgen!
Nacht

Tippett
The Heart’s Assurance (Cycle)

Vaughan Williams
Along the Field (Cycle)
Four Hymns (Cycle)
On Wenlock Edge (Cycle)

Wolf
Ach des Knaben Augen
Anakreons Grab
Auch kleine Dinge
Auf dem grünen Balkon
Auf ein altes Bild
Denk es, o Seele
Ein Ständchen Euch zu bringen
Fussreise
Heb’ auf dein blondes Haupt
Herr, was trägt der Boden
Im Frühling
Nachtzauber
Schlafendes Jesuskind
Was soll der Zorn

*Updated August 2022