{{short description|American operatic tenor (born 1956)}} {{BLP sources|date=November 2014}}
'''Robert Dean Smith''' (born 2 May 1956 in Kansas) is an American operatic tenor.
Smith studied at Pittsburg State University (Kansas), at the Juilliard School of Music in New York City with Daniel Ferro, and in Europe.{{citation needed|date=November 2014}} Like many dramatic tenors, he began his career as a baritone and sang for several years in German opera houses{{which|date=November 2014}}. He sings a variety of opera and concert repertoire, in different languages and styles.
From 2007 to 2008 he performed ''Lohengrin'' and ''Die Meistersinger'' in Dresden; ''Die Frau ohne Schatten'' at the Lyric Opera of Chicago with Deborah Voigt and Christine Brewer; ''Tristan und Isolde'' at the Madrid Teatro Real and the Bayreuth Festival; ''Tannhäuser'' at the Berlin Staatsoper; ''Der fliegende Holländer'' at the Bavarian State Opera (Bayerische Staatsoper) in Munich and the Vienna State Opera; ''Ariadne auf Naxos'' at the Royal Opera, London at Covent Garden; and ''Fidelio'' in Tokyo.{{citation needed|date=November 2014}}
On March 22, 2008, Smith made his Metropolitan Opera debut as the lead role in ''Tristan und Isolde'' — which was broadcast in the Met's ''Live in HD'' series in cinemas in the US, and also aired live on NPR and other radio stations in the US and abroad, as part of the live Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network season. Smith was brought in to replace an ailing Ben Heppner.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=26220|title=Smith Joins 'Tristan and Isolde' Cast|author=|work=BroadwayWorld.com|date=20 March 2008|accessdate=24 November 2014}}</ref>
In January 2015, during the final scene of ''Tristan und Isolde'' with Elisabete Matos at the Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse, a 210 kg fake rock suspended over Smith as the recently dead Tristan began descending. When Smith noticed it was not stopping he rolled away and quickly got to his feet, provoking laughter from the audience. There was a subsequent investigation into “l’affaire du rocher”, concluding with the conviction and eight-month prison sentence of a stagehand for sabotage.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Colcombet |first=Louise |date=31 March 2019 |title=Le ténor américain avait frôlé la mort : sur la piste du sabotage à l'opéra de Toulouse |url=https://www.leparisien.fr/faits-divers/le-tenor-americain-avait-frole-la-mort-sur-la-piste-du-sabotage-a-l-opera-de-toulouse-31-03-2019-8043231.php |access-date=11 November 2022 |website=Le Parisien}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=10 September 2021 |title=Toulouse : Un machiniste condamné pour la chute d'un rocher du décor en plein opéra |url=https://www.20minutes.fr/justice/3121047-20210910-toulouse-machiniste-condamne-chute-rocher-decor-plein-opera |access-date=11 November 2012 |website=20 minutes}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Marshall |first=Alex |date=17 September 2021 |title=Fake Rock Nearly Crushes Opera Star: Accident or Sabotage? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/17/arts/music/opera-sabotage-france.html |access-date=11 November 2023 |website=New York Times}}</ref>
== Discography ==
* Mahler – Das Lied von der Erde. Vladimir Jurowski, Sarah Connolly, Robert Dean Smith, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin. PENTATONE PTC 5186760 (2020) * Wagner – Die Walküre. Tomasz Konieczny, Iris Vermillion, Robert Dean Smith, Timo Riihonen, Petra Lang, Marek Janowski, Nicole Piccolomini, Kismara Pessatti, Anja Fidelia Ulrich, Fionnuala McCarthy, Heike Wessels, Carola Höhn, Wilke te Brummelstroete, Renate Spingler, Melanie Diener, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin. PENTATONE PTC 5186407 (2013) * Wagner – Tannhäuser. Albert Dohmen, Robert Dean Smith, Christian Gerhaher, Peter Sonn, Wilhelm Schwinghammer, Michael McCown, Martin Snel, Nina Stemme, Marina Prudenskaya, Bianca Reim, Marek Janowski, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Rundfunkchor Berlin. PENTATONE PTC 5186405 (2013) * Wagner – Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Albert Dohmen, Georg Zeppenfeld, Michael Smallwood, Sebastian Noack, Dietrich Henschel, Tuomas Pursio, Jörg Schörner, Thomas Ebenstein, Thorsten Scharnke, Tobias Berndt, Hans-Peter Scheidegger, Lee Hyung-Wook, Robert Dean Smith, Peter Sonn, Edith Haller, Michelle Breedt, Matti Salminen, Marek Janowski, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Rundfunkchor Berlin. PENTATONE PTC 5186402 (2011) * Wagner – Der fliegende Holländer. Matti Salminen, Ricarda Merbeth, Robert Dean Smith, Silvia Hablowetz, Steve Davislim, Albert Dohmen, Marek Janowski. PENTATONE PTC 5186400 (2011)
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{Official website|http://www.robertdeansmith.com/}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Robert Dean}} Category:American operatic tenors Category:Heldentenors Category:Living people Category:1956 births Category:Singers from Kansas Category:Pittsburg State University alumni Category:Juilliard School alumni
{{US-opera-singer-stub}}