Eric Ferring
Executive Director
“A prodigiously gifted lyric tenor”
Opera News
Emmy-winning and Billboard-charting American tenor Eric Ferring is internationally celebrated as “a prodigiously gifted lyric tenor” (Opera News), praised for his “fine, gleaming tenor” (New York Classical Review) and “a beautifully round and warm timbre, expressive, and with great finesse” (Olyrix). Known for his artistic versatility, Ferring brings exceptional skill to a wide range of repertoire—from early bel canto and the music of Handel and Mozart to the creation of contemporary operatic roles.
Ferring is an alumnus of the Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist Program, and has trained at prestigious programs at Santa Fe Opera, Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, Wolf Trap Opera, Verbier Festival, and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, receiving multiple awards and grants for his excellence.
Ferring’s engagements with the Metropolitan Opera include Pong in Turandot, Tamino in The Magic Flute, Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor, a Royal Herald in Don Carlos, and covering Grimoaldo in Rodelinda. He has sung principal roles with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Santa Fe Opera, Opéra de Rouen Normandie, Opéra de Lille, Opéra de Paris, Los Angeles Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Opéra national du Rhin, among others. Ferring has performed in concert around the globe with orchestras such as Le Concert d’Astrée and The English Concert, in leading venues in France, England, China, and South Korea, in addition to New York City’s Carnegie Hall.
Recent and upcoming highlights include debuts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Festival Orchestra of Lincoln Center, Ravinia Festival, Portland Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, Knoxville Symphony, Opera Carolina, as well as returns to Haymarket Opera, Opéra de Rouen Normandie, Evansville Philharmonic, and the Dubuque Symphony.
Ferring’s discography includes his celebrated solo debut album No Choice but Love: Songs of the LGBTQ+ Community (Lexicon Classics) with pianist Madeline Slettedahl, and his chamber music album We have tomorrow (Delos), with Slettedahl and French string quartet, Quatuor Agate. Ferring records Leonardo Vinci’s opera Artaserse in 2025 on Cedille Records.
Among his many honors, Ferring has received top prizes from the George London Foundation, Gerda Lissner Foundation, Glyndebourne Opera Cup, and the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, as well as recognition from the Richard Tucker Foundation, Sullivan Foundation, American Opera Society, and others.
In addition to his active performing career, Ferring plays a vital role in the field as Executive Director of Art Song Chicago (formerly the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago), Project Curator at Lexicon Classics, and represents his fellow artists as a Regional Coordinator for the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA).
A native of Dubuque, Iowa, Ferring graduated magna cum laude from Drake University with a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and earned his Master of Music in Opera Performance from The Boston Conservatory.