Jon Garrison

Jon Garrison, born Jon Long on December 11, 1944, in Higginsville, Missouri, is an American operatic tenor whose performing career spans multiple decades and venues across the United States and Europe. He made his Broadway appearance in 1973 in the musical The Student Prince.

Garrison's association with the Metropolitan Opera began in 1974, when he appeared in a secondary role during the company premiere of Death in Venice, a production that starred Sir Peter Pears. He returned to the Met in subsequent years in a range of roles: Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi in 1975, Ernesto in Don Pasquale in 1979 under the direction of John Dexter, and Jaquino in Fidelio in 1980 alongside Jon Vickers as Florestan. That same year he sang Andres in Wozzeck opposite Anja Silja. Later Met appearances included Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni in 1994 and Alfred in Die Fledermaus in 1995.

At the New York City Opera, Garrison debuted in 1982 as Admète in Alceste. His performances there in La rondine in 1985 and Die Zauberflöte in 1987 were broadcast on PBS. In 1986 he sang the title role of Werther at that company, with Susanne Marsee portraying Charlotte. His operatic work extended to Europe as well, including a Stuttgart production of Alceste directed by Robert Wilson, in which Dunja Vejzovic sang the title role, and a 1996 appearance at the English National Opera as Baron Descartes in Zimmermann's Die Soldaten. He also participated in the world premieres of Hugo Weisgall's The Gardens of Adonis and Karel Reise's Rasputin.

Garrison's discography includes Musgrave's Mary, Queen of Scots recorded in 1979, a 1985 RCA recording of Handel's Roman Vespers alongside Judith Blegen, Benita Valente, Maureen Forrester, and John Cheek, Tippett's A Child of Our Time conducted by the composer in 1991, Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress with Jayne West conducted by Robert Craft in 1993, and Haydn's La cantarina with D'Anna Fortunato on Newport Classic in 1994.

Garrison resides in Teaneck, New Jersey, where he teaches voice and diction at Rowan University. He has a son, Michael, and a grandson, Nikash, both of whom live in Delaware.