About Glenn

Tenor Glenn Seven Allen’s career spans opera, Broadway, concert, operetta, and theater, with performances throughout the United States and internationally.

With New York City Opera, Allen starred as Jack Twist opposite Daniel Okulitch in the U.S. premiere of Charles Wuorinen and Annie Proulx’s Brokeback Mountain, directed by Jacopo Spirei and conducted by Kazem Abdullah. The Observer called his performance “one of the best things I’ve seen or heard on the opera stage for years.” He returned to NYCO as Freddy in Ted Rosenthal’s Dear Erich, following appearances as Il Fauno in Respighi’s La campana sommersaand in Bernstein’s Candide. The New York Times singled him out among the standouts of La campana sommersa.

Allen’s operatic repertoire includes the Duke in Rigoletto; Alfredo in La traviata; Don José in Carmen; Roméo in Roméo et Juliette; Rodolfo in La bohème; Tonio in La fille du régiment; Tamino in Die Zauberflöte; Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni; Ernesto in Don Pasquale; Peter Quint in The Turn of the Screw; Rodolpho in William Bolcom’s A View from the Bridge; George Dibdin in Marschner’s Der Vampyr; the title role in Huang Ruo’s Dr. Sun Yat-Sen; Charles in Hindemith’s The Long Christmas Dinner; Ferrando in Jonathan Dawe’s Così Faran Tutti; Il Padre in Piramo e Tisbe; Guillot in Heartbeat Opera’s Manon!; and Count Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia.

Leading engagements include Roméo in Roméo et Juliette with Opera Montana; the Duke in Rigoletto with Queens Symphony; Tonio in La fille du régiment with Connecticut Concert Opera; Ernesto in Don Pasquale with Hubbard Hall Opera Theater; Tamino in Die Zauberflöte at Featherstone Center for the Arts on Martha’s Vineyard; and Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni with Soo Theatre.

Peter Quint in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw with Opera Moderne at Symphony Space was described by The New York Times as “a mesmerizing Quint, singing with agility and a sweetness that grew appropriately cloying or menacing.” As Tonio in La fille du régiment, Allen dispatched the role’s celebrated nine high Cs; the Hartford Courant praised his “control and persuasiveness” and French of “shining clarity.”

Rodolfo in La bohème has been a recurring role. Allen sang Rodolfo with Soo Theatre and at South Africa’s Innibos Festival, appearing opposite Celeste Morales as Mimì in the festival’s first presentation of a full-length opera. He also performed Rodolfo in operamission’s La Bohème: Assembly Required in New York and excerpts from the role with Reclamation Opera.

Contemporary opera has been central to Allen’s career. In addition to Jack Twist in Brokeback Mountain, his credits include the title role in Huang Ruo’s Dr. Sun Yat-Sen at the American Opera Center, conducted by the composer; Rodolpho in William Bolcom’s A View from the Bridge with Vertical Player Repertory, supervised by Bolcom; Charles in the American Symphony Orchestra’s English-language premiere and recording of Hindemith’s The Long Christmas Dinner at Alice Tully Hall; Ferrando in the world premiere of Jonathan Dawe’s Così Faran Tutti, conducted by Ryan McAdams; John Herschel in the world premiere of Zaid Jabri’s Southern Crossings; Jerry in Steven Burke’s The Jugglerat the Park Avenue Armory; and Avery Dick in Gordon Beeferman’s The Enchanted Organ, directed by Beth Greenberg.

Additional new-music credits include Monteverdi’s Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda and Lembit Beecher’s I Have No Stories to Tell You with Gotham Chamber Opera; Kings, Giants & Robots with American Modern Ensemble; the Florida premiere of Libby Larsen’s Barnum’s Bird with Gloria Musicae and a later performance as P. T. Barnum in Barnum’s Bird on Broadway at Circle in the Square Theatre; Glen Roven’s Songs That Make Grown Men Cry with the New York New Music Collective; and American Lyric Theater’s The New Crew, Opera in Eden, and alumni concerts at National Sawdust.

In A View from the Bridge, Opera Today praised Allen and Valentina Fleer as “personable, charmingly vocal young lovers” and “actors of considerable weight.”

Operetta and light-opera credits include Ralph Rackstraw in H.M.S. Pinafore in separate productions with Opera Montana and Opera Saratoga; Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance at Utah Shakespeare Festival; Alexius in Oscar Straus’s The Chocolate Soldier at Bard SummerScape; and Camille in separate productions of Lehár’s The Merry Widowwith Northern Lights Music Festival and Imperial Symphony. Opera News called Allen’s Alexius an “Edwardian Matinee Idol,” praising “the most detailed dramatic performance.”

A longtime interpreter of Victor Herbert, Allen has appeared in Naughty Marietta, The Serenade, and Orange Blossoms, as well as numerous concerts for the Victor Herbert Foundation and Victor Herbert Renaissance Project. Orange Blossoms is preserved on Albany Records.

At Carnegie Hall, Allen appeared in Frank Loesser’s Guys and Dolls, directed by Jack O’Brien and conducted by Rob Fisher with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, alongside Nathan Lane, Patrick Wilson, Sierra Boggess, Megan Mullally, Judy Kaye, Len Cariou, Christopher Fitzgerald, and Colman Domingo.

He returned to Carnegie Hall for Bernstein’s Candide, directed by Gary Griffin and conducted by Rob Fisher with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, appearing as an Inquisitor alongside John Lithgow, Erin Morley, Patricia Racette, Paul Appleby, William Burden, Danny Burstein, Len Cariou, and Marilyn Horne. His Carnegie Hall operatic credits also include George Dibdin in Heinrich Marschner’s Der Vampyr.

Allen’s orchestral and concert credits include Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Glacier Symphony; Carousel with the New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall, filmed for PBS’s Great Performances; the American Symphony Orchestra at Alice Tully Hall; Queens Symphony; Charlottesville Symphony; and multiple engagements with conductor-composer Gary S. Fagin and the Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra.

For the University of Virginia Bicentennial, Allen was a featured tenor soloist in the world premiere of J. Todd Frazier’s We Hold These Truths, performing with the Charlottesville Symphony and University Singers under Michael Slon before an estimated audience of 20,000 at UVA’s historic Rotunda. His work with Charlottesville Symphony also includes its The Americans concerts.

With the Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra, Allen has appeared as tenor soloist in multiple programs and performed in the world premiere of Gary S. Fagin’s Jumping Mouse at the Museum of Jewish Heritage alongside Laura Worsham, Jason Gotay, and Nathaniel Sullivan.

Additional concert and creative credits include Gulfshore Opera’s Opera Meets Broadway and Romeo & Juliet Ball, which Allen adapted, directed, and starred in; the York Theatre Company’s 100th Mufti Gala; Jerry Steichen and Friends; New York City Opera and National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene benefits; and concerts with American Lyric Theater, the Victor Herbert Foundation, and the New York New Music Collective.

In October 2025, Allen sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Yankee Stadium before 48,833 fans for the decisive Yankees–Red Sox American League Wild Card Series Game 3, broadcast nationally on ESPN.

Allen is the creator and star of The American Tenor, his original classical-crossover concert. The program premiered at the Great Lakes Center for the Arts with a 22-piece orchestra of musicians from Detroit Opera and Symphony, Interlochen, and the Traverse City Philharmonic under Broadway conductor Isaac Hayward, featuring original orchestrations spanning opera, Broadway, popular music, and the American Songbook.

Stephen Sondheim’s work has figured prominently in Allen’s career. He has appeared as Pirelli in three separate productions of Sweeney Todd: with Glacier Symphony/Alpine Theatre Project; with Pacific Symphony at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, where he also appeared as Fogg and the Bird Seller; and with Holy City Arts & Lyric Opera (HALO) in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2025. His Sondheim repertoire also includes Carl-Magnus in A Little Night Music at Indiana Repertory Theatre.

On Broadway, Allen appeared in Lincoln Center Theater’s Tony Award-winning production of Adam Guettel and Craig Lucas’s The Light in the Piazza and can be heard on the Grammy-nominated Nonesuch cast recording. His association with the work began in its early professional development and productions, including Giuseppe Naccarelli at Intiman Theatre and Goodman Theatre under director Bartlett Sher, in a company including Victoria Clark, Kelli O’Hara, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Patti Cohenour, Mark Harelik, and Steven Pasquale.

Additional New York theater credits include Girl Crazy with City Center Encores!; Casino Paradise in Lincoln Center’s American Songbook series; Michael in A Fine and Private Place and Mr. Griffith in A Time for Singing with the York Theatre Company; Jerome in the Drama Desk-nominated Di Goldene Kale (The Golden Bride) and Oppenheimer in Amerike—The Golden Land with National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene; A Prairie Home Companion at The Town Hall; and The Notorious RBG at the Schimmel Center.

At The Old Globe, Allen appeared as Italiano/Albert in the world premiere of A Room with a View, directed by Scott Schwartz, alongside Karen Ziemba, Kyle Harris, Ephie Aardema, Will Reynolds, and Jacquelynne Fontaine. BroadwayWorld called Allen and Fontaine a “scene stealing joy” and wrote that “Allen’s rich singing voice is a standout.”

Allen received a Helen Hayes Award nomination for his portrayal of Clifford Bradshaw in Cabaret at Arena Stage, directed by Molly Smith. Regional theater credits include Richard Henry Lee in 1776 at Goodspeed Musicals; Lancelot in Camelot at the Arvada Center; Dan Goodman in Next to Normal at Syracuse Stage; Tony in Master Class at Gulfshore Playhouse; Carl-Magnus in A Little Night Music at Indiana Repertory Theatre; Pontius Pilate in separate productions of Jesus Christ Superstar at North Carolina Theatre and Casa Mañana; Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance at Utah Shakespeare Festival; Sydney Carton in A Tale of Two Cities; Lt. Cable in South Pacific with Annapolis Opera; Will in Middlemarch in Spring with Ash Lawn Opera; and Assistant D.A. Kramer in the world premiere of Bonfire of the Vanitiesat Process Studio Theatre.

His theatrical engagements have also included The Old Globe, Goodman Theatre, Intiman Theatre, Paper Mill Playhouse, Arena Stage, Goodspeed Musicals, Syracuse Stage, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Gulfshore Playhouse, Utah Shakespeare Festival, North Carolina Theatre, Casa Mañana, and other stages throughout the country.

Allen’s concert and special-event appearances have taken him to Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Alice Tully Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater, Symphony Space, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Morgan Library, The Town Hall, National Sawdust, the Park Avenue Armory, Museum of Jewish Heritage, Great Lakes Center for the Arts, Circle in the Square Theatre, and Yankee Stadium.

Upcoming, Allen returns Off-Broadway as The General in Safe House at Theatre Row, joining a company led by Tony Award winner Karen Ziemba and Tony nominee Marc Kudisch.

Allen’s recordings include The Light in the Piazza (Nonesuch Records), A Fine and Private Place (JAY Records), Victor Herbert’s Orange Blossoms (Albany Records), Hindemith’s The Long Christmas Dinner, and Heartbeat Opera’s Manon!. His solo recording work includes “Non Fate Guerra,” “Danny Boy,” and “Michigan Christmas.”

Allen is the author of The Singer Acts, The Actor Sings: A Practical Workbook to Living Through Song, Vocally and Dramatically (Methuen Drama/Bloomsbury) and serves on the faculties of the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale and NYU Tisch School of the Arts’ New Studio on Broadway. He holds an MFA in Acting from the University of Washington and a BFA in Musical Theatre from the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance.