Countertenor Bejun Mehta, who made his LA Opera debut as Tolomeo in Giulio Cesare in 2001, returns in the title role of Tamerlano (November 2009)..

Bejun Mehta was born in North Carolina and began his career as a much honored and recorded boy soprano. He is now one of the most sought-after countertenors of his generation. He made his operatic debut at the New York City Opera in 1998 as Armindo (Partenope). Later that year he replaced an ailing colleague on short notice for a concert tour and ever since has been engaged by the important music centers of the USA and Europe.

He has sung Orlando (Orlando) at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the Bayerische Staatsoper, the New York City Opera, and Valencia, Tamerlano (Tamerlano) at the Netherlands Opera and the Drottningholm Court Theatre, Oberon (A Midsummer Night's Dream) at the Metropolitan Opera and the Glyndebourne Festival, Orfeo (Orfeo ed Euridice) at Theater an der Wien, Farnace (Mitridate) at the Salzburg Festival, the Théâtre du Châtelet, Santa Fe Opera, and the Opera National La Monnaie in Brussels, Giulio Cesare (Giulio Cesare) at the Pittsburgh Opera, Cyrus (Belshazzar) at the Staatsoper Berlin, Aix-en-Provence, and Innsbruck, Ottone (L'Incoronazione di Poppea) for the Netherlands Opera, Masha (Peter Eötvös' Three Sisters) at the Châtelet, Tolomeo (Giulio Cesare) at the Opéra National de Paris, the San Francisco Opera and Los Angeles Opera, Unulfo (Rodelinda) at the Metropolitan Opera, Armindo (Partenope) at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Polinesso (Ariodante) and Guido (Flavio) at the New York City Opera.

In concert, Mr. Mehta regularly appears as a recitalist and performs with major orchestras and ensembles including the Israel Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, the San Francisco Symphony, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Tonhalle Orchestra in Zürich, the Akademie für alte Musik, Freiburger Barockorchester, the OAE, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Les Talens Lyriques, and Le concert d'Astrée under such conductors as René Jacobs, Marc Minkowski, Christophe Rousset, Emmanuelle Haïm, Harry Bicket, Franz Brüggen, Sir Charles Mackerras, and Zubin Mehta. He has appeared at the London BBC PROMS, New York's Carnegie Hall, Isaac Stern Auditorium, Zankel Hall, the 92nd Street Y, the Temple of Dendur, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Brussels' Palais des Beaux Arts, Teatro de la Zarzuela Ciclo de Lied in Madrid, Liceu in Barcelona, Palau des les Arts Valencia, Theater an der Wien, Frankfurt Opera and the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. Festival appearances include Edinburgh, Verbier, Sydney, Saint Denis, Bremen, and the New York Festival of Song.

His recordings include Mozart's Mitridate, Re di Ponto (Decca-DVD) with Musiciens du Louvre and Marc Minkowski conducting, produced by the Salzburger Festspiele, and Giulio Cesare under Minkowski for Deutsche Grammophon (Tolomeo). Mr. Mehta has also been the subject of a profile on the CBS-TV program 60 Minutes II and featured on A&E's Breakfast with the Arts. His portrayal of Orlando at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden was nominated for the Olivier Award.

Upcoming engagements this season include a staged version of Handel's Messiah with Jean-Christophe Spinosi and Mitridate under Harry Bicket, both at Theater an der Wien, Didymus (Theodora) at the Salzburg Festival under Ivor Bolton, an aria concert at the Halle Festival, and recitals with recital partner Julius Drake at the festivals of Edinburgh and San Sebastian.

Future plans include Tamerlano in Los Angeles and Barcelona, Endimione (La Calisto) in Geneva, Cardenio (Don Chiscotte in Sierra Morena) at the Netherlands Opera, a return to the Royal Opera House Covent Garden as Creonte (Niobe) with Thomas Hengelbrock, Belshazzar in Toulouse as well as recitals at London's Wigmore Hall and La Monnaie in Brussels.

Mr. Mehta recently began a longterm recording relationship with Harmonia Mundi, the first CD of which is planned for 2009.