American tenor Ric Furman, praised by the Frankfurter Allgemeine for his “luminous vocal power” and by Seen and Heard International for a "mellifluous tone,” is currently one of opera's most exciting and critically-acclaimed young heldentenors.

Furman’s helden debut in 2012 as Florestan in Seattle Opera’s Fidelio​ was such a success that he returned in 2013 for Stephen Wadsworth’s highly-regarded Ring Cycle, singing Froh and covering Siegmund. Furman earned praise by Opera News for his "sweet toned” Froh and in the Pacific Aisle for his "clarion voice.”  Furman can be heard in the live recording of Seattle's “The Green Ring” on AVIE Records, available on iTunes. Furman went on in 2014 to further his helden repertoire performing Bacchus in Virginia Opera’s Ariadne auf Naxos, Naraboth in Portland Opera’s Salome, and excerpts from Tristan und Isolde as Tristan with the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra.

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Immediately after being selected one of nine finalists in the 2014 International Wagner Competition as well as winning the top award by the New York City Wagner Society, Furman continued his success in Europe with “a debut to measure” (NMZ Online) singing the role of Anatol in Samuel Barber's Vanessa. Die Deutsche Bühne proclaimed that his Anatol at Theatre Hagen “delight(ed) from the outset with a radiant tenor.”

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In October of 2015, Furman debuted in Budapest with the Hungarian National Philharmonic as the Bürgermeister and Apollo in a double bill of Strauss’ masterworks Friedenstag and Daphne. Thriving vocally under the direction of Maeastro Zoltan Koscis, The Papiruszportal exclaimed Furman was “a handsome tenor…with a clear, strong voice” and “it was impossible not to pay attention to him.” 

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​Since his successful European debut, Furman has sung Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos (Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar), Matteo in Arabella (Oper Leipzig), Florestan in Fidelio (Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar, Theatre Hagen), Siegmund in Die Walküre (Hessisches Staatstheater, Staatstheater Magdeburg), Augustin Moser in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Bayreuther Festspiele), Erik in Der Fliegende Holländer (Hessisches Staatstheater, Budapest Wagner Days), Der Kaiser in Die Frau Ohne Schatten (Hessisches Staatstheater), Bürgermeister in Friedenstag (Hungarian National Philharmonic), Apollo in Daphne (Hungarian National Philharmonic), Dimitri in Boris Godunov (Hessisches Staatstheater), Osaka in Iris (Scottish National Opera), Alvaro in La Forza del Destino (Hessisches Staatstheater), Pollione in Norma (Hessisches Staatstheater), Pinkerton in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly (Hessiches Staatstheater, Theatre Hagen, Opernhaus Wuppertal), Rodolfo in La Boheme (Hessisches Staatstheater), Mario Cavaradossi in Tosca (Hessisches Staatstheater), Anatol in Vanessa (Staatstheater Magdeburg, Theater Hagen), Prinz in Rusalka (Staatstheater Magdeburg), and Boris in Katja Kabanova (Scottish National Opera, Staatstheater Magdeburg, Tiroler Landestheater).

Although Furman is singing some of the most demanding dramatic and heldentenor roles in the opera canon, he also enjoys performing new, contemporary works. In addition to Barber’s Vanessa, Furman has had success in Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, Golijov's Ainadamar​, Susa’s The Dangerous Liaisons, Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress and two world premieres: Eve’s Odds by Bruce Trinkley and A Stranger's Tale by Curtis Tucker.

Furman’s early career included playing romantic tenor leads across the U.S. for top companies in Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Portland, Brooklyn, Springfield, Mo., Dayton, Indianapolis, Omaha, and in New York’s prestigious Carnegie Hall. He is a proud alumnus of The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and Western Illinois University.​