Tenor Eric Wassenaar is recognized for his dynamic performances across opera, musical theater, and concert stages. In 2025 he will join Chicago Opera Festival covering the role of Beppe in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci. During the 2017–2018 season, he joined Pensacola Opera as an Artist in Residence, debuting as Goro in Madama Butterfly and The Padre in Man of La Mancha, while also starring in María de Buenos Aires. He premiered as tenor soloist in Handel’s Messiah and Ariel Ramírez’s Misa Criolla with the Pensacola Choral Society.
In summer 2017, he appeared with Chautauqua Opera as an Apprentice Artist, performing in the U.S. stage premiere of Respighi’s L’Orfeo (Pastore) and Philip Glass’s Hydrogen Jukebox. Concert highlights include collaborations with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra under Steven Osgood and a pops program with conductor Stuart Chafetz.
A Sioux Falls native, Wassenaar holds a Master of Music from the University of Colorado Boulder and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Augustana University.