Eric Jordan grew up in Davis, and while he was in high school he fell in love with the opera. The world ended up being his stage. Performing around the country and the world, he ended up with the Metropolitan Opera in New York. In New York he suffered a massive stroke which eventually ended his career as an opera singer.
While performing in opera productions, he also had an alter ego (as The Opera Cowboy) and performed country music, especially Johnny Cash songs.
In this episode of Listening Lyrics, Eric joins us as we listen to some of his story and music, both in opera and as the Opera Cowboy.
Bass Eric Jordan has been sought by opera companies for his trademark "big bass and presence to match" (Opera News). His voice is described as possessing "a resonant, ringing tone that" (St Louis Post-Dispatch), and The New York Times opines that his "powerful, nuanced singing and thoughtful acting amounted to a wholly remarkable portrayal."
Eric Jordan holds music degrees from the University of California at Los Angeles and the New England Conservatory of Music. A 1998 regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, he received additional training with the Central City Opera House Association, the International Institute of Vocal Arts, and the Israeli Institute of Vocal Arts.