Vinson Cole is an American tenor internationally recognized as one of the leading artists of his generation. His career has taken him to all of the major opera houses across the globe. Equally celebrated for his concert appearances, Mr. Cole has been a frequent guest of the most prestigious orchestras throughout the world and has collaborated with the leading conductors of this era including Christoph Eschenbach, Claudio Abbado, James Levine, Lorin Maazel, James Conlon, Kurt Masur, and Seiji Ozawa, among many others. Mr. Cole had an especially close working relationship with the late Herbert von Karajan, who brought the artist to the Salzburg Festival to sing the Italian Tenor in Der Rosenkavalier, the first of many performances there together. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Mr. Cole completed his vocal studies at the Curtis Institute of Music under the tutelage of Margaret Harshaw. He was recently given the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation. Mr. Cole is director of the Resident Artist Program and creative consultant for the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and he has taught at the Cleveland Institute of Music and continues as a tenured professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance.