‘Kramer showed both baritone heft and tenorial ring, reminding me a bit of a Met stalwart of a bygone era, James McCracken-- Normanno in the mid 1950s, Otello a decade later. Who knows where Kramer's voice will take him?’

-Patrick Dillo, Opera Canada

Hailed as “an absolute powerhouse of a tenor” (Schmopera), Canadian tenor Adrian Kramer has garnered critical acclaim for his performances with leading opera companies across Canada, the United States, and Germany, where he has taken on some of the repertoire’s most demanding roles. Celebrated for his “remarkable range and stamina” (Times Union), “engaging stage presence,” and “his abilities as a first-rate actor” (Theatre Eddys), he brings emotional depth and interpretive clarity to every performance. With a voice described as “rich and robust” and an ability to “paint pictures with the colors in his voice,” Adrian Kramer continues to distinguish himself as a tenor of rare vocal power, artistic intelligence, and dramatic versatility.

The 2024/2025 season sees Adrian return to Opera Omaha for his role debut as Tom Rakewell in the iconic David Hockney production of The Rake’s Progress. He also makes his debut with the Aiken Symphony, performing Verdi’s L’esule, excerpts from La Traviata, and songs by Richard Strauss and Henri Duparc, alongside selections from West Side Story, Camelot, My Fair Lady, Street Scene, and Carousel. He reprises the role of Tom Rakewell at the Glimmerglass Festival in the company’s highly anticipated debut of Stravinsky’s masterpiece, in a new production by Eric Sean Vogel, conducted by music director Joseph Colaneri.

In the 2023/2024 season, Adrian made both his house and role debut as the Prince in Dvořák's Rusalka with The Israeli Opera, in a new production by Stefano Poda and conducted by Dan Ettinger. He also returned to Opera Omaha for their Opera Outdoors concert series, performing excerpts from Turandot, Carmen, and La Traviata.

The 2022/2023 season featured several critically acclaimed debuts, including his role and house debut as Hoffegut in Braunfels’s Die Vögel with Pacific Opera Victoria—where he was praised for a “glorious performance” (Schmopera)—and his critically acclaimed Cavaradossi in Puccini’s Tosca with Opera San José. He also returned to the role of Don José in a new adaptation of Carmen at the Hogfish Summer Festival.

In 2021/2022, Adrian made his European operatic debut at the Komische Oper Berlin as Toby Higgins in Barrie Kosky’s new production of Weill’s Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny, and appeared in the title role, as well as Iaryzhkin and the Eunuch, in Kosky’s acclaimed production of Shostakovich’s Die Nase. He returned to San Diego Opera as Tybalt in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, in a new production by Matthew Ozawa and conducted by Yves Abel, and made his Cape Symphony debut as the tenor soloist in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

Engagements postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic included Narraboth in Salome and Don José in Carmen at Opera San José; Steuermann in Der fliegende Holländer with Lake Area Music Festival; Spoletta in Tosca with Opera Philadelphia; First Armored Man/Second Priest in Die Zauberflöte at San Diego Opera; and Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with Saratoga Opera.

Additional highlights include his “impressive” (Opera West) debut as Don José in La tragédie de Carmen at San Diego Opera (2017); “his voice easily filled the hall with his bright, clear tenor” (Opera News) in his role debut as Gérard/Narrator in a new production of Philip Glass's Les Enfants Terribles at Opera Omaha (2019); he sang “with both baritone heft and tenorial ring” (Opera Canada) in a “terrific Opera Philadelphia debut” (Schmopera) as Normanno in Lucia di Lammermoor (2019); and his debut at Edmonton Opera in H.M.S. Pinafore as Ralph Rackstraw (2019), where he “brought his strong and rich tenor” to the role. In his off-Broadway debut, he “sang passionately” (NY Stage Review) and “beautifully” (Theater Scene) as the Tenor in Tchaikovsky: None But the Lonely Heart with the Ensemble for the Romantic Century (2018).

With Opera Omaha, Adrian also performed Bill in Jonathan Dove’s Flight (2017) and Joe in the company premiere of La fanciulla del West (2016). At Santa Fe Opera (2015), he appeared in the world premiere of Jennifer Higdon’s Cold Mountain as Owen's Son, as well as in Rigoletto (Borsa), Salome (Second Nazarene), and the American premiere of Huang Ruo’s Dr. Sun Yat-sen (Second Bodyguard).

A seasoned concert performer, Adrian’s oratorio and symphonic repertoire includes Elijah, Vaughan Williams’s Hodie, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and Messiah. He has appeared as a soloist with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, the Glenn Gould Studio, and the Kingston Symphony Orchestra.

Initially training and performing as a baritone, Adrian appeared at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, Chicago Opera Theater, Canadian Opera Company, Castleton Festival, Cal Performances, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Saskatoon Opera, and the Glimmerglass Festival in that repertoire.

He is the recipient of the Campbell Wachter Memorial Award for Singers from Santa Fe Opera, the Grand Prize at the Louis Quilico Competition, and was the winner of the Juilliard Honors Recital Competition. He is supported by the Olga Forrai Foundation, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Jacqueline Desmarais Foundation. Adrian was a Vocal Fellow at the Ravinia Steans Music Institute and held residencies with the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program, the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble, and the Glimmerglass Festival Young Artist Program. He holds degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music and The Juilliard School, where he earned his M.Mus in Opera and his B.Mus in Voice, respectively.

As a lyricist and composer, Adrian’s work spans pop, country, indie rock, folk, and classical. Under the name Adrian Ira, he has written, performed, and self-produced ten albums of original music and is one half of the country duo The Kramer Brothers. His original composition Quietly Waiting appears on Emily D’Angelo’s Juno and Opus Klassik Award-winning album freezing, released by Deutsche Grammophon. His visual art and design work have been featured in opera productions and galleries in Toronto and Omaha.