Bio

Torlef Borsting’s powerful baritone fuses sensitivity, compassion, and lyricism to lend a musical and dramatic depth to characters such as Scarpia in Tosca, Germont in La Traviata, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, and Jack Rance in The Girl of the Golden West. His is a voice ideal for the commanding presence of Verdi, the emotional swell of Puccini, the flexibility and movement of Donizetti, and the nuance of Mozart.

Other leading roles in his repertoire include Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, Prince Yeletsky in Tchaikovsky’s Pique Dame, Dr. Bartolo in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia, Leporello in Don Giovanni, Sgt Belcore in L’elisir d’amore, and Horace Tabor in The Ballad of Baby Doe, where his vocal prowess was lauded by East Bay Times as having “appropriate gusto…[moving] convincingly from rowdy full-voice banter at the saloon with his pals to sotto voce crooning to Baby Doe.”

A native of Hawaii, Torlef has spent most of his time on the West Coast, performing leading and supporting roles with companies including San Francisco Opera, Opera Parallèlle, West Bay Opera, Sacramento Opera, Opera San Jose, Livermore Valley Opera, Opera San Luis Obispo, Berkeley Opera,and others. In concert, he has performed as a soloist with Pacific Chamber Symphony, Mendocino Music Festival, Oakland Symphony Chorus, Symphony Parnassus, Cantare con Vivo, Oakland Civic Orchestra, and his recent debut with Orlando Sings in their inaugural Choral Festival.

In 2018, Torlef made a move across the country with his family to Florida, where he now resides. He has since made company debuts with Opera Orlando, Indianapolis Opera, New York City Opera, and was thrilled to be invited by opera legend Sherrill Milnes and Co-Founder/ President Maria Zouves to make his debut with the Savannah VOICE Festival in August 2022. He makes his on stage debut with First Coast Opera as Mr Gobineau in the Medium and looks forward to the summer of 2023 with a return to the Savannah VOICE Festival.

Torlef continues to explore different forms including Musical Theater and producing a concert series with his wife, Cass, in partnership with the Golden Magnolia Marine Resort in Daytona Beach, Florida. His credits include Jeff Douglas in Brigadoon in Savannah, GA and an upcoming debut with Citrus Alliance for the Arts as Captain Newton in Amazing Grace the Musical.

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