Limmie Pulliam is an American tenor who is just emerging to operatic prominence. As you’ll hear from the excerpts below he is a dramatic tenor ideally suited for the big Verdi tenor roles. Later this month he is due to sing three performances of the master’s Otello in a concert version with the Cleveland Symphony under the direction of its music director Franz Welser-Möst.
The biggest opera company he has thus far appeared at is the LA Opera where he was Manrico in Il Trovatore. In the video below he knocks Nessun Dorma out of the hall. He has both the timbre and high notes for opera’s most demanding tenor roles. This recording was made in a 2019 recital. I can’t recall anyone doing the aria better than this. As you can see he’s a very large man. I hope he can find a way to deal with this issue while both maintaining his health and his voice.
Notice that he has an Italianate sound, acuti with ping, and the ability to sing softly as well as forte. Every opera company on the planet should be on the phone with his agent. Dramatic tenors are rarer than virtue.
Next several excerpts from a concert performance of Otello; a role Pulliam seems born to portray.
Another performance of Dio mi potevi scagliar.
Finally, a video taken at a rehearsal. Vesti la giubba. For more information about this singer go to his website.