Houston-based tenor Andrew Surrena, praised for his “big, bright voice and agility,” performs operas, concerts, and new works with companies across the United States.
In the 2025-26 season, Andrew returns to the Glacier Symphony as the tenor soloist in Handel’s Messiah. A member of the Houston Grand Opera Chorus, he will also appear as a German Army soloist in Kevin Puts’ Silent Night and in the late Robert Wilson’s production of Handel’s Messiah, arranged by Mozart. During the 2024-25 season, Andrew made his Houston Grand Opera mainstage debut as the Young Sailor in the company’s new production of Missy Mazzoli’s Breaking the Waves.
In the 2023-24 season, Andrew returned to Sarasota Opera to perform Armand de Clerval in Jules Massenet’s rarely seen Thérèse, earning praise for his “consistently pure tone.” Later that season, he appeared as Don José in a concert production of Carmen with the Glacier Symphony, presented in celebration of the company’s 40th anniversary.
In 2022, Andrew performed the role of Nadir in Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers with Sarasota Opera. His interpretation of “Je crois entendre encore” was praised by the Herald Tribune as “melodically mesmerizing… leaving the audience transfixed.”
Career highlights include leading tenor roles with Sarasota Opera, notably Roméo (Roméo et Juliette), Aeneas (Dido and Aeneas), Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), Alfredo (La traviata), and Nando (Tiefland). His work has been praised by Opera News for his “fine lyric tenor” and “captivating performance,” and by the Herald Tribune for a voice “rich and full through its entire range.”
Additional roles include Ferrando in Così fan tutte with Opera in the Heights and the Glacier Symphony; Don José in La tragédie de Carmen with Tri-Cities Opera; performances with Opera on the James; and originating the tenor roles for the world premiere and studio recording of Matthew Peterson’s Voir Dire.
Andrew received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music from Northern Arizona University. A Bay Area native, he spent a decade living on Manhattan’s Upper West Side before making Houston his home. He enjoys travel (especially to Italy), hiking in the Montana mountains, and singing with River Oaks Baptist Church.