JORDAN RUTTER-COVATTO

JORDAN RUTTER-COVATTO (they/them) is a Vietnamese-American countertenor, actor, composer, and creative producer based in New York City. Rutter-Covatto combines method acting processes with Baroque gesture to create performances described as “riveting … terrifying to behold” (Opera News, The Turn of the Screw, 2019). Rutter-Covatto is a highly sought-after collaborator in the development and performance of new work, collaborating with companies including Beth Morrison Projects, The American Opera Project, American Lyric Theatre, and Caborca. Rutter-Covatto created the role of Kyle in Three Way (Paterson/Coté) and can be heard on the original cast recording. Additional operatic highlights include the leading role of Doodle in the second production of The Scarlet Ibis (Weisman/Coté) at Chicago Opera Theatre and Miles in The Turn of the Screw (Britten/Piper) with On Site Opera. A passionate advocate for Baroque music, Rutter-Covatto devised the staged recital ERATO: baroque fetish fantasia for The Tank’s PrideFest, utilizing repertoire from the Italian Baroque played by a period ensemble to portray a story of queer self-actualization. Rutter-Covatto also co-curated and performed in operamission’s 53rd St. Handel, a series of pastiches derived from Handel’s operas performed with period instruments at the New York Public Library on 53rd St. Rutter-Covatto has interpreted the role of the Sorceress in multiple productions of Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas and has collaborated on concert work with ensembles including La Fiocco, Academy of Sacred Drama, and the Queer Urban Orchestra. Rutter-Covatto stage work includes premiering the leading role of Clark in Johnny Lloyd’s play birthday birthday birthday (Columbia New Plays Festival, 2021) and creating the role of Ibis in Truth Future Bachman’s musical Skyward: An Endling Elegy (Lincoln Center, 2023). In 2016, Rutter-Covatto curated German songs and arias and performed onstage to create incidental music for the English-language premiere of Lot Vekemans’s play POISON (Origin Theatre Company). A composer in their own right, Rutter-Covatto has created a number of vocal works that have been performed around the country. Rutter-Covatto’s setting of Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Conqueror Worm” was recently performed in recital by contralto Sara Couden, and their song cycle of Sara Teasdale’s poetry Flame and Shadow was premiered by soprano Sydney Anderson and pianist Mila Henry in 2024. Rutter-Covatto’s song “The Banned-Book Tango” with lyrics by Fred Sauter won third prize in New York’s 2025 SongSlam competition. Rutter-Covatto is the artistic director and co-founder of counter codex, a producer of multi-disciplinary dramatic concerts with a mission to reclaim queer narratives in classical music.