Stephen Gould’s interpretations of the heldentenor repertoire have been greeted with critical and popular acclaim. In Britten’s Peter Grimes, Stephen was noted for a "sheer limitless palette of expressiveness," and for being "an ideal singing actor." In Samson et Dalila, he was hailed as "a radiant Heldentenor with a robust, richly resonant voice." Further renown has come from his performance of the title role in Wagner’s Tannhäuser where he was described as a "vocally powerful and intensely molded Title Hero." Opern Welt magazine proclaimed Stephen as "a Tannhäuser of international stature."

Stephen Gould made his Bayerische Staatsoper (Munich) debut in 2001, singing Melot in the festival production of Tristan und Isolde under Maestro Zubin Mehta. Stephen later brought his Florestan in Fidelio to Munich under Maestros Adam Fischer and Zubin Mehta. In spring 2002, Stephen sang Enée in Les Troyens conducted by Zubin Mehta at the Maggio Musicale in Florence. He triumphed in his first performances of the title role in Verdi’s Otello , also at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino under Maestro Zubin Mehta. Other performances include Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde and Salome with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, under Maestro Donald Runnicles, were recorded on Telarc records.

January 2004 brought Stephen both public and critical praise as Paul in a new production of Die tote Stadt at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, conducted by Christian Thielemann. At the same time he made his house debut at Berlin’s Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, conducted by Daniel Barenboim. In February he returned to the Berlin Staatsoper unter den Linden as Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos. He was heard in Palermo in a new production of Der fliegende Holländer under Gabriele Ferro, before making an impressive debut at the prestigious Bayreuth Festival singing the title role in Tannhäuser.

Following engagements included Fidelio in Rome, Ariadne auf Naxos under Philip Jordan in Dresden as well as a European tour of the 1^st Act of Die Walküre under Christian Thielemann. Stephen ended 2004 with a highly successful debut at the Vienna Staatsoper as Paul (Die tote Stadt) in a staging by Willy Decker, conducted by Donald Runnicles. His Chicago Symphony debut came in January, 2005 with performances of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis under Helmut Rilling. Stephen has recently added the title role of Lohengrin to his repertoire, with performances in Trieste, Italy.