As I promised, below is a brief, but detailed recapitulation of the last few months:
I returned in the fall of 2018 to Maryland Lyric Opera to sing the role of Nick in La Fanciulla del West with some rather fantastic singers. I was particularly excited, like a high school-aged groupie, to be singing - once again - with Mark Delavan. As I may have mentioned in a previous post, he is one of my favorite singers.* Other cast members included Susan Bullock and Jill Gardner sharing the role of Minnie; Mark Delavan and Aleksey Bogdanov as Jack Rance; Jonathan Burton and Yi Li sharing Dick Johnson/Ramerrez; Kenneth Kellogg; SeungHyeon Baek; Catherine Martin; Norman Garrett. There are of course so many miners, and other brilliant singers sharing the state. I recommend you follow these singers, a full list of the cast can be found here.
Following that set of great performances, I returned to New York, my job as bartender at the King's County Distillery tasting room and singing at the Greek Cathedral.
What is becoming a musically rewarding trend, I returned in December to Maryland. This time I was engaged to sing a pair of performances of Beethoven's 9th symphony with the Montgomery Philharmonic.
In January, I packed my suitcase and participated in the Lyric Opera Studio Weimar. I sang several successful performances of Alfred in Die Fledermaus in Weimar and Arnstadt. March had me back in Maryland singing a night of, can you believe it, Mozart arias and opera excerpts.
The big news: I decided to try my luck in Germany.
Since April I have been living in Berlin, Germany learning the language at the Volkshochschule, and taking lessons and coachings.
I'll return to the States in September to sing Tinca in Il Tabarro with the Maryland Lyric Opera lead by the imitable Maestro Louis Salemno.
Keep your fingers crossed for me readers... trying to make this work.
Thanks for reading,
Joe
*I was very fortunate to be member of the Collegiate Chorale (now called the Master Voices) in my teens and early twenties performing operas in concert at Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall (now called David Geffen Hall) with the great voices of that period. One of the most inspiring performances was given by Mark Delavan way back in 2005. It was a Verdi/Shakespeare concert with a star studded marquee: The Orchestra of St. Lukes, under the direction of the late Maestro Robert Bass; Roger Rees, Dana Ivey, and Richard Easton acting Shakespeare's text, alternating with Ryan McKinny, Richard Cox, Mark Delavan, Rodell Aure Rosel, Lando Bartolini, Kallen Esperian, Cynthia Lawrence, and Heidi Grant Murphy. I have since been a huge fan of Mark's. I saw him in Andrea Chenier, the Ring Cycle, and was in the chorus again for Road to Promise. At last, finally in 2017, I sang Trin in La Fanciulla del West at the Detroit Opera House as a member of the Michigan Opera Studio program with Mark as Jack Rance. I literal dream come true.
Following that set of great performances, I returned to New York, my job as bartender at the King's County Distillery tasting room and singing at the Greek Cathedral.
What is becoming a musically rewarding trend, I returned in December to Maryland. This time I was engaged to sing a pair of performances of Beethoven's 9th symphony with the Montgomery Philharmonic.
In January, I packed my suitcase and participated in the Lyric Opera Studio Weimar. I sang several successful performances of Alfred in Die Fledermaus in Weimar and Arnstadt. March had me back in Maryland singing a night of, can you believe it, Mozart arias and opera excerpts.
The big news: I decided to try my luck in Germany.
Since April I have been living in Berlin, Germany learning the language at the Volkshochschule, and taking lessons and coachings.
I'll return to the States in September to sing Tinca in Il Tabarro with the Maryland Lyric Opera lead by the imitable Maestro Louis Salemno.
Keep your fingers crossed for me readers... trying to make this work.
Thanks for reading,
Joe
*I was very fortunate to be member of the Collegiate Chorale (now called the Master Voices) in my teens and early twenties performing operas in concert at Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall (now called David Geffen Hall) with the great voices of that period. One of the most inspiring performances was given by Mark Delavan way back in 2005. It was a Verdi/Shakespeare concert with a star studded marquee: The Orchestra of St. Lukes, under the direction of the late Maestro Robert Bass; Roger Rees, Dana Ivey, and Richard Easton acting Shakespeare's text, alternating with Ryan McKinny, Richard Cox, Mark Delavan, Rodell Aure Rosel, Lando Bartolini, Kallen Esperian, Cynthia Lawrence, and Heidi Grant Murphy. I have since been a huge fan of Mark's. I saw him in Andrea Chenier, the Ring Cycle, and was in the chorus again for Road to Promise. At last, finally in 2017, I sang Trin in La Fanciulla del West at the Detroit Opera House as a member of the Michigan Opera Studio program with Mark as Jack Rance. I literal dream come true.
