He is a bass singer who took studies in opera in the Class of 1977 at the Curtis Institute of Music.
He became an active singer in the operatic community in Philadelphia making appearances as Elder Ott in Susannah by the Bucks County Opera Association, Haly in L’italiani in Algeri, Snug/Lion in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and La Conte di Monterone in Rigoletto staged by the Curtis Institute of Music in 1976. In 1977 he performed the roles of Un berger and Un medicin in Pelleas et Melisande, Masetto in Don Giovanni and Un carceriere in Tosca put on by the Curtis Institute of Music.
He was no less busy in 1978 when he appeared as Facenda in the Curtis Institute of Music’s production of Livietta e Tracollo, as Ben in The Telephone and as a Parishioner in The Meeting.
In 1984 he performed as Prima apparizione in the Opera Company of Philadelphia’s production of Macbeth and the following year he appeared as Il Comandante di Marina in their ManonLescaut. In 1986 he joined the Temple University Opera Theatre to take on the role of Junius in The Rape of Lucretia and in 1987 he was in their productions of L’incoronazione di Poppea where he performed as Ottone and The Mother Of Us All where he was Virgil T and Ulysses S. Grant. In 1988 he was Signor Geronimo in The Temple University Opera Theatre’s Il MatrimonioSegreto and the following year he was Dr. Kolenaty in The Makropulos Case and Apollo in Egisto.
He also performed with The Philadelphia Singers in the 1980s and appeared on their 1987 holiday recording Gloria! Gloria!.
The 1990s came around and he was busy as ever in the opera world with appearances with the Temple University Opera Theatre in the 1990 productions of Gianni Schicchi and La Cenerentola and 1991’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Love of Three Oranges.
In the new millennium he performs regularly in Maryland and has been a featured soloist in Bach in Baltimore’s 2007-8 concert series in a performance of Bach’s Cantata 147 Herz und Mund un Tat un Leben and he appeared again in the 2008-9 season as a soloist in Bach’s First Cantata from the Christmas Oratorio, and 2010 in a performance of Cantata 67.
The Philadelphia Singers recordings
Adeste Fidelis (Frederick Oakeley/John Francis Wade)
RCA 6559-2-RC (Gloria! Gloria!)
Soprano – Benita Valente
Concerto Soloists Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia
Conductor – Michael Korn
Here is the choir performing J.S. Bach’s “Dona Nobis pacem” from the 2007 Bach concert series in Baltimore…
Sources:
- http://www.curtis.edu/about-curtis/history/full-alumni-listing/view-by-instrument.html?&group=Opera
- http://frankhamilton.org/ph/ph3.pdf
- http://www.bachinbaltimore.org/season.html
- http://www.bachinbaltimore.org/season0809.html
- http://washingtondcnightlife.com/dc_event_detail.cfm?id=11308717