[Kevin
Short]
Dominique-René
de Lerma (Appleton WI)
If
there is a model for a young singer, it is exemplified within the
biography of bass-baritone Kevin Short. He entered Morgan State
University as a wrestling major (and is doubtless the only opera star
to be inducted into the Wrestling Hall of Fame). Having an interest
in music, he joined Nathan Carter's choir and thought it might not
hurt to take some music classes and enroll in Betty Ridgeway's vocal
studio -- and soon as a music major. In his music history class,
seemingly casually but actually very intentionally, I played Osmin's
aria from Mozart's Entfürhrung aus dem Serail. Kevin, then
thought to be a bass, was obviously transfixed; it is likely he never
heard a bass singer before. Within a week he passed by my office and
mentioned he had -- on his own -- attended a Washington production of
that opera, and he was enraptured. I invited him to my home to watch
a VHS recording of Verdi's Macbeth. With a fresh naïve
spirit, he need not know this was one of the works less often
encountered, but he knew Shakespeare from his high school days.
Experiences were beginning to unite. The second opera he saw was The
man of La Mancha, and he was in the cast. So also his third:
Porgy and Bess.
Well
before his senior year, he asked me what he should do after
graduation. He had already been a contestant in the Metropolitan
Opera Guild's competition and, pulled aside, was lauded for his
talent but, at 21, he was too young for mature roles. I told him
about the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. He applied and
was accepted. On graduation (with honors), he applied for the opera
program at the Juilliard School and gained admission. Prior to his
graduation, his teacher took him to audition for professional
management, and he was booked. After a stay with the New York City
Opera, he was invited to join the Metropolitan Opera, where he
remained for a few seasons but meanwhile had been securing European
engagements -- in such number he moved to Europe and a major career.
He had
several factors on his side. A good instrument was of prime
importance, but he identified a straight line toward his goal, not
allowing room or time for any diversion or temptation. In addition,
he was so pleasant and affable a personality, never adopting a prima
donna affection, that return engagements were customary. And he
never forgot his roots, faithfully returning to the
Baltimore-Washington area even for minor engagements (at one time
when a previous agreement prevented his participation in a master
class with Luciano Pavarotti).
He has
sung with the major opera companies and orchestras of New York,
Washington, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Cleveland, Kansas
City, Paris, Bologna, Basel, Prague, and Stuttgart, as samples, but
also in Hiroshima, Beijing, Tokyo, and Hanoi.
Now
he returns to Morgan for the school's stellar four-day professional
production of Porgy and Bess
at the end of March (with former classmate Kishna Davis as Bess), a
work he has performed in probably every European country. Those
wishing to attend should call 443-885-3168 for tickets and, for
future engagements contact Mirshak Artists Management, 1173
Second Avenue, #313. NY 10065 (917-282-0687).
His
expansive repertoire covers not only the masterworks, but extends
well into the lesser known, from the diabolical to the comic,
regardless of language:
Bach,
Johann Sebastian. Johannespassion.
Bach,
Johann Sebastian. Magnificat.
Bach,
Johann Sebastian. Matthäuspassion.
Bach,
Johann Sebastian. Weihnachtsoratorium.
Beethoven,
Ludwig van. Fidelio (Pizzaro).
Beethoven,
Ludwig van. Mass, C major.
Beethoven,
Ludwig van. Missa solemnis.
Beethoven,
Ludwig van. Symphony, no. 9.
Bellini,
Vincenzo. Norma (Orevido).
Berlioz,
Hector. La damnation de Faust (Mephistofélés).
Berlioz,
Hector. L'enfance du Christ.
Bizet,
Georges. Les pecheurs de perles (Nourabad).
Bizet,
Georges. Carmen (Escanillo).
Boito,
Arrigo. Mefistofele (Mefistofele).
Brahms,
Johannes. Ein deutsches Requiem.
Britten,
Benjamin. Midsummer night's dream (Bottom).
Britten,
Benjamin. War requiem.
Bruckner,
Anton. Te deum.
Dionizetti,
Gaetano. Lucia di Lammermoor (Raimondo).
Donizetti,
Gaetano. Anna Bolena (Enrico).
Dvořák,
Antonín. Requiem.
Dvořák,
Antonín. Stabat mater.
Dvořák,
Antonín. Te deum.
Fauré,
Gabriel. Requiem.
Gounod,
Charles. Faust (Mephistophélès).
Gounod,
Charles. Roméo et Juliet (Frère Laurent).
Handel,
George Frideric. Messiah.
Handel,
George Frideric. Rinaldo (Argante).
Handel,
George Frideric. Semele.
Haydn,
Joseph. Die Jahreszeitung.
Haydn,
Joseph. Die Schöpfung.
Haydn,
Joseph. Lord Nelson Mass.
Mahler,
Gustav. Symphony, no. 8.
Mendelssohn,
Felix. Die erste Walpurgisnacht.
Mendelssohn,
Felix. Elijah.
Montemezzi,
Italo. L'amore di tre re (Archibaldo).
Monteverdi,
Claudio. L'incoronzaione di Poppea (Seneca).
Mozart,
Wolfgang Amadeus. Die Zauberflöte (Sarastro).
Mozart,
Wolfgang Amadeus. Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Osmin).
Mozart,
Wolfgang Amadeus. Don Giovanni (Leporello).
Mozart,
Wolfgang Amadeus. Le nozze di Figaro (Figaro, and Count
Almaviva).
Mozart,
Wolfgang Amadeus. Mass, K. 317, C major.
Mozart,
Wolfgang Amadeus. Mass, K. 427, C minor.
Mozart,
Wolfgang Amadeus. Requiem.
Offenbach,
Jacques. Les contes d'Hoffmann (Lindorf, Coppelius, Dr.
Miracle, and Dappertutto).
Puccini,
Giacomo. Gianni Schicchi (Simone).
Puccini,
Giacomo. La bohème (Colline).
Puccini,
Giacomo. Madama Butterfly (Sharpless).
Puccini,
Giacomo. Messa di gloria.
Puccini,
Giacomo. Tosca (Scarpio).
Puccini,
Giacomo. Turandot (Timur).
Rossini,
Gioacchino. Il barbiere di Siviglia (Basilio).
Rossini,
Gioacchino. Il turco in Italia (Selim).
Rossini,
Gioacchino. La cenerentola (Alindoro, and Dandino)
Rossini,
Gioacchino. L'italiana in Algeri (Mustafà).
Rossini,
Gioacchino. Petite messe solenelle.
Rossini,
Gioacchino. Semiramide (Assur).
Rossini,
Gioacchino. Stabat mater.
Saint-Saëns,
Camille. Samson et Dalila (Old Hebrew).
Schubert,
Franz. Mass, G major.
Strauß,
Richard. Elektra (Orest).
Strauß,
Richard. Salome (Jochanaan).
Stravinsky,
Igor. The rake's progress (Nick Shadow).
Verdi,
Giuseppe. Aida (Amonasro, Ramphis, and Il re).
Verdi,
Giuseppe. Atilla (Attlia).
Verdi,
Giuseppe. Don Carlo (Felipe II).
Verdi,
Giuseppe. Ernani (Silva).
Verdi,
Giuseppe. Il trovatore (Ferrando).
Verdi,
Giuseppe. Macbeth (Banco).
Verdi,
Giuseppe. Nabucco (Zaccaria).
Verdi,
Giuseppe. Oberto (Oberto).
Verdi,
Giuseppe. Requiem.
Verdi,
Giuseppe. Rigoletto (Sparafucile).
Verdi,
Giuseppe. Simon Boccanegra (Fiesco).
Weber,
Carl Maria von. Der Freischütz (Caspar).
Dominique-René
de Lerma
http://www.CasaMusicaledeLerma.com
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