cAST & creATive Kevin burdeTTe OSMIN
ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT: ThE PirATES of PEnzAncE, 2016 Praised by The New York Times for “singing with earthy power and flair,” the highly sought-after bass Kevin Burdette has garnered critical acclaim as “an excellent comic actor” for his “deadpan timing” and “vibrant personality” in comedic roles (Opera Today). His 2016-17 season engagements include Sulpice in La fille du régiment with Washington National Opera; reprising Beck Weathers in Everest with Dallas Opera; Nick Shadow in The Rake’s Progress with Boston Lyric Opera; General Polkan in The Golden Cockerel and Frosch in Die Fledermaus with Santa Fe Opera; The Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance with Lyric Opera of Kansas City; and Messiah at Duke University. In the summer of 2016, Mr. Burdette sang Ko-Ko in The Mikado with Chautauqua Opera. Recent highlights include the Pirate King for his Atlanta Opera debut; Stefano in Adès’ The Tempest (Diapason d’Or and Grammy awarded) with Metropolitan Opera; Sulpice with Santa Fe Opera; Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore and Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Opera Philadelphia; Judge Turpin in Sweeney Todd with Portland Opera; Mustafà in L'italiana in Algeri with Seattle Opera; Leporello in Don Giovanni with Boston Lyric Opera; Osmin in Die Entführung aus dem Serail with Argentina’s Teatro Colón; T.J. Rigg in Elmer Gantry with Florentine Opera; creating the role of Stobrod/Blind Man in Higdon’s Cold Mountain with Santa Fe Opera; and creating Eric Gold/Ghost of Vittorio Bazzetti in Heggie’s Great Scott, and OB in Mark Adamo’s Becoming Santa Claus with Dallas Opera.
mATTheW GrillS PEDRILLO ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT
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Lauded by The Baltimore Sun for his “impassioned phrasing” and a “ping in [the] voice that pays dividends,” tenor Matthew Grills is a member of the ensemble at the Bayerische Staatsoper. His numerous roles at the house include Pedrillo in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Brighella in Ariadne auf Naxos, Edgar Evans in the world premiere of Srnka’s South Pole. He also makes his role and company debut this season as Idreno in Semiramide with the Opéra national de Lorraine and sings the Berio orchestration of Verdi’s 8 Romanze with the Orchestre de la Haute Ecole de musique de Genève. He has joined San Francisco Opera as Tobias Ragg in Sweeney Todd as well as for Almaviva in family performances of Il barbiere di Siviglia, Portland Opera for Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore, and Wolf Trap Opera as Fenton in Falstaff. Before joining the ensemble at the Bayerische Staatsoper, he was a member of the company’s prestigious Opernstudio and sang the title role of Le comte Ory and Fabrizio in Martinů’s Mirandolina. Mr. Grills was presented by the Vocal Arts D.C. and the Washington Performing Arts Society in solo recital at the Terrace Theater at the Kennedy Center and sang his first performances of Handel’s Messiah with the Hartford Symphony. He was a 2012 grand prize-winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and a member of the young artist programs of the Santa Fe Opera and Portland Opera.