Spring 2022 Magazine Feature: A Tale of Two Tenors - Bradley Williams & Anthony León

A Tale of Two Tenors 24 New England Conservatory Magazine / Spring 2022

BY STEPHANIE JANES PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREW HURLBUT

Bradley Williams, Voice Chair, and Anthony León, Artist Diploma Tenor, discuss their lasting bond and what makes NEC special BRADLEY WILLIAMS , tenor and Voice Chair at NEC,

shares special bonds with all of his students. But he can see echoes of his own career trajectory when he looks at the rising star of Artist Diploma candidate and tenor ANTHONY LEÓN. A 2021 alumnus of NEC’s Master of Music program in Vocal Performance, and current Artist Diploma candidate due to graduate in 2023, Anthony knows his time at NEC can springboard him into the spotlight as a tenor who will be seen on stages around the world.

NEC’s Artist Diploma program is the institution’s highest-level and most selective performance program, and only a few students are admitted each year: Anthony is one such student. Being a student in the AD program gives Anthony the opportunity to hone his craft and take advantage of NEC’s extensive performance opportunities.

What makes Anthony’s experience at NEC particularly special is the opportunity to continue his studies with Bradley. The teacher-student relationship they share is pivotal to Anthony’s career as a rising tenor with a bright future ahead.

The two tenors discuss their similarities as artists, their relationship as mentor and student, and what makes the NEC community so special.

Q.

DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN YOU FIRST FELL IN LOVE WITH MUSIC? BRADLEY WILLIAMS (BW): I discovered a love for music as a child. My mom loved to sing, and I grew up listening to and singing along with her Barbra Streisand and Mario Lanza records. My family actually discovered I could sing because I started singing along with my mom and the radio on road trips. But I am also very lucky to have had a number of dynamic music teachers. My high school choir director later introduced me to Luciano Pavarotti which changed my life forever. He made me want to become a singer.

ANTHONY LEÓN (AL): I also grew up in a musical family. My dad is a tenor and my mom is a soprano. My mom has four brothers who are all in medicine, and they’re all operatic tenors. So I grew up in this household where we would play concerts of The Three Tenors, Kathleen Battle, Jessye Norman, and Andrea Bocelli. I was the two-year-old who could sing Italian arias. My family tells these funny stories about how when I was little, we would go into the mall and I would sing and draw a crowd.

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FUTURE TENOR Anthony is ready for the spotlight as a two-year-old singing Italian arias in local malls.

Courtesy of Anthony León

HOW DID YOUR PATHS LEAD YOU TO PURSUE MUSIC AS A CAREER? BW: I always thought I would be a choir director, but one thing led to another that propelled me toward a solo career. In the summer of 1990, I was in a program where I met conductor Paul Nadler, who was conducting at The Metropolitan Opera. Joan Dornemann, a fantastic coach who was the first female opera prompter in the world, was also there for a residency. Paul encouraged me to send my materials to the Metropolitan Opera Guild for a production of Don Pasquale that he was conducting.

Shortly after I submitted them, The Met called and hired me based on a cassette tape recording. After my Met debut as Ernesto, I had an agent and contracts for the coming year. I then went to Santa Fe Opera as an apprentice artist, and shortly after made my New York City Opera debut.

AL: Once I started elementary school and junior high, I studied piano and the saxophone more seriously and put singing aside. But I credit Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo, and José Carreras for igniting a spark in me again. I would go to my closet at night when the rest of my family was asleep and listen to their albums on repeat. I would sing into a sweater so nobody knew I was singing those high notes! Once I got to college, I decided I would major in pre-med and music. My whole family was shocked because they didn’t know that I had gotten so serious about singing again. But pretty soon, while suffering through biology class, I realized all I wanted to do was go to the practice room and sing. So music became my only major, and doors just started to open.

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WHY DID YOU BOTH PICK NEC — AS A TEACHER AND AS A STUDENT? AL: I picked NEC because Bradley and I clicked right away. NEC is exactly where I need to be, and Bradley is exactly the teacher I need to be with. He has taught me so many things and has given me the tools to be able to do what I’m doing now — launching into the next phase of my career. I connected so much with NEC that after I graduated with my master’s, I returned as an Artist Diploma candidate.

BW: Thankfully, NEC picked me! They had an opening in the Voice department and reached out. It’s been a great fit, and I’m thankful to have so many wonderful relationships with colleagues and students.

DO YOU SEE SIMILARITIES IN YOUR CAREER PATHS? BW: Absolutely. My debut at The Met Opera Guild in 1991 was as Ernesto in Don Pasquale, and Anthony just sang the same role here in our spring 2022 production of the same opera. We both sang at Santa Fe Opera as Apprentice Artists thirty years apart; we both were awarded Sullivan Foundation Career Grants after Santa Fe, and those connections have been formative in the next steps of both our careers.

AL: And after Santa Fe, I sang at the St. Louis Opera.

That led to a European tour with Ensemble I Gemelli in the fall, and the year concluded with Handel’s Messiah in Dayton, Ohio this past December. Both of us have been able to take time during our respective academic programs to pursue these opportunities, which plays a big part in building connections and getting even more performance experience.

“We’ve had a welcoming family feeling here for many years. And that trickles down in a way that’s palpable. Without that, we wouldn’t be able to attract this quality of faculty and students.”

– BRADLEY WILLIAMS

FIRST MONDAYS Anthony performs Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “On Wenlock Edge” in the April 2022 First Monday event at Jordan Hall, alongside instrumentalists Lluís Claret, Cello faculty, and visiting violist Hsin-Yun Huang.

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BRADLEY, WHAT DO YOU SEE FOR THE FUTURE OF THE VOCAL DEPARTMENT? BW: The number one thing we need to continue investing in as a conservatory is scholarship support for students. When we’re able to put scholarships targeted toward the talent, we usually enroll them since NEC is their first choice for teacher and institution. We’re always working on innovating our training and curriculum to adapt to the rapidly changing landscape facing a 21st century performing artist. Our goal has always been to attract the best and brightest talents on earth. I want NEC to be the number one choice for students.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT Anthony and Bradley rehearse with collaborative pianist Sujin Choi ’23 GD in Bradley’s studio.

WHAT MAKES NEC SPECIAL? BW: It’s the people. It’s the dynamic that results from the camaraderie in this place versus anywhere else. We keep hearing how special the atmosphere is that we’ve created here at NEC, and that’s intentional. We’ve had a welcoming family feeling here for many years. And that trickles down in a way that’s palpable. Without that, we wouldn’t be able to attract this quality of faculty and students. Anthony and all the many others who have come before him are our ambassadors, and we’re invested in them.

AL: I agree, it’s the people. Although I auditioned for other conservatories, I realized that the best teacher and the best program with the people that cared the most was going to be at NEC. Not only do we get amazing training — perhaps the best training around — but the teachers really care. They’re thinking about you as the artist; you as the artist in training. I’m so grateful for how generous they’ve been with me.

HOW DOES THE OPERA DEPARTMENT COMPLEMENT THE VOICE DEPARTMENT’S WORK? BW: At NEC, students are involved in operas, concerts, and scene work throughout their entire course of study.

In the Opera department in particular, we program the operas based on the voices we have. The Opera department does a remarkable job casting and providing performance experiences for our students.

The Undergraduate Opera Studio (UGOS) is unique in that it is focused solely on performance experiences for our undergraduates. Singers leave NEC very polished because they’re able to grow as artists, ground their technique in live performance, and progress as actors.

That credit goes to our Opera Chair Joshua Major, Music Director Robert Tweten, and UGOS Artistic Director Michael Meraw.

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ANTHONY, WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR YOU? AL: I have another year at NEC as an Artist Diploma student. Although I’ve been able to take time off and sing domestically and abroad, this second year in the AD program is important for my vocal technique. Being at NEC and being able to train and feel the whole community backing me is the best way for me to grow as a young artist.

BW: Anthony is going to go on and have a very long, fruitful, and lucrative international career singing opera, concerts, and crossover. He’s the quintessential 21st century artist who has developed the skill sets to leverage technology to his advantage and adapt to ever-changing conditions in the industry. Anthony is a model for how to succeed in today’s music world. He has the talent, but even more importantly, he has done the work necessary to achieve his goals, and he loves the process.