DIVERSIONS
YourObserver.com
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2014
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// ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT
Courtesy photos
Hendrick with Dara Hobbs in the Sarasota Opera’s production of “The Flying Dutchman” and with Sean Anderson in “Of Mice and Men.” between apprentice and principal. Hendrick was baptized by operatic fire by having to learn four roles in four productions: a member of the chorus in Giuseppe Verdi’s “Nabucco,” a secondary role in Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Fidelio” and an understudy for the principal roles in Jacques Offenbach’s “Tales of Hoffmann” and Carl Nielsen’s “Maskarade.” Not to mention, all four productions required Hendrick to master four languages: Italian, German, French and Dutch, respectively. The honorary opera native keeps coming back to Sarasota Opera for the consistency in professionalism and music quality. “It’s a very rare thing today in opera to find someone who runs the opera house the way Maestro Victor DeRenzi does,” says Hendrick about DeRenzi, the opera’s artistic director and principal conductor. According to Hendrick, the
musical standards of DeRenzi and his staff are the highest he’s ever experienced in his 20-year career. That’s high praise coming from someone whose career includes stints at world-renowned companies such as the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington National Opera, L’Opéra de Montréal and Seattle Opera. However, contrary to an outsider’s perspective, returning to a smaller market such as the Sarasota Opera is a creative homecoming. Hendrick’s musical journey has offered him the perspective of a mature and consummate artist who strives to obtain artistic satisfaction and not just large marquees. “This is how I make a living and how I feed my family, but my focus when you’re in the production isn’t about money at all,” says Hendrick. “It’s about getting the best thing you can put on stage. As myself, as a singer, as an
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actor, what can I do to make this better as we’re going through the rehearsal and production process.” When Sarasota Opera contacted him in 2012 about returning to perform, Hendrick felt like he was coming home. “I was over the moon,” says Hendrick, “because in terms of the quality of a production there is nothing better than Sarasota.”
IF YOU GO ‘Pagliacci’ by Ruggero Leoncavallo When: Runs through Nov. 15 Where: Sarasota Opera, 61 N. Pineapple Ave. Cost: Tickets are $19 to $125; student rush is $10 Info: Call 366-8450 or visit sarasotaopera.org.
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eventually attending the University of Cincinnati — CollegeConservatory of Music where he earned two graduate degrees in four years (a master’s in music and vocal performance and an artist diploma in opera performance), all the while experimenting with eclectic and rarely performed material. “The conservatory had me pushed on a shopping cart dressed as a Greek god strumming a harp, singing this baroque music, straight tone in Claudio Monteverdi’s ‘Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda,’” says Hendrick. With each new performance opportunity, the conservatory helped expand Hendrick’s performance capabilities. A few years after he completed his graduate study, Hendrick earned his opera chops in 1995 at Sarasota Opera. The first year he was a studio artist, the medium rank of opera performers
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pet player in his hometown of LaGrange, Ga., Hendrick faced a tumultuous fork in his creative road. “I’ve always loved music, even as a kid, but trumpet just wasn’t quite enough for me,” says Hendrick. After reflecting on his artistic goals, Hendrick made the decision to drop the trumpet and his scholarship after one term. A few months later, after receiving offers from agriculture, sociology and math professors to select their respective fields for study, a friend mentioned to Hendrick that Berry College was acquiring a new voice professor. So Hendrick took his love of music and switched his instrument from the trumpet to his voice. Without any prior formal voice training, he took to it immediately. After completing his undergraduate degree in music education, Hendrick auditioned for several graduate schools,