---> r e v i e w s
.................................................................................
---> write to Manager
..
.
|
---> b
i o g r a p h y ---> r e v i e w s ................................................................................. ---> write to Manager |
| Kevin Deas, bass... | |
b i o g r a p h y...........back to roster....up March 2008 Kevin Deas has gained international acclaim as one of America’s leading basses. Lauded for his "burnished sound, clarity of diction and sincerity of expression" and "fervent intensity" by Chicago Tribune critic John von Rhein, Deas has been variously called "exemplary" (Denver Post), "especially fine" (Washington Post) and possessing "a resourceful range of expression" (The Cincinnati Enquirer). He is perhaps most acclaimed for his signature portrayal of the title role in Porgy and Bess, having sung it with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, National Symphony, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, San Francisco, Atlanta, San Diego, Utah, Houston, Baltimore and Montreal Symphonies and the Ravinia and Saratoga Festivals. This season, Deas appears with the Pittsburgh Symphony, Grand Rapids Symphony, Vermont Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, National Philharmonic, Boston Baroque, Winter Park Bach Festival, Baldwin-Wallace Bach Festival and makes his debut with Orchestre Symphonique de Québec and Johnstown Symphony (PA). During the 2006/07 season, Kevin Deas returned to the New York Philharmonic, Opera Boston, Houston Symphony, Detroit Symphony, the Washington Chorus, The Collegiate Chorale (NY) and Staatskapelle Weimar. He also sang Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony under the baton of Mo. Barenboim with Filarmonica della Scala in Accra celebrating the 50th anniversary of the founding of Ghana. Highlights of Deas’ 2005/06 appearances included Copland’s Old American Songs with the Chicago Symphony, Porgy and Bess with the Winnipeg and Pacific Symphonies, Handel’s Agrippina with Boston Baroque, Bach’s Magnificat and St. John Passion with Baldwin-Wallace Music Festival, Beethoven Symphony No. 9 with Virginia Symphony, Verdi’s Requiem with Huntsville Symphony, Duke Ellington’s Sacred Music with Winter Park Bach Festival and Messiah with Buffalo Philharmonic, National Philharmonic and Musica Sacra (Carnegie Hall). During the 2004/2005 season, Kevin Deas performed Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Colorado Symphony and Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Messiah with the Cleveland Orchestra and Handel & Haydn Society, Porgy and Bess with the Atlanta Symphony, Brooklyn and Rochester Philharmonics, and Mozart Great Mass with the Grand Rapids Symphony, as well as Brubeck’s To Hope! in Salzburg and Vienna. During the previous summer, Deas sang in Mozart's Marriage of Figaro with the Chicago Symphony under Daniel Barenboim and opened the Newport Jazz Festival with the Dave Brubeck Quartet.
A strong proponent of contemporary music, Kevin Deas was heard at Italy’s Spoleto Festival in a new production of Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors in honor of the composer's eighty-fifth birthday, videotaped for worldwide release. His 20-year collaboration with Dave Brubeck have taken him to Salzburg, Vienna and Moscow in To Hope! and his Gates of Justice were presented in a gala performance in New York during the 95/96 season. He also performed Tippet's Child of our Time with the Vancouver Symphony and in 1992 debuted with the Chicago Symphony in a concert version of X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X by Anthony Davis, later repeated in New York and recorded. |
r e v i e w s...........back to roster....up Bach — Christmas Oratorio The most striking was bass Kevin Deas, a poetic and communicative singer who shapes Bach’s lines as beautifully as he must sing Gershwin’s Porgy. - The Plain Dealer, Donald Rosenberg Bach — Mass in B minor Deas in “Et in Spiritum Sanctum” (“And I believe in the Holy Spirit”) showed that beauty can coexist with power in a male voice. - The Times, Donald P. Delany Beethoven — Symphony No. 9 The lower strings were exceptionally rich here, as was the bass soloist, Kevin Deas, in text exhorting all to sing still more beautifully and joyfully. - Herald-Tribune, Gayle Williams Bizet — Jolie Fille de Perth Kevin Deas, a singer always good to hear, did a lovely job with the part of Simon Glover, the “Fair Maid’s father. . . - The New York Times, Paul Griffiths Copland — Old American Songs Mr. Deas is the possessor of a rich, full bass voice with which he could not only roll out the bass pedal notes at the end of the song “At the River,” but also demonstrate a surprisingly firm high register in the song “Long Time Ago,” And his flexibility, as demonstrated in the patter minstrel song, “Ching-A-Ring Chaw,” had to be heard to be believed. - The Capital, David Lindauer Deas sang the Shaker tune “Simple Gift” and other Copland-arranged classics, including a wonderfully whimsical rendering of “I Bought Me a Cat.” A rousing ovation brought him back out for a surprise encore, a tribute to the late William Warfield, in which Deas brought the house down with Warfield’s signature tune, “Ol’ Man River.” He had barely completed the song’s powerful closing note when the folding teater seats flipped closed throughout the hall. - Jetsetter Magazine Gershwin — Porgy and Bess Bass Kevin Deas was a strong Porgy, full of life in his anthem, I Got Plenty O’Nuttin, and anguished near the end in Bess, Oh Where’s My Bess.” - Star Tribune, Michael Anthony Porgy is the central role, and Deas warmed quickly to the part in the character’s chain of arias in Act 2. His careful diction preserved words as he developed the emotional landscape of the opera.” - The Philadelphia Inquirer, Daniel Webster Handel - Messiah The most impressive singer in this regard, because such delicacy is hardly expected in such a big voice, was bass Kevin Deas. His "Behold, I tell you a mystery," ushering in the oratorio's massive conclusion, was one of the evening's high points, as were "The people that walked in darkness" and "Why do the nations." — The Washington Post, Joseph McLellan The high point, from a soloistic point of view, came almost at the end, with Deas’ beautiful rendition of “The Trumpet Shall sound,” sung from memory and with great conviction. His turning to direct attention to assistant principal trumpet Thomas Drake’s flawless accompaniment was a nice touch; the piece amounted to a gorgeous duet. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Sarah Bryan Miller On the plus side, bass-baritone Kevin Deas brought both a big, dark sound and almost frightening command to powerful passages like “Why do the nations so furiously rage together” and “The trumpet shall sound.” - Boston Herald, T. J. Medrek The exemplary bass soloist was Kevin Deas, clean with his divisions in “Why Do the nations so furiously rage together?” and lavish with his embellishments in “The Trumpet shall sound.” - The Denver Post, Jeff Bradley Mahler — Songs of a Wayfarer Deas is a mesmerizing performer. His rich, powerful voice, fine articulation and emotional range easily fill the stage. Singing in German, the regal baritone embodied Mahler’s autobiographical “Songs of a Wayfarer” with the anguish, bravado and passionate despair of a rejected but still devoted lover.” - The News Journal, Tom Butler Mozart — Don Giovanni Kevin Deas as Leporello, the humble servant fed up to here with the antics of his master and probably wishing he could have time for just one girlfriend himself, was delightful and played his role with deftness and humor. - Eugene Weekly, Ari Seligmann Aiding Don Giovanni in his amorous escapades was his servant, Leporello, wonderfully detailed by Kevin Deas. Leporello is the classic comic sidekick, yet Deas made him sympathetic and quixotic, while singing with a wonderful sensitivity.” - The Register-Guard, Fred Crafts Bass-baritone Kevin Deas, the evening’s Leporello, made the transition from comic manservant to terrified observer seamlessly.” - The Riverfront Times, Harry Weber Shostakovich — Symphony No. 14 In his debut, Mr. Deas displayed a rich, vibrant bass-baritone, and sang the text compellingly, always with a resourceful range of expression. For instance, his interpretation of “At The Jail,” was vivid with the horror of the gulag. . . . Mr. Deas’ rapid-fire delivery with wonderful character, and created a sustained, fluid quality as the music became more elegiac. - The Cincinnati Enquirer, Janelle Gelfand Tippett — A Child of Our Time But it was bass Kevin Deas, with his big, open voice and penetrating musical intelligence, who dug deepest to the fundamental human dignity of Tippet’s narrative and projected it through song with the instinct and style of a born storyteller. - Robert Jordan Verdi — Requiem Deas, baritone with piercing subterranean notes nonetheless, was the very voice of death from his opening solo as well as in several more solos later. - The Grand Rapids Press, Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk b i o g r a p h y ----- r e v i e w s back to roster...up . . . . |