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| Richard Zeller, baritone... | |
b i o g r a p h y...........back to roster....up March 2008 One of America's leading baritones, Richard Zeller, is internationally acclaimed for his concert and opera roles. He is known for his beautiful dramatic voice and presence as well as his outstanding musicianship. During season 2008/09, Mr. Zeller returns to Scottish Opera where he portrays Germont in La Traviata, a role he reprises in the US at Portland Opera. Highlights of the current season are Morales in Carmen at Portland Opera, the title role in Rigoletto with New Jersey Opera, and orchestral engagements with the Virginia Symphony and Evansville Philharmonic. Mr. Zeller’s opera engagements in season 2006/07 included the role of Valentin in Portland Opera’s production of Gounod’s Faust, cover of the title role in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin at the Metropolitan Opera and performing Enrico in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor with New Orleans Opera. Concert engagements during that season have Mr. Zeller perform in an opera gala concert with Johnstown Symphony (PA), Handel’s Messiah with Seattle Symphony, the Shostakovitch Symphony #14 with Richmond Symphony, Weill’s Seven Deadly Sins with Oregon Symphony, a return to the Richmond Symphony for Brahms’ Requiem, Mendelssohn’s Elijah with Memphis Symphony and Orff’s Carmina Burana with Buffalo Philharmonic. The 2003/04 season included the role of Athanaël in Massenet's Thaïs with the English National Opera and more performances with the Metropolitan Opera as Marcello in Puccini’s La Bohème; Schelkalov in Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov; and Barak in R. Strauss’ Die Frau ohne Schatten. In 2002/03 Mr. Zeller appeared at the Metropolitan Opera in three new productions: as Ernesto in Bellini’s Il Pirata with Renée Fleming; in the lead role of Eddie in William Bolcom's opera based on Arthur Miller's play, a View from the Bridge; and as Chorebe in Berlioz's Les Troyens, conducted by Maestro James Levine. He also appeared twice with New Jersey Symphony and Zdenek Macal, recording Dvorak's Te Deum and performing Beethoven's 9th Symphony. He sang Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the St. Louis Symphony and Donald Runnicles and appeared with Keith Lockhart and the Utah Symphony in Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast. He performed in the Metropolitan Opera's Concerts in the Parks as Enrico in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, and sang Fauré’s Requiem and Berlioz's Roméo et Juliette with the Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Jahja Ling.Mr. Zeller's performances in the 2001/02 season included a nationwide TV Broadcast in Live from Lincoln Center singing the Mozart Requiem with the Mostly Mozart Festival, conducted by Gerard Schwarz. He also appeared with Portland Opera as Zurga in Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs de Perles, sang in Carnegie Hall in Bloch's Sacred Service, and in Orff's Carmina Burana with the Oregon Symphony. He sang the villain Scarpia in Puccini's Tosca with Opera Grand Rapids, as well as the title role in Verdi's Macbeth with Opera de Bordeaux and Opera de Vichy. He also sang the world premiere of Henri Lazarof's Fifth Symphony with the Seattle Symphony. Mr. Zeller was featured in Scottish Opera's widely heralded, award-winning production of Macbeth directed by Luc Bondy at its Edinburgh Festival premiere in 1999/00 and revival at the Vienna Festival. Other opera highlights of past seasons include Metropolitan Opera performances of Giordano’s Andrea Chénier and Gounod’s Faust, and Chicago Lyric Opera’s Boris Godunov and Andrea Chénier. He has performed Gluck’s Alceste at the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin and Gluck’s Iphigenie en Tauride in Madrid. Mr. Zeller has frequently performed the role of Germont in Verdi’s La Traviata in opera and concert venues that include Hamburgische Staatsoper, San Diego Opera, Scottish Opera, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Rotterdam and Dublin Opera. Other Verdi baritone roles include Amonasro in Aida with Portland Opera and Florida Philharmonic; the title role in Rigoletto with New York City Opera; and Count di Luna in Il Trovatore with both San Diego Opera and Scottish Opera. Richard Zeller's recordings include Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 for Centaur Records, and Virgil Thompson's Lord Byron and Aaron Copland's The Tender Land for Koch International. |
. o p e r a - r e p e r t o i r e...........back to roster....up Beethoven – FIDELIO – Don Fernando Bizet – CARMEN – Escamillo Bizet – THE PEARL FISHERS – Zurga Britten – THE RAPE OF LUCRETIA – Junius Debussy – PELLÉAS ET MÉLISANDE – Golaud Donizetti – DON PASQUALE – Malatesta Donizetti – L'ELISIR D'AMORE – Belcore Donizetti – LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR – Enrico Giordano – ANDREA CHÉNIER – Rocher Gluck – ALCESTE – High Priest Gluck – IPHIGENIE EN TAURIDE – Thoas, Cantante Gounod – FAUST – Valentin Leoncavallo – I PAGLIACCI – Silvio Mascagni – IL PICCOLO MARAT – Il Carpentiere Moore – BALLAD OF BABY DOE – Horace Mozart – COSÌ FAN TUTTE – Guglielmo Mozart – DON GIOVANNI – Don Giovanni Mozart – LE NOZZE DI FIGARO – Figaro, Count Almaviva Mozart – DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE – Papageno, The Speaker Mussorgsky – BORIS GODUNOV – Rangoni Offenbach – TALES OF HOFFMAN – Four Villians Puccini – LA BOHÈME – Marcello Puccinit – MADAMA BUTTERFLY – Sharpless Puccini – TURANDOT – Ping Rossini – LA CENERENTOLA – Dandini, Alidoro Rossini – L' ITALIANA IN ALGIERI – Taddeo Saint-Saïns – SAMSON ET DALILA – High Priest Stravinsky – THE RAKE'S PROGRESS – Nick Shadow Verdi – DON CARLO – Rodrigo Verdi – FALSTAFF – Ford Verdi – IL TROVATORE – Count di Luna Verdi – LA TRAVIATA – Germont Verdi – RIGOLETTO – Rigoletto Verdi – UN BALLO IN MASCHERA – Renato Wagner – DIE MEISTERSINGER – Pogner Wagner – TANNHAEUSER – Wolfram b i o....o p e r a - r e p e r t o i r e....o r c h e s t r a - r e p e r t o i r e r e v i e w s... back to roster...up . . . . |
. o r c h e s t r a - r e p e r t o i r e...........back to roster....up Bach – CHRISTMAS ORATORIO Bach – MASS IN B MINOR Bach – ST. MATTHEW PASSION Bach – ST. JOHN PASSION Bach – MAGNIFICAT Bach – CANTATA 56 Bach – CANTATA 82 "ICH HABE GENUG" Haydn – THE CREATION Haydn – THE SEASONS Haydn – PAUKENMESSE Haydn – LORD NELSON MASS Beethoven – SYMPHONY NO. 9 Beethoven – MASS IN C Beethoven – MISSA SOLEMNIS Mahler – LIEDER EINES FAHRENDEN GESELLEN Mahler – CANTATA ON THE DEATH OF EMPEROR Mahler – SYMPHONY NO. 8 Mahler – JOSEPH THE SECOND Mendelssohn – ELIJAH Mozart – REQUIEM Mozart – MASS IN C MINOR Berlioz – L'ENFANCE DU CHRIST Berlioz – ROMÉO ET JULIÉTTE Rossini – STABAT MATER Rossini – DAMNATION DE FAUST Schoenberg – GURRELIEDER Bloch – SACRED SERVICE Schumann – PARADISE AND PERI Brahms – GERMAN REQUIEM Stravinsky – CANTICUM SACRUM Britten – CANTATA MISERICORDIUM Britten – WAR REQUIEM Vaughan Williams – FIVE MYSTICAL SONGS Bruckner – TE DEUM Walton – BELSHAZZAR'S FEAST Walton – A SEA SYMPHONY Fauré – REQUIEM Handel – ACIS AND GALATEA Handel – JUDAS MACCABAEUS Handel – MESSIAH Janacek – GLAGOLITHIC MASS b i o....o p e r a - r e p e r t o i r e....o r c h e s t r a - r e p e r t o i r e r e v i e w s... back to roster...up . . . . |
. r e v i e w s...........back to roster....up Bach — St. Matthew Passion “. . . Richard Zeller, who sang with a richly resonant voice.” - Albert H. Cohen — Orlando Sentinel Bach — St. John Passion “Richard Zeller sang the part of Jesus honestly, surely and without bombast. The singer who takes this role has a more demanding task than in the ‘St. Matthew’ Passion, where the orchestra strings surround his words. Zeller highlighted his character without spotlighting it, relying on understatement more than assertion to make his point.” - Michael Fleming, St. Paul Pioneer Press “Zeller, a commanding figure physically, brought a sense of grandeur to his role. His long duet as Adam with Schellenberg’s Eve achieved a sense of exaltation as much for its humanness as for its spirituality. - Neil Harris, Winnipeg Free Press Beethoven — Symphony No. 9 “Soloist, Richard Zeller clearly felt the music in his soul. His powerful baritone resonated throughout the Carpenter Center, bearing Beethoven’s magnificent message to the masses: Be embraced, ye millions! This kiss is for the entire world!” Debussy — Pelleas et Melisande “Richard Zeller was a commanding Golaud, showing a character with a tender streak encased by a stony exterior. His character’s growth, from hopeful bridegroom to betrayed husband, to broken widower, was traced with variety of tone color and carefully shaded delivery.” - Michael Fleming, Saint Paul Pioneer Press Donizetti — Don Pasquale ”Baritone Richard Zeller was a first-rate straight man in the role of Dr. Malatesta, the friend of Ernesto and Norina who cooks up the scheme to foil Don Pasquale. His acting and singing styles were similar: straightforward, easy to follow, sans excess embellishment. Vocally, he revealed pleasant, solid tones that fit an authority figure well. - Robert A. Masullo, The Sacramento Bee Dvorak — Te Deum “Baritone Richard Zeller was a resonating, dominating presence in the Te Deum. . . “ - Willa J. Conrad — Star-Ledger “. . . baritone Richard Zeller was grandly stentorian.” - Henry Wyatt - Classical New Jersey Society Journal “ . . . baritone Richard Zeller, whose rich baritone cut cleanly through the ensemble’s mass.” - Jerry Ben-Asher — NJJN “. . . baritone Richard Zeller, both of whom have extraordinarily rich and mature voices.” - Andrew Braid — The Times Hanson, Howard - Merry Mount “Richard Zeller was masterful in the role thoroughly deserving of the warm applause he got. . .” - Gavin Borchert, Seattle Weekly “It would be hard to find a more sympathetic advocate for that role than the excellent baritone Richard Zeller, whose big, lyrical voice and suave inflections brought a great deal of variety to his powerful performance.” - Melinda Bargreen, Seattle Times Haydn — Creation “But Zeller was not far behind, his smoothly produced baritone encompassing even the lower reaches of Raphael’s music, then lightening a bit for Adam. (I specially enjoyed the touch of humor he brought to Haydn’s depiction of the animals. . .).” - William S. Goodfellow, Deseret News Mendelsshon — Elijah “Zeller was confident as Elijah, his voice full of sharp nuance and shading, but always free of sentiment. . .” - Kurt Loft, The Tampa Tribune “[Richard] Zeller, an opera singer, brought unusual expressiveness to Elijah. His prophet was not just an ornery, wrathful character; he was sensitive, and comforting when he promised ‘the Lord will send rain again upon the earth.’” - John Fleming, St. Petersburg Times “Richard Zeller stepped in and proved the search to be an unqualified success.” “Zeller, on loan Thursday and tonight from Lyric Opera of Chicago, embodied the Old Testament hero from the moment he stepped forth in the introduction. His declamation was forceful throughout, his baritone lustrous from top to bottom and his ability to express the myriad nuances in Mendelssohn’s score complete.” “Elijah travels a long psychological road in this oratorio, and Zeller’s compelling artistry kept the man’s humanity in fresh, eloquent focus. How lucky that Cleveland secured such a charismatic replacement. - Donald Rosenberg, The Plain Dealer “Zeller consistently displayed a seamless sound throughout his voice, and a magnificent expressive range with seemingly limitless nuance. His voice was sheer pleasure to hear, particularly in ‘Ego sum baas.’” - Margaret M Barela, Albuquerque Journal “. . . baritone Richard Zeller’s strong yet sensitive handling of Elijah’s music. The prophet’s bitter sarcasm in the scene with the priests of Baal came through vividly, as did his profound despair and longing for death (‘Es ist genug’).” - John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune Orff — Carmina Burana “Baritone Richard Zeller’s solo was pure and controlled as the strings accompanied his song of a boy’s lusty springtime desires (‘April shows her face; the confident heart rushes to love, and over all delights, the boyish god rules’).” - Anne Voegtlin, The Oregon Columbian “Adding enormously to the sensuality of the performance, was baritone Richard Zeller’s often ravishing vocalism. Shading his voice with one suggestive nuance after another, he tapped the deepest of each solo. His smooth, warm tones in ‘Omnia sol temperat’ were especially compelling.” - Tim Smith, Miami Sun-Sentinal “Perhaps the most bite was injected by the compelling presence of bass-baritone Richard Zeller/ He displayed an impressive repertoire of expression and vocal color in ‘Omnia sol temperat,’ and continued to impress with his admirable attention to word and detail.” - Janelle Gelfand, The Cincinnati Enquirer “Zeller, no stranger to Cincinnati concert-goers, is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He delivered this tremendously witty music with unusual skill and managed to negotiate the incredible falsetto passages along with the velvet true bass baritone sounds.” - Betty Dietz Krebs, The Cincinnati Post Verdi — La Traviata “[Richard Zeller’s]. . . voice, comparatively light-hued, is warm and attractive and he is a poetic singer, rising to a touching level of passion and sadness when his son is stricken by the fateful letter.” - Raymond Monelle , Opera Verdi — Rigoletto “Richard Zeller, the baritone as Rigoletto . . . dominated the dialogue with fine and complimentary vocal efforts.” “Zeller played him like a Hollywood hunk, who, in the end, emerges as a hero who can hold to honesty and sincerity.” - The Patriot- News b i o....o p e r a - r e p e r t o i r e....o r c h e s t r a - r e p e r t o i r e r e v i e w s... back to roster...up . . . . |