Alasdair Kent |
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Alasdair Kent, 2018 |
Born | |
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Occupation | Operatic
tenor |
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Years active | 2013–present |
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Website |
alasdairkent.com |
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Alasdair Kent is a British-Australian
operatic
tenor, principally known for his interpretations of the Italian bel canto of
Rossini and
Bellini, and
Mozart.
[1]
[2] In 2016,
Richard Bonynge presented him with the
Joan Sutherland & Richard Bonynge Foundation Bel Canto Award.
[3] After his European debut with the
Rossini Opera Festival in 2017, his international career has seen debut performances around Europe and the United States, usually in the roles of
Rossini and
Mozart.
[2]
Early life and education
Alasdair Kent was born in
Perth, Western Australia. He studied music and performance at the
Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts and the
University of Western Australia with mezzo-soprano Megan Sutton,
[4] as well as English literature, and Italian, French and German languages.
[4] He sang with the
West Australian Opera Chorus for several seasons in various repertoire,
[4] and also took part in the
Lisa Gasteen National Opera Program.
[5] In 2017, he received an Artist Diploma from the
Academy of Vocal Arts in
Philadelphia, where he studied with Bill Schuman and sang performances of Lindoro (
L'italiana in Algeri), Ferrando (
Così fan tutte), Don Ottavio (
Don Giovanni) and Rinuccio (
Gianni Schicchi).
[6] He was an Emerging Artist with
Opera Philadelphia,
[7] and a Filene Young Artist with
Wolf Trap Opera,
[8] where he performed as Ritornello in
Florian Leopold Gassmann's L'opera seria,
[9] and Giocondo in Rossini's
La pietra del paragone.
[10] He also took part in the
Martina Arroyo Foundation's Prelude to Performance
[11] and the
Merola Opera Program.
[12]
Career
Kent made his professional debut in
Australia at the age of 25, as Don Ramiro in
La Cenerentola with
Opera Queensland in 2013.
[13]
[14] While at AVA, he made his US concert debut with
The Dallas Opera in 2015,
[15] and his US operatic debut in 2016 with
Opera Philadelphia in
Cold Mountain, an operatic adaptation of
Charles Frazier's
novel composed by
Grammy Award and
Pulitzer Prize winner
Jennifer Higdon.
[16]
[17] His European debut followed in 2017, as Cavaliere Belfiore in
Il viaggio a Reims for the
Rossini Opera Festival in
Pesaro, marking the beginning of his international career.
[18] He has since been engaged at many of the most important international theatres and concert venues, including the
Bayerische Staatsoper, the
Vienna State Opera,
Opernhaus Zürich, the
Teatro di San Carlo, the
Royal Concertgebouw,
Konzerthaus Berlin, the
Elbphilharmonie and the
Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.
[19]
[20]
[21]
[22]
[23]
[24]
A
tenore di grazia frequently associated with
bel canto,
[13]
[25]
[26]
[27] his principal repertoire includes roles of
Rossini,
Mozart,
Donizetti,
Bellini,
Bizet, and
Verdi,
[20] though he has also performed works by composers as diverse as
Tchaikovsky and
Stravinsky.
[6] Of these composers, he has sung most frequently:
-
The Barber of Seville, debuted with the Martina Arroyo Foundation’s Prelude to Performance, further performances with
Opernhaus Zürich,
Bavarian State Opera, The
Dallas Opera, the
Norwegian National Opera and Ballet,
Oper Köln,
Theater Basel the Orchestra Sinfonica G. Rossini.
[28]
[29]
[30]
[31]
[32]
-
L'italiana in Algeri, debuted with the Academy of Vocal Arts, further performances with the
Hungarian State Opera in
Budapest,
Opéra de Toulon,
Opéra national de Montpellier, The
Israeli Opera, and the
Royal Concertgebouw.
[33]
[34]
[35]
[36]
[37]
-
Così fan tutte, debuted with the Academy of Vocal Arts, further performances with
Opera Australia on tour to the
Royal Opera House Muscat, the
Lyric Opera of Kansas City,
The Israeli Opera, the Rete Lirica delle Marche, and performances with the
Opéra national de Bordeaux that were ultimately cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
[38]
[39]
[40]
[41]
[20]
Other notable operatic performances include Paolino in
Cimarosa's
Il matrimonio segreto, in
Pier Luigi Pizzi's new production with the
Festival della Valle d'Itria and the
Teatro Regio di Torino,
[42]
[43]
[44] Tamino in
Die Zauberflöte for the
Royal Opera House Muscat,
[45]
[46] Argirio in
Rossini's
Tancredi with the
Teatro Petruzzelli,
[47] and his debut as Arturo in
I puritani with Ópera de Oviedo in 2020.
[48]
[20] In concert and recital, the tenor's performances include various repertoire, ranging from Rossini's virtuoso
Messa di Gloria
[49] to
Lili Boulanger's
song cycle Clairières dans le ciel.
[50]
[51]
Personal life
Kent is currently in a relationship with Benedikt Schobel, principal
bassoonist of
Sinfonieorchester Basel.
[52]
[53] The two have performed in concert together.
[54] The tenor enjoys
weightlifting and is a
champagne enthusiast.
[55] He has frequently cited fellow Australian
Joan Sutherland as a vocal inspiration,
[56]
[57]
[58] and lists
Jascha Heifetz,
Martha Argerich and
Vladimir Horowitz as non-operatic artistic heroes.
[59] He is also a polyglot, speaking multiple European languages.
[60]
[61]
Repertoire
Awards
Discography
-
Poul Ruders'
The Thirteenth Child—Sarah Shafer (Princess Lyra), Tamara Mumford (Queen Gertrude), Ashraf Sewailam (Drokan), Matt Boehler (King Hjarne), Alasdair Kent (Prince Frederic), David Portillo (Benjamin), Alex Rosen (Corbin), Bridge Academy Singers &
Odense Symfoniorkester,
Benjamin Shwartz &
David Starobin (conductors), Bridge Records, 2019.
[70]
- The Exquisite Hour—Alasdair Kent (tenor), David Wickham (pianist), 2021.
[71]
References
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b
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"Our Alumni". Lisa Gasteen National Opera Program. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
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"Q&A with Emerging Artist Alasdair Kent". Opera Philadelphia Opera Blog. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
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^
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^
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^
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^
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-
^
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^
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-
^
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-
^
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Opera Philadelphia. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
-
^
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-
^
"Tenor Alasdair Kent in the Spotlight".
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-
^
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-
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-
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^
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-
^
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Archived 2016-05-21 at the
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-
^
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-
^
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External links
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International | |
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National | |
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Artists | |
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