About Robert McFarland

Transcription

1 About Robert McFarland BIO: Winning the National Metropolitan Opera Auditions in 1979 led to his eight-year, twenty-seven-role career at New York City Opera under the leadership of Beverly Sills. Since that time, Robert McFarland s vocal artistry has been showcased in nearly every major opera house in the world in the roles of Rigoletto, MacBeth, Scarpia (Tosca), Tonio (I Pagliacci), Germont (La Traviata), Iago (Otello), Carlo Gerard (Andrea Chenier), The Dutchman, Barnaba (La Giaconda), Blitch (Susannah), Mephistopheles (Faust), Friar Lawrence (Romeo and Juliette), Enrico (Lucia de Lammermoor), Alfio (Cavalleria Rusticana), Riccardo (I Puritani), Sharpless (Madama Butterfly), Four Villains (Les Contes d Hoffmann), Renato (Un ballo in maschera), Rodrigo (Don Carlo), Simon Boccanegra, di Luna (Il Trovatore), Frank Maurant (Street Scene), Nabucco, Jokanaan (Salome), George (Of Mice and Men), Jack Rance (La Fanciulla del West), and Don Giovanni.Other career highlights include McFarland s recording of Donizetti s Maria de Rudenz that was hailed by critics as the new gem of Donizetti, his European debut as Ford in Verdi s Falstaff at the Glyndebourne Festival with conductor Bernard Haitink, his internationally successful performance at the Festival Dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy, where he performed the role of Major Kavalioff in Shostakovich s The Nose (in Russian), and triumphant performances of San Francisco s production of Andrea Chenier in 1993 and Nabucco in He experienced great success in the 2002 production of Tosca at Opera North(Leeds, UK) and was named Artist of the year for his portrayal of Scarpia. In 2003, Robert McFarland s singing and portrayal of the hunchback Rigoletto at the Cleveland Opera (David Bamberger) was his most recent huge success. McFarland is frequently engaged for oratorio performances of Elijah, Joshua, Messiah, Verdi s Requiem, Brahm s Requiem and modern works such as Penderecki s Passion of Christ According to St. Luke. He is in constant demand as concert artist throughout the world of Oratorio.Robert McFarland is also a renowned Christian recording artist having received high praise for his two new Christian Music Albums entitled Stormy Winds and Nothing Between. In these recordings he is accompanied by members of both The Philadelphia Orchestra and The Dallas Symphony. Along with performing over 114 operas, Robert McFarland has conducted and directed many operas Internationally. He is the founder and General Director of Opera Seabrook located in Salem New Jersey where he along with a marvelous International Staff provides the ultimate opportunity for the Young Artists of the United States. Update he is developing new opera programs and a master program degree with the Colombian Government and McFarland Artists Management International performance division.

2 RÉSUMÉ: INTERNATIONAL PERFORMANCES ROLE OPERA NUMBER OF PERFORMANCES Alfio / Tonio Cavalleria Rusticana /I Over 200 Performances Pagliacci Amonasro Aida Over 300 Performances Carlo Gerard Andrea Chenier Over 100 Performances Di Luna Il Trovatore Over 150 Performances Don Roderigo Don Carlos Over 100 Performances George Of Mice and Men Over 50 Performances Germont La Traviata Over 300 Performances Iago Otello Over 300 Performances Jack Rance La Fanciulla del West Over 50 Performances Jochanaan Salome Over 50 Performances Mayor Kavaliov The Nose Over 20 Performances Michele Il Tabarro Over 30 Performances Olin Blitch Susannah Over 50 Performances Pizzaro Fidelio Over 50 Performances Renato Un Ballo in Maschera Over 200 Performances Ricardo I Puritani Over 50 Performances Rigoletto Rigoletto Over 300 Performances Scarpia Tosca Over 300 Performances Simon Simon Boccanegra 7 Performances The Dutchman Der Fliegende Holländer Over 50 Performances The High Priest Samson et Dalilah Over 50 Performances The Villains Les Contes d Hoffmann Over 100 Performances Wolfram Tannhäuser Over 50 Performances VIDEO & AUDIO RECORDINGS LABEL/COMPANY OPERA VIDEO/AUDIO RCA Records Satyagraha (Phillip Glass) Audio CBS Records Silverlake (Kurt Weill) Audio Nonesuch Records Maria de Rudenz (G. Audio Donizetti) Monte Carlo Opera Roberto Devereux (G. Donizetti)

3 Glyndebourne Opera Falstaff Festival, UK Deutsche Oper, Berlin, Otello Germany Teatro Nacional de São Otello Carlos, Lisbon, Portugal Opera North Tosca Leeds, United Kingdom Theater Des Westens Street Scene Berlin, Germany Teatro Municipal de Lucia di Lammermoor Santiago, Chile De Vlaamse Opera Un Ballo In Maschera Antwerp, Belgium Des Moines Metro Opera, Lucia di Lammermoor Video IA Otello Opera Omaha, NE Rigoletto Video CONDUCTORS Lorin Mazel, Zubin Mehta, Bernard Haytink, Nello Santi, Julius Rudel, John Nelson, Eduardo Müller, Klaus Weisse, Alberto Erede, James Conlon, Brian Blackwell, Antonio Pappano, Nikolai Rescigno, Herbert von Karajan OPERA HOUSES Calgary Opera Calgary, Canada Canadian Opera Company Toronto, Canada Chautauqua Opera Festival Jamestown, NY De Nederlandse Opera Amsterdam, Netherlands De Vlaamse Opera Antwerp, Belgium Detroit Opera Company Detroit, MI Deutsche Oper Berlin, Germany Edmonton Opera Edmonton, Canada Freiburg Oper Freiburg, Germany Ft. Lauderdale Opera Brown Theater Ft. Lauderdale, FL Ft. Worth Opera Ft. Worth, TX Greater Miami Opera Miami, FL Hawaai Opera Theater Honolulu, HI Houston Grand Opera Houston, TX Knoxville Opera Knoxville, TN Los Angeles Opera Los Angeles, CA Lyric Opera of Chicago Chicago, IL New York City Opera New York, NY Opera Colorado Denver, CO

4 Opera Company of Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA Opéra d Antibes Antibes, France Opéra de Montréal Montreal, Quebec Opéra de Nice Nice, France Opera North Leeds, UK Opera Omaha Omaha, NE Opera Zuid Maastricht, Netherlands Orlando Opera Orlando, FL Palm Beach Opera Palm Beach, FL Sächsicher Oper Dresden Dresden, Germany San Francisco Opera San Francisco, CA Spoleto Opera Festival Spoleto, Italy Teatro Municipal de Santiago Santiago, Chile Teatro Nacional de São Carlos Lisbon, Portugal The Metropolitan Opera - New York, NY Theatre St. Gallen St. Gallen, Switzerland REVIEWS The U.K. Artist of the Year has been chosen Robert McFarland who brought to the stage the most unique, dramatically demanding, but magnificently sung Scarpia in Opera North s Production of Tosca ever observed. The London Times 2002 Robert McFarland s rendition of the Jester Rigoletto far surpassed any expectations with his dramatic and vocally effortless performance Friday evening. As we heard Mr. McFarland give the Cleveland audiences a thrill with his Dutchman, no one could have imagined him lending that dramatic voice to Verdi s score with such fullness yet ease of singing. His performance never let up until the last bars of the piece not missing an opportunity to give the listener the ultimate performance. Cleveland 2002 The evening really began to experience drama when the audience heard the voice of Jochanann - Robert McFarland. Mr. McFarland was obviously enjoying vocal freedom as he displayed this heavy, difficult role without any evidence of labor or strain. Clearly, the Austin Lyric audience enjoyed an International level of performing on this opening night. Austin Opera Salome 1999 Dramatic baritone Robert McFarland provided a superb Escamillo with José Carreras as Don José.... Attendance was overflowing at 29,000. The London Times - Carmen Baritone Robert McFarland brought the house down with several minutes of bravo In the best tradition of superb American Baritones. The Frankfurter Algemeine Zeitung 1990

5 Robert McFarland made his debut in the title role of The Dutchman He brings the Cleveland audience a huge spectrum of vocal power, style, finesse and control. His monologue was spectacular to watch as well! To close the eyes one could have thought George London had stepped onto the stage once again. The Cleveland audience will not soon forget this musical evening. Cleveland 1997 The Alcoholic father Frank Maurant performed by Robert McFarland clearly demonstrated the abusive husband. McFarland had this character easily in his grasp yet his voice was clearly under control showing great pain and a passionate quality easily touching the heart. Even after he murders the milkman, he still brings sympathy, as it is clear he cannot help himself for his downward dilemma. Robert McFarland provides a great performance in Kurt Weil s debut for the Des Vestin Theater. Berlin Premiere of Street Scene 1994 with Plàcido Domingo's Otello was the remarkable acting and seamless singing of this American Iago - Robert McFarland [He] owned the night with a performance not to be forgotten. The Teatro felt the sparks fly between these two giant figures of literature. Lisbon, Portugal Plàcido Domingo was brilliantly partnered by Robert McFarland as Iago, a true baritone with a dark, flexible, finely-wrought, well-modulated voice. This dramatic baritone more than held his own never in the shadow of Otello. No need for this Iago to leer and snarl: using his mobile features and supple body, he looked like a sleek panther tormenting a wounded lion. He also made good chemistry with Domingo: sparks were flying about during their encounters: but the night belonged to Robert McFarland. International Opera Magazine Lisbon, Portugal 1989 Robert McFarland (Ford) possesses a magnificent heroic baritone using it unsparingly yet brilliantly on his first night. The American Baritone enjoyed a very strong British debut as the jealous husband of Alice Ford. Obvious was the making of music between maestro Haitink and McFarland as Glyndebourne enjoyed some of the finest stylistic yet powerful musical performing since this reviewer can remember. Glyndebourne Festival Falstaff INTERNET VIDEO LINKS SOME PHOTOS 1. Tosca (Scarpia with Carol Neblitt) 2. Otello (Iago with Placido Domingo) 3. Salome (John the Baptist with Marquite Lister) 4. Roberto Devereux (Lord Nottingham with Mariana Nicolesco) 5. Otello (Iago)

6 6. La fanciulla del West (Jack Rance) 7. Otello (Iago) 8. Rigoletto (Des Moines) 1. Tosca (Scarpia with Carol Neblitt) 2. Otello (Iago with Placido Domingo) 3. Salome (John the Baptist with Marquite Lister) 4. Roberto Devereux (Lord Nottingham with Mariana Nicolesco)

7 5. Otello (Iago) 6. La fanciulla del West (Jack Rance)

8 7. Otello (Iago) 8. Rigoletto (Des Moines) 922 Daly Street, Philadelphia, PA / robemcf@ptd.net