Graham Pushee (born 1954) is an Australian

countertenor A countertenor (also contra tenor) is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of the female contralto or mezzo-soprano voice types, generally extending from around G3 to D5 or E5, although a sopranist (a ...

. Together with the

Australian Brandenburg Orchestra The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra (ABO) is an Australian period instrument orchestra specialising in the performance of baroque and classical music. Founders The orchestra's founder and artistic director is Paul Dyer. In 2013 Dyer was ...

, conducted by Paul Dyer, Pushee was nominated for the 1995

ARIA Award The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austra ...

for

Best Classical Album The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as t ...

for the album ''Handel: Arias''.

Life and career

Graham Pushee was born on April 25, 1954 in

Sydney, Australia Sydney is the capital city of the state of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about 80 km (50 mi) from the Pacific Ocean ...

. His first musical experiences were performing in a children's choir as a boy. He originally intended to pursue a career as a lawyer before deciding to pursue a career as a vocalist. He studied singing in his native city with Welsh tenor David Parker. In 1973 Pushee made his opera debut performing the role of Oberon in the Australian premiere of Benjamin Britten's ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

'' which was staged in a professional production at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

. He returned there in 1976 to perform the title role in

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

's ''

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

''. During this period he also performed in several programs of

early music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750) or Ancient music (before 500 AD). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad Dates of classical ...

with

Winsome Evans Winsome Joan Evans OAM BEM (born 26 October 1941), is one of Australia's premier early music specialists. Biography She received a Bachelor of Music (Honours) degree in composition from the University of Sydney, where her lecturers included P ...

's Renaissance Players. He also performed in several

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

s and other works from the classical music vocal literature in Australia from 1973-1977. After this period, Pushee relocated to Europe in 1977 after being awarded a

Winston Churchill Fellowship Winston Churchill Memorial Trusts (WCMT) are three independent but related living memorials to Sir Winston Churchill, based in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. They exist for the purpose of administering Churchill Fellowships, a ...

which enabled him to study voice with countertenor

Paul Esswood Paul Lawrence Vincent Esswood (born 6 June 1942) is an English countertenor and conductor. He is best known for his performance of Bach cantatas and the operas of Handel and Monteverdi. Along with his countrymen Alfred Deller and James Bowman, ...

in London and pursue training at the

Schola Cantorum Basiliensis The Schola Cantorum Basiliensis (SCB) is a music academy and research institution located in Basel, Switzerland, that focuses on early music and historically informed performance. Faculty at the school have organized performing ensembles that hav ...

in Switzerland with

Kurt Widmer Kurt Widmer (28 December 1940 – 31 May 2023) was a Swiss baritone and voice teacher, who appeared and recorded internationally. He focused on concert singing, especially of oratorios from the Romantic music, Romantic period. His recordings cov ...

and Rene Jacobs. He lived in Switzerland for several years, during which time he worked as a concert and opera singer in Europe. He was particularly active at the Händel-Festspiele Karlsruhe where he performed title roles in many Handel operas, including ''

Poro The Poro, or Purrah or Purroh, is a men's secret society in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, and the Ivory Coast, introduced by the Mane people (the Mandé peoples, Mande Elites leading large-scale migrations from the Mali Empire into the southern ...

'', ''Orlando'', '' Admeto'', '' Scipione'', ''

Il pastor fido ''Il pastor fido'' (''The Faithfull Shepherd'' in Sir Richard Fanshawe, 1st Baronet, Richard Fanshawe's 1647 English translation) is a pastoral tragicomedy set in Arcadia (utopia), Arcadia by Giovanni Battista Guarini, first published in 1590 ...

'', and ''

Giulio Cesare ''Giulio Cesare in Egitto'' (; ; HWV 17), commonly known as , is a dramma per musica (''opera seria'') in three acts composed by George Frideric Handel for the Royal Academy of Music in 1724. The libretto was written by Nicola Francesco Haym ...

''. He was notably the first countertenor to ever perform the latter role; first tackling that part in 1987 at the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

. In 1994 Pushee returned to Australia to portray the title role in

Opera Australia Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, New South Wales, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra runs for approximately eight months of the year, with t ...

's production of ''Giulio Cesare''; a role he also performed with the

Houston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is an American opera company located in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1955 by German-born impresario Walter Herbert and three local Houstonians,Giesberg, Robert I., Carl Cunningham, and Alan Rich. ''Houston Grand Opera at ...

. That same year he portrayed Andronicus in Handel's ''

Tamerlano ''Tamerlano'' (Tamerlane, HWV 18) is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian libretto was by Nicola Francesco Haym, adapted from Agostino Piovene's ''Tamerlano'' together with another libretto entitled ''Bajazet'' a ...

'' with

Opera North Opera North is an English opera company based in Leeds. The company's home theatre is the Leeds Grand Theatre, but it also presents regular seasons in several other cities, at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays a ...

. In 1995 he sang Giulio Cesare again in Melbourne.

Discography

Albums

Awards and nominations

ARIA Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

are presented annually since 1987 by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). , - ,

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, , ''Handel: Opera Arias'' , ,

, ,

Mo Awards

The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the

Mo Awards The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known as the Mo Awards) were an annual Australian entertainment industry award, established in 1975, to recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia. They were last awarded in 2016. ...

), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. (wins only) , - , 1995 , Graham Pushee , Operatic Performance of the Year , , -

References

External links

Profile
artsmanagement.com.au

bach-cantatas.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Pushee, Graham 1954 births Living people Operatic countertenors 20th-century Australian male opera singers 21st-century Australian male opera singers