Kenneth Tarver is an American operatic
tenor
A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...
, born in
Detroit
Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
. He is a graduate of
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
,
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...
, and the
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...
Young Artist Program. Known for his interpretations of
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
,
Rossini,
Berlioz, and the virtuosic
Bel Canto repertoire, he is equally at home with works by
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...
and
Rodion Shchedrin.
Tarver has appeared at some of the world’s leading opera houses, including the
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...
Covent Garden,
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...
New York,
Wiener Staatsoper,
Bayerische Staatsoper,
Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin,
Semperoper Dresden,
Deutsche Oper Berlin,
Hamburg State Opera, and
Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona. He has also performed at major festivals such as the
Edinburgh Festival
__NOTOC__
This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...
and the
Festival d’Aix-en-Provence.
He has sung with prominent orchestras including the
London Symphony Orchestra,
New York Philharmonic,
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra,
Seattle Symphony, and the
Berlin Philharmonic. Tarver has worked with a distinguished roster of conductors, among them
Claudio Abbado,
Ivor Bolton,
Pierre Boulez
Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 19255 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war contemporary classical music.
Born in Montb ...
,
Riccardo Chailly,
Teodor Currentzis,
Sir Colin Davis,
Bernard Haitink,
Daniel Harding,
Nikolaus Harnoncourt,
René Jacobs
René Jacobs (born 30 October 1946) is a Belgian musician. He came to fame as a countertenor, but later in his career he became known as a conductor of baroque and classical opera.
Biography Countertenor
Born in Ghent, Jacobs began his musi ...
,
Marc Minkowski,
Kent Nagano, and
Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor :wikt:emeritus, emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Mehta's father ...
.
His extensive discography includes recordings for Opera Rara (''La donna del lago'', ''Aureliano in Palmira'') and LSO Live (''Les Troyens'', ''Béatrice et Bénédict'', ''Roméo et Juliette''). For
Sony Classical, he has recorded ''Così fan tutte'' and ''Don Giovanni'' with
Teodor Currentzis and
MusicAeterna. With
Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...
, he collaborated with
Pierre Boulez
Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 19255 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war contemporary classical music.
Born in Montb ...
and the
Cleveland Orchestra on ''Les nuits d'été'' and ''Roméo et Juliette''. His recordings with
Kent Nagano and the
London Symphony Orchestra include
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...
’s ''A White House Cantata''. He also appears on the Grammy Award-winning recording of Berlioz’s ''Les Troyens'' (Best Opera Recording and Best Classical Album) conducted by Sir Colin Davis on LSO Live.
Selected recordings
Rossini, ''
Sigismondo'', Keri-Lyn Wilson / BR-Klassik (2019)
Rossini, ''
Eduardo e Cristina'', Gianluigi Gelmetti / Naxos (2019)
Handel, ''
Judas Maccabaeus'', Laurence Cummings / Festspiel Orchester Göttingen, NDR (2019)
Mozart, ''
Lucio Silla'' (DVD), Ivor Bolton / Orchestra Teatro Real / Bel Air Classiques (2018)
Berlioz, ''
Requiem'', Ludovic Morlot / Seattle Symphony (2018)
Berlioz, ''La Mort d'Orphée'', Ludovic Morlot / Seattle Symphony (2018)
Rossini, ''
Bianca e Falliero'', Antonino Fogliani / Virtuosi Brunensis / Naxos (2017)
Rossini, ''Sigismondo'', Antonino Fogliani / Virtuosi Brunensis / Naxos (2017)
Berlioz, ''
Roméo et Juliette'', Valery Gergiev / London Symphony Orchestra / LSO Live (2016)
Bach, ''
Mass in B minor'', Peter Dijkstra / Concerto Köln / BR-Klassik (2016)
Mozart, ''
Don Giovanni
''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; full title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanish legen ...
'', Teodor Currentzis / MusicAeterna / Sony Classical (2016)
Handel, ''
Joshua
Joshua ( ), also known as Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' Literal translation, lit. 'Yahweh is salvation'), Jehoshua, or Josue, functioned as Moses' assistant in the books of Book of Exodus, Exodus and ...
'', Laurence Cummings / Festspiel Orchester Göttingen / NDR (2015)
Rossini, ''
La gazza ladra
''La gazza ladra'' (, ''The Thieving Magpie'') is a ''melodramma'' or opera semiseria in two acts by Gioachino Rossini, with a libretto by Giovanni Gherardini based on ''La pie voleuse'' by Théodore Baudouin d'Aubigny and Louis-Charles Caigniez ...
'', Alberto Zedda / Virtuosi Brunensis / Naxos (2015)
Mozart, ''
Così fan tutte
(''Women are like that, or The School for Lovers''), Köchel catalogue, K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written ...
'', Teodor Currentzis / MusicAeterna / Sony Classical (2014)
Mozart & Salieri – Arias & Overtures, Douglas Boyd / Musikkollegium Winterthur / MDG (2014)
Rossini, ''
Aureliano in Palmira'', Maurizio Benini / London Philharmonic Orchestra / Opera Rara (2012)
Handel, ''
Belshazzar'' (DVD), René Jacobs / Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin / Harmonia Mundi (2011)
Terradellas, ''Sesostri'', Juan Bautista Otero / RCOC Orchestra / RCOC (2011)
Stravinsky, ''
Pulcinella
Pulcinella (; ) is a classical character that originated in commedia dell'arte of the 17th century and became a stock character in Neapolitan puppetry. Pulcinella's versatility in status and attitude has captivated audiences worldwide and kept ...
'', Yakov Kreizberg / Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra / OPMC Classics (2010)
Mozart, ''
Idomeneo'', René Jacobs / Freiburger Barockorchester / Harmonia Mundi (2009)
Charles Ives Songs (Various Artists) / Naxos (2008)
Rossini, ''
La donna del lago'', Maurizio Benini / London Philharmonic Orchestra / Opera Rara (2007)
Mozart, ''Don Giovanni'', René Jacobs / Freiburger Barockorchester / Harmonia Mundi (2006)
Pacini & Mercadante, ''Paventa Insano'', David Parry / London Philharmonic Orchestra / Opera Rara (2006)
Rossini, ''
Il viaggio a Reims'' (DVD), Jesús López-Cobos / Orchestra of the Gran Teatre del Liceu / Arthaus Musik (2004)
Berlioz, ''Roméo et Juliette'', Pierre Boulez / The Cleveland Orchestra / Deutsche Grammophon (2003)
Berlioz, ''
Les nuits d'été'' & ''Roméo et Juliette'', Pierre Boulez / The Cleveland Orchestra / Deutsche Grammophon (2003)
Rossini, ''
Petite messe solennelle'', Rupert Huber / SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart / Hänssler Klassik (2002)
Berlioz, ''
Les Troyens'', Sir Colin Davis / London Symphony Orchestra / LSO Live (2001)
Verdi, ''Messa Solenne – Sacred Works'', Riccardo Chailly / Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi / Deutsche Grammophon (2001)
Verdi, ''
Falstaff'' (DVD), Bernard Haitink / Orchestra of the Royal Opera House / BBC Opus Arte (2001)
Berlioz, ''
Béatrice et Bénédict'', Sir Colin Davis / London Symphony Orchestra / LSO Live (2000)
Berlioz, ''Roméo et Juliette'', Sir Colin Davis / London Symphony Orchestra / LSO Live (2000)
Bernstein, ''
A White House Cantata'', Kent Nagano / London Symphony Orchestra / Deutsche Grammophon (2000)
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarver, Kenneth
Living people
American operatic tenors
Year of birth missing (living people)
21st-century American opera singers
21st-century African-American male singers
21st-century American male singers
21st-century American singers
Grammy Award winners