Please visit my new website!!

I am proud to announce the launch of www.ryanbede.com! Performance information, recordings, and ways to get in touch with me. Thank you all!!

Two shows with Tacoma Opera!

I am currently rehearsing "La tragedie de Carmen" with Tacoma Opera (as Zuniga) and having a lot of fun in my first speaking role in quite some time! The cast is a very strong one, with Hannah Penn as Carmen, Jennifer Valle as Micaela, Jon Farmer as Jose, and Danny Oakden as Escamillo. Performances are the 8th and 10th of February at the Rialto Theater. More info on www.tacomaopera.com

After this show closes, I begin rehearsals for "La traviata" (as Marquis d'Obigny) and I am very excited for this show as well! I met our Violetta (Jacquelynn Fontaine) quite by chance in NYC this past December, and I will be sharing the stage with a few old friends as well. This production will be directed by Noel Koran and conducted by Keith Clark.

Stay tuned for more upcoming announcements!!

Performance calendar updates!

Sunday, December 16
3:00pm
Seattle Chamber Singers/Orchestra Seattle
Ralph Vaughan Williams "Fantasia On Christmas Carols"
Baritone Soloist

Friday, April 19 & Saturday, April 20
7:00pm
Puget Sound Concert Opera
"Beatrice et Benedict" (Berlioz)
Claudio

Friday, May 17 & Sunday, May 19
7:00pm (Friday)/2:00pm (Sunday)
Puget Sound Concert Opera
"Otello" (Verdi)
Montano

Upcoming Performances!

October 13-27
Fidelio (Beethoven) - Chorus
Seattle Opera

October 28-November 9
Little Red Riding Hood (Barab) - Wolf/Woodsman
Opera Coeur d'Alene

November 18
Messiah (Handel) - Bass Soloist
Our Lady Of Fatima Parish - Seattle

December 16
Fantasia on Christmas Carols (Vaughan Williams) - Baritone Soloist
Orchestra Seattle/Seattle Chamber Singers

 

Several upcoming performances!

I am excited to report that I have three upcoming opera engagements, all of which I'm looking forward to very much. First, I will be with Opera Coeur d'Alene (www.operacda.com) in May for the Wolf/Woodsman in Barab's "Little Red Riding Hood". Other singers include Audra de Laveaga (Mother/Grandmother) and Courtney Ruckman (Little Red Riding Hood). Then I will head to Princeton, New Jersey for the months of June and July. I'll be singing in HMS Pinafore (Bill Bobstay) and Il trovatore, in addition to some scenes (as Sharpless in "Madama Butterfly" and Taddeo in "L'italiana in Algeri"). In August, when I return, I will be reprising Schaunard in "La Boheme" with newly formed Spielplatz Opera, alongside some wonderful friends who round out this amazing cast. Stay tuned for more updates!

It's only been a month this time!

Well here we are more than halfway through March and it's been a very busy last month with "Orphee" at Seattle Opera completing a very enjoyable run, and now having been in rehearsal for "La Boheme" in Tacoma for the last couple of weeks, it sure would be difficult to ask for much better :) I'm loving singing with so many good friends and the THIRD time around as Schaunard is definitely the best so far! It's a thrill to be repeating the role and discovering more and more with every rehearsal.

I've also been doing a number of gigs with the new Opera On Tap-Seattle group, led by three of my favorite soprani: Megan Chenovick, Ksenia Popova, and Erica Row. I sang with them in November and December, once at "Blue Moon" and the other at "In The Red" in Phinney Ridge. Then this year we have already had one more performance at each of those venues. I'll be joining them again in mid-April, singing some Papageno and a few things from Rossini's "Guillaume Tell".

More coming soon, so stay tuned!
-RB

A busy season so far!

Here I am once again, very overdue on updating my blog.....in my defense, I have been keeping pretty busy (on and off the stage!) and I have much to share. This season began with a run of "Carmen" at Seattle Opera, where I sang in the chorus and enjoyed singing alongside a great cast of principals, one being Anita Rachvelishvili, our Carmen, who is establishing herself all over the world as one of the premier mezzo-sopranos performing today. Following "Carmen", I sang in the MONC auditions in Seattle (with a new and improved group of arias, all of which I've really enjoyed learning!) and then for the third straight year, performed the "Messiah" solos with Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Magnolia (Seattle). 

Next came a December trip to New York City, which was, as usual, filled with auditions and running into various singer-friends all over town. I'm happy to report that I'll be a member of the Emerging Artist program at Opera New Jersey this summer, where I'll be singing in "HMS Pinafore" and a number of concerts and scenes programs. 

I am currently with Seattle Opera chorus once again for Gluck's "Orphee" which opens on February 25th. It's a great cast and the music has quickly become a new favorite of mine! I will also shortly be beginning rehearsals with Tacoma Opera for "La Boheme", where I'll be singing Schaunard at the Rialto Theater March 30th and April 1st. 

Thank you for following "what I'm up to" and I hope to see you at a performance very soon!
-Ryan

what's new

I recently returned from the Astoria Music Festival, where my main activity was singing Count Almaviva in "Le nozze di Figaro". As a part of the Festival program, I also had the opportunity to have masterclasses with Ruth Ann Swenson and David Burnakus in addition to meeting a number of wonderful new singers. We stayed very busy for the 2 1/2 weeks that we were there, singing chorus for "Il trovatore" (which starred Angela Meade and Richard Zeller) and several other concerts, taking some Italian classes (long overdue for me....an opera singer who's never taken Italian??!), preparing "Figaro" and when we could, attempting to take in as much of the local flavor as possible. Astoria's a great place, and I look forward to returning sometime soon.

The rest of the summer is going to be spent working at the hospital quite a bit, spending time in Spokane with family, an August trip to Las Vegas, and working on music for the season ahead. I'll try to be better about updating this more often :)

Almaviva in Astoria (but not in August :)

I am pleased to report that I will be performing the role of Count Almaviva in "Le nozze di Figaro" in Astoria, Oregon this summer as part of the Astoria Music Festival. The production will be directed by Noel Koran, who directed my first performance as the Count (with Lyric Opera Northwest in 2009) and it will be great to have the opportunity to work with him again. I will be singing with a cast of singers mostly new to me, and it's always enjoyable meeting and performing with new colleagues. I will be in Astoria from mid-June until July 3rd, and Heather even gets to join me for the last few days, which will be wonderful. I look forward to a great time!

Returning to Tacoma Opera in 2011-12 Season!

I am very excited to share that I will be singing Schaunard in La Boheme with Tacoma Opera next season! Performances will be taking place on March 30 and April 1, 2012 at the Rialto Theater in Tacoma. I have been awaiting an opportunity to sing with this company again, after having sung several pieces with them right at the close of my undergraduate degree at the University of Puget Sound. I will post as more details become available, but for specifics you may visit http://www.tacomaopera.com/ as we get closer to next season. Stay tuned for another exciting announcement, hopefully by the end of this week......

La commedia e stupenda!

Just had our one and only performance of "La Boheme" with Lyric Opera Northwest last evening. It went very well, and it was great to have the chance to sing the role again! I really enjoyed singing with the cast, several of which this was the first time we'd worked together. Our Rodolfo was Gino Lucchetti, who I sang with the first time I performed Schaunard. Jason Fowler and Carissa Castaldo are two singers new to the local scene (Marcello and Musetta) and Craig Nim (Colline) and Dohee Kim (Mimi) rounded out the cast. Looking forward to joining LONW for a show sometime in the future. Next up is previews as Papageno for Seattle Opera Guild, followed by Yamadori in "Butterfly" in Vashon. More updates as they become available!!

Two more exciting events!

Friday March 18
7:00pm
Arias/Duets from Le nozze di Figaro, Die Zauberflote, La Boheme, and Werther with Kim Giordano
McCaw Residence

Friday April 8
7:30pm
Jacobsen Series Concert
Operatic Selections with Christina Kowalski, Dawn Padula, Michael Delos, and Gino Lucchetti
Schneebeck Concert Hall - University of Puget Sound

Alza!

This past weekend brought the opening of Massenet's "Don Quichotte" with Seattle Opera, and I am very impressed with such a great group of singers! John Relyea and Nicolas Cavallier share the title role, with Malgorzata Walewska and Daniela Sindram as Dulcinee. Both Eduardo Chama and Richard Bernstein are equally responsible for Sancho Panza's final aria "Riez, allez" being one of my new favorites :) Please come and see the show, which runs through Saturday, March 12. I can assure you won't be disappointed! Tickets and information at www.seattleopera.org

Upcoming Events

February 26-March 12
Don Quichotte (Chorus)
Seattle Opera - McCaw Hall
www.seattleopera.org

March 18
Handel Vespers (Baritone)
Our Lady Of Fatima Parish - Seattle, WA
www.olfatima.org

May 13 & 15
Madama Butterfly (Yamadori)
Vashon Opera
www.vashonopera.org

A long-overdue update....

I have been beyond horrible at updating this over the past several months, and I apologize to those of you who read this as a source of information of where I'll be performing next :) I have had a busy year in 2010, and I'm thankful for every step along the way. Most recently, I have sung the baritone solos in Handel's "Messiah" twice; in late November, with Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Seattle, and then just last weekend, at St. Mary Magdalen Parish in Everett. I had the privilege of working with Vashon Opera and a cast of amazing singers for "Barber of Seville" in September (I sang Fiorello). I also took part in Seattle Opera's "Lucia di Lammermoor" as a chorister, and will be returning for "Don Quichotte" in February/March 2011.

I just returned from NYC where I had the chance to sing several auditions and had a great voice lesson, in addition to seeing several friends (always one of the best parts of traveling to NYC along with hundreds of other singers :)

I promise I will be better about updating this going forward! Have a wonderful holiday season!!

a little bit of a break.....

Since my last post, I completed a five-weekend run (insane, I know) of "HMS Pinafore" at Lakewood Playhouse, musically directed and organized "Mostly Mozart In May" for Rainier Family Opera, and sang several services at Our Lady of Fatima in Seattle. And all this in the midst of preparing to move!!!

Heather and I bought our first house, and we took ownership on May 10. We have been feverishly packing, moving, and now unpacking, so my "break" from performances for a few weeks ahead will be mostly spent getting the house in order :)

Next up opera-wise is "Barber of Seville" with Vashon Opera this Fall. I'll try to post a few times before then :)

I am the captain of the Pinafore.....

So despite my promise to be better about updating my blog all the way back in January, here I am later than expected :) Currently I'm working on Captain Corcoran in "HMS Pinafore" for Lakewood Playhouse, which opens March 26th and runs through April 25th. Stage direction is by Jim Brown, who's the director of opera at PLU. I am pleased to take part in any Gilbert & Sullivan show, but especially this one because it's my first opportunity to sing the Captain!

I had the opportunity to organize an "Opera For Haiti" benefit concert in late January in conjunction with First Lutheran Church in Tacoma, and it was a great success! Just to be joined by so many talented friends was a great pleasure, and we were successful too! (We raised just under $2100!)

I will be a soloist with the Northwest Repertory Singers for their "Night At The Opera" concert this Saturday at Mason Methodist Church, where I'll be singing some selections from Elixir of Love, Lucia di Lammermoor, and Candide.

Hopefully I will be able to update this often, and if you're interested and able, I would love to see you at a show sometime soon!

-Ryan

On to 2010.....

It's been more than two months since I updated this, and some folks have asked what I've been up to. November and December brought performances with Our Lady Of Fatima catholic church in Magnolia ("Messiah"), Concert Opera of Seattle (Marullo in "Rigoletto") and Puget Sound Concert Opera (Guglielmo in "Cosi fan tutte"). I was also priveleged to perform as a soloist in the Community Christmas Concert put on by the LDS Church in Puyallup. I kept so busy right up to the holidays, that we made it all the way to Hawaii (left the day after Christmas) before I really felt myself begin to relax! Had a wonderful week on the big island (Kona/Waikoloa mostly) with Heather's family and arrived home rested and ready for the new year.

Just last evening I performed some arias and musical theater selections at Calabrisella Ristorante in Kirkland. I got to work with some great friends and make a few new ones at the same time. The next performances coming up will be a concert with the Northwest Repertory Singers in March. Hopefully I'll be good about updating before then :)

Singing for a Sandwich :)

I had the opportunity once again yesterday to sing a recital on the Classical Sundays series at the Antique Sandwich Company in Ruston and I must say, it was a good time. Pianist Coni Liljengren accompanied me on the piano, and we presented the VW "Songs of Travel" (which I had actually not performed the entire set all at once before), some Schumann and Schubert lieder, and finished with two pieces from "South Pacific". It was a nice sunny afternoon, so not as many folks were in attendance as I had hoped, but nonetheless it was fun.

The previous weekend I sang at the MONC auditions and had the pleasure of seeing Vinson Cole, who judged the competition. Catching up with a former teacher and getting some valuable feedback was a great experience. I sang arias from The Magic Flute and Billy Budd, and though I didn't walk away with an award, felt good about how I sang. I was very proud of some friends who did win some money, and I look forward to attending the regional auditions in February.

I am now attempting to learn two operas simultaneously :) I will sing Guglielmo in "Cosi" for Puget Sound Concert Opera in December, and Marullo in "Traviata" in late November. It will be a busy month (also have a "Messiah" gig) so come Christmastime, I will be much deserving of a break :)

More soon.....

Jetzt beginnt den Herbst....

It has become obvious the past few days in Tacoma that fall is upon us. We usually get a nice early fall surge of warm temperatures and even a little sunshine, but the rain and chill of the last few days definitely signifies a close to the summer. I actually welcome the season; as it gets harder and harder to spend copious amounts of time out enjoying the warm weather, I seem to spend more and more time learning music, which I really ought to be doing continually :)

It promises to be a very busy and enjoyable next few months. In October, I will be performing Kam Morrill's one-act opera "Love's Fool" (as Don Perlimpin), a contemporary piece based on a story by Garcia Lorca. Performances will be October 17 and 18 in the Seattle area. November brings two exciting projects: Handel's "Messiah", to be performed with period instruments, at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church in Magnolia (Friday 11/20 7:00pm) and Verdi's "Rigoletto" (I will be singing Marullo) with Concert Opera of Seattle (Saturday 11/21 7:00pm @ Redmond Performing Arts Center). Not long after, I will return to Puget Sound Concert Opera for "Cosi fan tutte" (Guglielmo) to be performed in Seattle, Bellevue and Friday Harbor from December 5-12.

Stay tuned for more news as it comes!!!