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