|
Mel
Ulrich|
On
March 4th, 2007 American baritone Mel
Ulrich
sang his final performance. Los
Angeles Opera
featured the baritone as Pennybank Bill in it's production of
Kurt Weill's Mahagonny. Previously,
he was heard in his
company debut with the Atlanta Opera
in a double bill of Orff's Carmina Burana and Leoncavallo's
Pagliacci, and in a return engagement
with Opera Colorado
as Papageno.Ending the 2006-2007 season, Mr. Ulrich appeared in his highly-praised debut with the Semperoper Dresden in the European premiere of Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking. Earlier that season, he was seen in another debut as Figaro in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia for the re-opening of New Orleans Opera. The baritone was also featured in yet another debut that season with the Kentucky Opera as Friedrich Bhaer in Adamo's Little Women, and returned to New York City Opera for the role of Olivier in the 2005-2006 Season Opener of Strauss's Capriccio. The baritone was also featured as Don Giovanni at Linoln Center for the company's Gala event at the State Theater. In the summer of 2005 he was invited to return to the prestegious Salzburg Festival, singing the role of Michelotto in Schrecker's Die Gezeichneten. Earlier in the season he could be heard in return engagements at Florentine Opera as Dandini in Cenerentola with Vivica Genaux, and at the San Francisco Opera where he sang Donald in Billy Budd. The 2004-2005 season also marked debuts both in Spain with the Festival de Música de Canarias, where he reprised the role of Phedros in Zemlinski's Der König Kandaules, and at Boston Lyric Opera where he was featured in the title role of Eugene Onegin. The baritone also made concert appearances both in San Louis Obispo's Mozart Festival singing Mahler's Kindertotenlieder, and with the Nashville Symphony, singing Bernstein's Dybbuk and consequent recording which is due to be released this year under the NAXOS label. Mr. Ulrich concluded the 2003-2004 Season with Stanley in his debut with Washington National Opera's A Streetcar Named Desire. Earlier, he returned to Florentine Opera as Dr. Malatesta in Don Pasquale and to Opera Colorado where he sang the role of Marcello in La boheme. The baritone also made debut's that year with the Pittsburg Opera as Escamillo in Carmen, and with the American Symphony Orchestra. The Dallas Opera also hosted the baritone last fall for a debut as Schaunard in La boheme. In 2004, Mr. Ulrich received a GRAMMY® Award Nomination for the recording of Ed Thomas's Desire under the Elms, which he recorded for the Naxos lable. He also returned to Puerto Rico's Teatro de la Opera as the Count in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro and debuted as Sharpless in Madama Butterfly for Opera Santa Barbara's tenth anniversary celebration. Earlier in the year, Ulrich could again be heard in Europe where he portrayed MacDuff in Ernest Bloch's MacBeth for Vienna's Klangbogen Festival. He was also featured as the baritone soloist in Orff's Carmina Burana, first for the Virginia Arts Festival under the baton of Julius Rudel, and later for Raymond Leppard and the Indianapolis Symphony In 2002 New York City Opera hosted the baritone for Tarquinius in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia and for the title role of Mozart's Don Giovanni. He also made his debut with Puerto Rico's Teatro de la Opera, where he sang Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, and Austin Lyric Opera invited him to return performing Joe De Rocher in Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking. Mr. Ulrich enjoyed a return to Europe where he was featured as Phedros in Zemlinski's Der König Kandaules under the baton of Kent Nagano for his debut with the Salzburg Festival in Salzburg, Austria Other past engagements include debuts with Opera Colorado in the title role of Eugene Onegin, Austin Lyric Opera as Stanley Kowalski in Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire, and Florentine Opera as Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He also returned to Orlando Opera where he was heard as Marcello in La Boheme. Mr. Ulrich has also performed at the  Metropolitan
Opera where he has sung roles including Schaunard in
La Boheme, Marullo in Rigoletto, Cascada in The
Merry Widow, and Silvano in Un ballo in maschera.
Earlier he made his U.K. debut singing Rossini's Figaro with Welsh
National Opera in Cardiff, and Carmina Burana
with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
in Bournemouth, England.The baritone was also featured as Fritz in New York City Opera's Die tote Stadt and as Schaunard on "Live from Lincoln Center" in the telecast of La Boheme. In recital, he collaborated with Steven Blier and Michael Barrett of New York Festival of Song, and with Kim Pensinger Witman at The Barnes of Wolf Trap. He has also made appearances with Oper der Stadt Köln in the title role of Louis Spohr's Faust, and in the title role of Tchaikovsky's  Eugene
Onegin for Opera San José.
Opera Theatre of St. Louis
hosted the baritone for the title role in the world-premiere of
Tale of Genji, with libretto by Colin Graham and music
by Minoru Miki. It was Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia at New York City Opera  which
marked his New York debut in 1998, and he was asked to return
the following season
for Papageno in Die Zauberflöte and Schaunard in La
boheme. Some of Mr. Ulrich's previous debuts, include
Opera Theatre of St. Louis
as Zurga in The Pearl Fishers, Orlando
Opera as Valentin in Faust, and
L'Opéra Français de New York singing the
role of L'Ami in Milhaud's Le pauvre Matelot. He
has also been heard as Ottone in L'incoronazione di Poppea,
and Ferdinand in Prokofiev's Betrothal in a Monastery,
under the baton of Valery Gergiev, at San
Francisco Opera; in the title role in Don
Giovanni for Festival Opera;
and as Piedmont Opera's Danilo
in The Merry Widow. .png) In
1998 he made his European Opera debut as Tarquinius in Britten's
The Rape of Lucretia for the Wiener
Kammeroper to much critical acclaim. The following
year he returned to Vienna as Escamillo in Carmen for his
debut with the Vienna Volksoper,
and again for the title role in Spohr's Faust for Klangbogen
Festival.The baritone was a Principal Resident Artist with Opera San José from 1993-96. His roles there included both Mozart's and Rossini's Figaro, Don Giovanni, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Escamillo in Carmen, Germont in La Traviata, Zurga in Les Pêcheurs de Perles, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, the title role in Mechem's Tartuffe and Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin. He has also appeared with Seattle Opera, Lyric Opera Cleveland, and Wolf Trap Opera where he first appeared as the Poet in Rossini's Il Turco in Italia, and returned the following year for Pantalone in The Jewel Box. Mr. Ulrich participated in the 1996 San Francisco Opera's Merola Program and Western Opera Theater tour singing Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia.  He
was named a 1997-98 Adler Fellow,and made his
San Francisco Opera debut in 1997 as Yamadori in Madama
Butterfly. He was later heard as Sharpless in the same
production, and also featured in the productions of Death in
Venice, Rigoletto, Pelléas et Mélisande, and Tosca.
Mr. Ulrich also sang Orestes in San Francisco
Opera Center's production of Iphigénie en Tauride. Mel Ulrich was born in Aibonito, Puerto  Rico
and received his Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Arts Degrees
from the University of Washington in Seattle as well as an Artist
Diploma from Oberlin Conservatory. He is one of the
1999 winners of the prestigious ARIA Award, a 1999 winner of a
Richard Tucker Career Grant, and a 1999 Opera Index Award winner.
Other awards include the Opéra
Comique de Paris award in the 1998 International Belvedere
Competition in Vienna, the 1996 Gaetano Merola Award, a 1997 Kurt
Herbert Adler Award, and the Sullivan Award in 1997. |