Pronouns
"His bold, rounded singing elicits the same earthy satisfaction as a great glass of Cabernet"
Review: Last-minute sub makes for a devilishly good bad boy in West Bay Opera's 'Don Giovanni'
The good news is, sometimes a replacement does a pretty amazing job (just ask Brock Purdy). From note one, it was apparent that Nelson possesses a baritone as smooth as liquid silver, and the proper mixture of charisma and child-like glee to portray one of opera's favorite bad boys. Also, in the opening sword fight, he succeeded in not actually stabbing anyone, which is important.
Irish-American baritone John Allen Nelson is known for his “deliciously hearty sound” with “uniformity from top to bottom” paired with his clean musicality. His “full-body approach” to acting always makes him an audience favorite. Recently, Mr. Nelson appeared as Guglielmo in Cosi fan tutte with the Bar Harbor Music Festival and made his company debut as the Ufficiale and Figaro cover in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Finger Lakes Opera. Last season, Mr. Nelson revisited the title role in Don Giovanni in a groundbreaking pandemic era live production via Zoom with Kor Productions. In the 2019/2020 season, Mr. Nelson debuted with Opera Santa Barbara as Di Cosimo in Il Postino and Yamadori, the Imperial Commissioner, and the cover of Sharpless in Madama Butterfly. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, his appearance as Mercutio in Romeo et Juliette with Opera Santa Barbara was canceled, as was his return to Odyssey Opera as the Earl of Essex in Edward German’s comedy Merrie England. In the 2018/2019 season, Mr. Nelson made his New York City Opera debut as Giordano in the world premiere of Stonewall, and also debuted with Boston Lyric Opera in a workshop of a new Hamlet. He returned to his home state of Minnesota for Opera on the Lake’s summer production of Die Fledermaus, in which he portrayed Dr. Falke. In 2017, Mr. Nelson made his Utah Opera debut as Marcello as a last-minute fill-in in their season-opening production of La Bohème. He also appeared as Escamillo in Peter Brook's The Tragedy of Carmen with Skylark Opera Theatre and as Moralès in Carmen with the Lakes Area Music Festival. He made his Odyssey Opera debut as King Edward III in Donizetti's L'assedio di Calais, as well as Rhode Island Civic Orchestra’s Bass Soloist for Handel's Messiah.
Pronouns
"His bold, rounded singing elicits the same earthy satisfaction as a great glass of Cabernet"
Review: Last-minute sub makes for a devilishly good bad boy in West Bay Opera's 'Don Giovanni'
The good news is, sometimes a replacement does a pretty amazing job (just ask Brock Purdy). From note one, it was apparent that Nelson possesses a baritone as smooth as liquid silver, and the proper mixture of charisma and child-like glee to portray one of opera's favorite bad boys. Also, in the opening sword fight, he succeeded in not actually stabbing anyone, which is important.
Irish-American baritone John Allen Nelson is known for his “deliciously hearty sound” with “uniformity from top to bottom” paired with his clean musicality. His “full-body approach” to acting always makes him an audience favorite. Recently, Mr. Nelson appeared as Guglielmo in Cosi fan tutte with the Bar Harbor Music Festival and made his company debut as the Ufficiale and Figaro cover in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Finger Lakes Opera. Last season, Mr. Nelson revisited the title role in Don Giovanni in a groundbreaking pandemic era live production via Zoom with Kor Productions. In the 2019/2020 season, Mr. Nelson debuted with Opera Santa Barbara as Di Cosimo in Il Postino and Yamadori, the Imperial Commissioner, and the cover of Sharpless in Madama Butterfly. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, his appearance as Mercutio in Romeo et Juliette with Opera Santa Barbara was canceled, as was his return to Odyssey Opera as the Earl of Essex in Edward German’s comedy Merrie England. In the 2018/2019 season, Mr. Nelson made his New York City Opera debut as Giordano in the world premiere of Stonewall, and also debuted with Boston Lyric Opera in a workshop of a new Hamlet. He returned to his home state of Minnesota for Opera on the Lake’s summer production of Die Fledermaus, in which he portrayed Dr. Falke. In 2017, Mr. Nelson made his Utah Opera debut as Marcello as a last-minute fill-in in their season-opening production of La Bohème. He also appeared as Escamillo in Peter Brook's The Tragedy of Carmen with Skylark Opera Theatre and as Moralès in Carmen with the Lakes Area Music Festival. He made his Odyssey Opera debut as King Edward III in Donizetti's L'assedio di Calais, as well as Rhode Island Civic Orchestra’s Bass Soloist for Handel's Messiah.
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