With a voice praised as “exceptionally supple
and flexible” (Mannheimer Morgen), American
tenor Mark Calvert is steadily earning acclaim for his
performances in Europe. His most recent success was his
debut in Switzerland with the Aargauer Symphonie
Orchester and Oper Schloss Hallwyl
as Vašek in “The Bartered Bride” in July
2009. Upcoming performances include his return to the
United States for two productions with Opera Omaha,
singing Beppe in “I Pagliacci” and Don Basilio
and Don Curzio in “Le nozze di Figaro”. Mark
Calvert's upcoming concert performances include his 2010
Carnegie Hall debut performing Mozart's
"Coronation Mass" with New England Symphonic
Ensemble. He makes his Vienna recital debut under the
auspecies of La prima volta and Austrian
Cultural Forum, and later in the season returns
to Austria's Landesgalerie Linz to perform Schumann's
"Leiderkreis, Op. 24".
Between 2006 and 2009 Mark Calvert was a member of the
Landestheater Linz ensemble in Austria,
where, under the baton of conductor Dennis Russell Davies,
he added a number of roles to his repertoire, including
Damon in “Acis and Galathea”, Mopsa in “The
Fairy Queen”, Scaramuccio in “Ariadne auf
Naxos”, Cégeste in Philip Glass’ “Orphée”,
Don Basilio in “Le nozze di Figaro”, as well
as Pane in “La Calisto”. In 2008 Mark Calvert
made his Italian debut with the Orchestra Sinfonica
di Milano Giuseppe Verdi in Kurt Weill’s
“Die sieben Todsünden” and as Dr. Blind
in “Die Fledermaus” under the baton of Andreas
Mitisek. Under conductor Ralf Weikert he debuted at the
Richard Wagner Festival Wels as the 3rd
Knappe in “Parsifal”, followed by Gastone
in “La traviata” with the Philharmonie
Südwestfalen. Further European engagements
in past seasons have included productions with the Stadttheater
Gießen, the Schlossfestspiele Heidelberg,
the Theater der Stadt Heidelberg, and
the Kammeroper Konstanz.
Sought after for his performances on the concert stage,
Mark Calvert has performed many works, such as Haydn’s
“Die Schöpfung”, J.S. Bach’s “Johannes-Passion”
and “Weihnachtsoratorium”, Brahms’ “Liebeslieder-Walzer”,
and Britten’s “Cantata Misericordium”
and “Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings”.
His 2007 performances of Händel’s “Messiah”
with the L’Arpa Festante Baroque Orchestra
Munich were recorded for Spektral Records.
He has also been seen throughout Europe and America in
television broadcasts of the documentary “Renata
Scotto – L’île opera”. Additional
recordings include Robert Kurka’s “The Good
Soldier Schweik” for Cedille Records
and Chicago Opera Theater, as well as
songs of Franck and Gounod for Ambassador Records.
A native of Wichita, Kansas, Mark Calvert earned his
degrees from Yale University School of Music and Lawrence
University in Wisconsin. He received his early training
with The Santa Fe Opera, Opera
Theatre of Saint Louis, Seattle Opera,
Aspen Music Festival, and Pittsburgh
Opera. His performances with Pittsburgh Opera
earned him the 2000 Richard F. Gold Career Grant
from The Shoshana Foundation. |