| ... in the world of GRAND OPERA? |
| Yes! Especially if that someone happens to be... |
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| ... in the world of GRAND OPERA? |
| Yes! Especially if that someone happens to be... |
|
| Click below or any of the YELLOW DOTS on the map above. | ||
|
New York: Tri-Cities
Carnegie Hall/Lincoln Center Pittsburgh Cincinnati Chicago San Francisco Los Angeles San Diego |
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Berlin/Hamburg/Vienna London Paris Milan/Florence Prague/Japan/Others |
| PROPOSITION:
Richard Leech's career parallels the coming of age of opera in America. Consider the facts: |
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1. | 1980
- Richard Leech, age 22, sang his first lead role at Tri-Cities Opera;
since then his career has been going only in one direction - UP! |
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2. | Today there are 110 professional opera companies in the US, of which 34 were founded after 1980. (Likewise, the number of symphony orchestras has risen - by over 110 since 1980.) |
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3. | On the basis of anecdotal reports and statistics, opera attendance has been on the rise: nearly 7.5 million in the 1996-97 season, up 34% from 1980. |
| It
can reasonably be concluded that 1.) The surging popularity of opera especially
among the young is no fluke; happily, the audience is expanding and becoming
less the domain of a graying elite. 2.) While the Metropolitan Opera in
New York has always been top-ranked among the world's opera houses (as
are the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the San Francisco Opera), American
regional opera companies are having their day in the sun. (Even the Europeans
have taken notice - see cover story of the March 1998 issue of the German
magazine, Opern Welt.) and 3.)Yes, there were American stars in
the past golden age(s) of opera, but they were always the exception that
proved the rule. No longer. He may not be the only one, but certainly
Richard Leech is among the first in today's generation of American opera
singers to show that born (and trained) in the USA is OK in Grand Opera,
living proof that indeed opera has come of age in America. |
| Click
on and let's trace the progress of an all-American tenor |
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| Back | as he sings his way to the top of the world. | Next |
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New York: Tri-Cities
Carnegie Hall/Lincoln Center Pittsburgh Cincinnati Chicago San Francisco Los Angeles San Diego |
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Berlin/Hamburg/Vienna London Paris Milan/Florence Prague/Japan/Others |
| THE
RICHARD LEECH PAGES: HOME THE
ARTIST & HIS CAREER
HIS RECORDINGS
CALENDAR |
| AS
DON JOSE AS
ROMEO AT
GRANT PARK FESTIVAL
A FAN'S THOUGHTS |
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