Andrew Oakden |
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Andrew Oakden, baritone Baritone Andrew Oakden continues to garner critical acclaim in opera houses across the United States and recently made his New York City Opera mainstage debut performing the roles of Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana and Tonio in Pagliacci in the fall of 2007. He is a graduate of Indiana University School of Music where he studied with Virginia Zeani and Timothy Noble. While in Indiana, Mr. Oakden performed various leading roles including the title role in Rigoletto, Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor, and Germont in La Traviata. Of his performance of Germont, Peter Jacobi of the Herald Times wrote: “Oakden's voice has gained richness and threatens to become what the world has few of: a resonant Verdi baritone. He's not all the way there yet, but he's closing in on that sparsely populated vocal region.” This past winter Mr. Oakden sang several performances of Marcello in La Bohème and covered Francesco in Verdi’s I Masnadieri with Sarasota Opera. He recently made his Ft. Worth Symphony debut in the role of Papageno in Die Zauberflöte. In 2005, he performed the Mandarin in Turandot and Pietro in Simon Boccanegra at Santa Fe Opera, and Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana and Tonio in Pagliacci at Sarasota Opera where he additionally covered Stankar in Verdi’s Stiffelio. Following his success as Tonio at Sarasota Opera, The Sunday Telegraph (London) wrote: “…the unexpected thrill of a young baritone, Andrew Oakden, stepping in at a moment’s notice into the role of Tonio and bringing the house down with his superb singing of the prologue…Oakden is a name to note.” At Indianapolis Opera, Mr. Oakden both sang Marullo and covered the title role in Rigoletto, and subsequently covered Germont in La Traviata. For Janiec Opera Theater, he sang Sharpless Madama Butterfly and Germont La Traviata. Mr. Oakden has participated in Young Artist Programs with Minnesota Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Aspen Music Festival, and Sarasota Opera. He has worked with James Conlon, Tito Capobianco, Corrado Rovaris, Imre Pallo, Sherrill Milnes, David Effron, and Alan Gilbert. Earlier this year, Mr. Oakden was the 1st Prize Winner in the Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition as well as being a recent finalist in both the regional Metropolitan Opera Competition and the 2005 MacAllister Awards. This season's engagements include Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana and Tonio in Pagliacci with Virginia Opera, and covering Fiorello in Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Wagner in Faust for The Metropolitan Opera. Next season, Mr. Oakden will also be covering the role of Lescaut in Manon Lescaut for The Metropolitan Opera. |