| When
Mel Ulrich made his European debut at the Vienna Kammeroper as Tarquinius
in Benjamin Britten's The Rape of Lucretia , and the critics
raved!
"...a real discovery...."
"...a superb debut worth hearing...."
"...an extremely demonic Tarquinius"
"...Mel Ulrich as Tarquinius remains in the memory."
And when in the same year he made his debut at the New York of City
Opera as Figaro in Rossini's Il Barbiere, the unanimous verdict
was: "He is a natural Figaro," a "promising talent"
who in time "might become a notable operatic personality."
The year was 1998, and he has come a long way since:
Today American Baritone Mel Ulrich is noted for his “trim, elegant
baritone and striking physical grace" on the operatic stage. (Opera
News, April 2001) In addition to his rich baritone, capable of great
power as well as fine-tuned finesse, Mel Ulrich is best known for his
captivating presence and unrelenting command of the stage.
Mr. Ulrich opens the 2002-2003 season in title role of Don Giovanni
with the New York City Opera. He then travels to Puerto Rico to perform
Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, followed by the role of Joe de Rocher
in Austin Lyric Opera’s production of Jake Heggie’s Dead
Man Walking. He will return to the New York City Opera to perform Tarquinius
in The Rape of Lucretia. Later in the season he will perform Carmina
Burana with the Indianapolis Symphony. Upcoming season engagements include
Mozart’s Count Almaviva in Puerto Rico, Schaunard in La Bohème
with the Dallas Opera, Escamillo in Carmen with the Pittsburgh Opera,
and Dr. Malatesta in Don Pasquale with the Florentine Opera.
The 2001-2002 season featured the baritone in his debut with Welsh National
Opera as Rossini's Figaro as well as debuts with Puerto Rico’s
Teatro de la Opera as Papageno and Florentine Opera as Demetrius in
A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In January Mr. Ulrich traveled to the
Austin Lyric Opera to perform the role of Stanley Kowalski in André
Previn’s A Streetcar Named Desire. He also returned to Orlando
Opera as Marcello in La Bohème and debuted with Colorado Opera
in Eugene Onegin. Additionally, the baritone covered the role of Dominik
in Arabella at the Metropolitan Opera and makes his Salzburg Festival
debut as Phedros in Der König Kandaules.br>
During the 2000-2001 season, Mr. Ulrich appeared at the Metropolitan
Opera in productions of The Merry Widow and Un ballo in maschera. 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 Bohème. In recital, he collaborated with
Steven Blier and Michael Barrett of the New York Festival of Song and
performed at The Barns of Wolf Trap with Kim Witman on piano.
The 1999-2000 season marked Mr. Ulrich’s debut with the Metropolitan
Opera, singing Cascada in The Merry Widow, Schaunard in La Bohème
and Marullo in Rigoletto. In the autumn of 1999 Mr. Ulrich made his
debut with Oper der Stadt Köln in the title role of Louis Spohr's
Faust and was featured in the title role of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin
for the season opener at Opera San Jose. Earlier, Opera Theatre of Saint
Louis hosted the baritone for the title role in the world-premiere of
The Tale of Genji, with libretto by Colin Graham and music by Minoru
Miki.
Mr. Ulrich’s performances of Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia
at New York City Opera marked his New York debut in 1998, and he was
asked to return last season for Papageno in Die Zauberflöte. Mr.
Ulrich's other recent debuts include Opera Theatre of Saint 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 at San Francisco Opera, the title role in Don Giovanni for
Festival Opera, and Danilo in Piedmont Opera's The Merry Widow.
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.
Last year he returned to Vienna as Escamillo in Carmen for his debut
with the Vienna Volksoper and again last summer for the title role in
Spohr's Faust for the Klangbogen Festival. He has also appeared with
Seattle Opera, Lyric Opera Cleveland, and Wolf Trap Opera.
In addition to being one of the 1999 winners of the ARIA Award, Mr.
Ulrich is also 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, the 1998 International Belvedere Competition
in Vienna, the 1996 Gaetano Merola Award, a 1997 Kurt Herbert Adler
Award, and the 1997 Sullivan Award.
Indeed, if past is prologue, Mel Ulrich indeed faces a very
bright future, and every season promises to be a very special season.
GO TO: performance calendar
Mel Ulrich's Management:
Columbia Artists Management Inc. / Personal Direction: Elizabeth Crittenden
165 W. 57th St. NY, NY 10019
Tel: (212) 841-9682; FAX: (212) 841-9557
Photo credit: Lisa Kohler |
