Boston Singers' Resource News Bulletin, January 5 , 2005

Tenor, Evan Denmark, is quickly re-establishing himself, after an extended absence, as a tenor to see and hear in New England. He was a 3rd place winner in the 2003 Classical Singer Vocal Competition and a finalist in the New Jersey Alliance of Performing Artists 2004 Vocal Competition. His recent operatic roles include Rinuccio in 'Gianni Schicchi', Beppe in 'Pagliacci', Don Basilio in 'The Marriage of Figaro' with Lowell Opera, as well as Rudolfo in 'La Boheme' and Sam in 'Susannah'. His solo and oratorio work include Bruckner's 'Requiem', Bach's 'Christmas Oratorio' and Mozart's 'Requiem'.

Joe Stroup: You've been terrifically busy this passed year haven't you?

Evan Denmark: It took off like wildfire for me. I was kind of caught off guard by all of it. In April, I sang in 'Gianni Schicchi' with the Lowell Opera. In May, I did the Classical Singer Competition. In June and July, I sang with both the Longwood (Scott Brumit, Artistic Director) and the New England Light Opera (Mark Morgan*, Artistic Director) summer concerts and also with Opera Providence in July. In April, I auditioned for a new company in mid-coast Maine, the Heartwood Regional Theatre, and got the role of Sam in Floyd's 'Susannah'. That ran in August. Then I went straight into rehearsal for the October / November production of 'Boheme' with Longwood. In October, I also sang with the 2nd Annual Boston Cure Project Halloween Concert at Longy.


JS: Your website (www.evandenmark.com) indicates you are returning to your career after a hiatus. What caused you to leave?

ED: I had really only just begun my career. I had completed my undergraduate work at the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music and had done an apprenticeship with the Des Moines Opera (their Young Artists Program). Then I worked briefly in New York and did another apprenticeship with the Sarasota Opera. I had returned to Cincinnati to pursue my Masters degree but I began to think that it wasn't a good idea to do a Masters where I had done my undergraduate work. Plus, I was feeling kind of land-locked. Although there is a lot of culture in Cincinnati, I felt like I wanted to get on one of the coasts.

So I applied to Boston Conservatory where I was accepted and given a nice scholarship. After I moved here, though, I had trouble finding both a place to live and a job. I was literally living on a friend's couch for several months. Then, because I wasn't able to start at Boston Conservatory that semester, I lost the scholarship. Instead, I began studying privately with (Boston Conservatory faculty member) Elizabeth Phinney while working full time in the computer industry. Around that time I wasn't feeling right with the way things were going with my voice. I didn't think my technique was up to snuff and I was losing the enjoyment of it because I don't think I was singing that well. So I thought 'well, maybe I'll take some time off and let my voice settle' and then pick it up again at a later date. At the time I was thinking, maybe, a year. But then I got busy with a career. I met my wife, had kids, and kind of never looked back.


JS: You stopped singing altogether?

ED: I did a little bit of rock and roll, I played with a band. I had always sung rock and roll in high school doing Led Zeppelin, Robert Plant; all the high-note kind of stuff in my teens. But by the time I started my classical training there was a gap of several years so the instrument had remained basically healthy, in good shape, no physical problems. This time, though, it was only fun for a while but then got old real quick. It's very throaty singing, so you need to develop a technique to be able to sing it a lot. I didn't do it for very long this time.


JS: What brought you back into the classical music fold?

ED: In 2002, I was laid off from my computer work. I had lots of spare time and I was sort of getting the urge to really sing again. I started doing a workout program at the local YMCA a couple hours every morning. Then, in the afternoons I would work on my own, doing vocal exercises. This was my New Year's resolution for 2003. I started with small-range scales, less than an octave, not too high, for a couple of weeks, stretching the range a little bit. Next I worked on small pieces, then portions of arias. By the end of February, beginning of March, I was able to do some full arias.

The previous fall my wife was at one of my daughter's soccer games and started talking to one of the other moms who asked what I did. First my wife only said that I was in computers but then she mentioned that I also sang opera. The other mom told her that she, too, sang opera. This is where it starts to get interesting. It turns out that the other mom was Christina Puntoni who is on the Artistic Committee for the Lowell Opera. (She is also a BSR subscriber). I called her and we talked for a while. But nothing came of that at the time because I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. Then she called me just out of the blue and said 'We're doing a concert version of Pagliacci and we've lost our Beppe, would you be interested in singing?' That turned out to be my first, official stage debut (in April 2003) since coming back to singing. My audition for them was held at the first rehearsal. I sang the serenata that Beppe sings within the opera and they hired me based on that. She (Puntoni) basically just took a chance with me.

Then I auditioned for Scott Brumit at Longwood. I learned about him and the audition through BSR. I was invited to sing in the 2003 summer concert series and sang almost every week. It was a perfect way for me to get back into the swing of things, to get in front of an audience, to work out problems, to work on new pieces and to bring out old pieces. By the end of the summer I felt so much better and stronger - like being an athlete on a workout program getting ready for a marathon. It just so happened that they had spaces for me each week, so I was able to do a whole range of things in that one summer. By the way, I just want to say how great it is to work with Scotty. He's just a genuinely nice, nice guy. I was cast as Rudolfo for his 'Boheme' and working with him is such a treat because as a stage director, he'll give you his vision and sort of the basic blocking. Then as each rehearsal progresses, he just keeps backing off and lets you take the reins and make the role your own and make it come alive. His thinking is 'As long as you can get to such and such a spot by this measure, whatever you do in between, go for it.'


JS: So things just took off from there?

ED: Not quite. I hadn't yet started taking lessons again. Just singing and doing some auditions here and there. I auditioned with Opera Providence and did a concert with them the following February for Valentine's Day. There were three other people singing at that concert: Fred Scheff, Diana McVey & Valerie Nicolosi. All three had exceptional technique, beautiful voices, under beautiful control, and they were spinning off high notes like nobody's business. I asked each of them who they were studying with and all three said they were with Maria Spacagna. (Maria Spacagna has studios in Brookline, Milton, Providence and New York.) I called her and she decided to take me on as a student. After about six or eight lessons, things started to turn around. I was singing easier and freer. She brought my top out. It was really from about that time, March 2004, that things started happening.


JS: You'll be singing the Brahm's 'Liebeslieder' later this month. How does ensemble singing at this level differ from ensemble singing in the context of an opera?

ED: Yes, I'm so pleased that Lynn (Soprano and BSR Director, Lynn Shane) invited me do this 'Liebeslieder' with her. I'm looking forward to it because I see it as an excellent opportunity to get back into thinking about art song.

On the one hand it's the same as opera because, of course, you use the same vocal techniques. And it's the same because you're all going for the same target; getting the meaning of the music across to the audience. But, on the other hand, it's really a whole different approach. It's different in that you've got a level of intimacy not only with the audience but also with the other members of the quartet. That's something that you don't necessarily have in opera.

The energy level is so different between opera and the art song. You have to relate to the other people on the stage in art song like you do with opera ensembles but there's not as much ego involved. By that I mean the ego goes more into bringing across the music than in bringing out just 'the sound' and your character. The music is saying everything for you. You don't have the costumes, the lights. All you have is the music to tell the whole story.


JS: Are you able to do this (singing) as a full time thing now?

ED: I've been giving it some serious thought but I haven't made up my mind yet. I'm an older singer, not in my 20's anymore and it's just amazing that all kinds of things popped for me. It's certainly worth thinking about.

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Upcoming appearances by Evan Denmark include:

Pirandello Concert with Boston Bel Canto Opera, Bradley Pennington, founder and Artistic Director.
Arias & ensembles from Il Barbiere di Siviglia, La Boheme, La Sonnambula, La Traviata, Rigoletto, Cavalleria Rusticana, La Rondine, Madama Butterfly and Turandot. With Evan Denmark*, Jim Lambert*, Joseph Holmes*, Lisa Correnti*, Elizabeth Johnson* and Darby Tench. Tickets are $15.00.
At the Museum of National Heritage, 33 Marrett Road, Lexington, MA. This annual event is sponsored by the Luigi Pirandello Lyceum of eastern Massachusetts. www.bbcopera.com.
Sun Jan 16, 2005 2:00 PM

Menotti: Amahl and the Night Visitors with the Spencer Performing Arts Company, Denise Ambruson and Dan Pettit, co-founders.
Featuring Denise Ambruson and Jacqueline Goldgorin* as the Mother, Evan Denmark* as Kaspar, Paul Shafer* as Melchoir, Miles Rind* as Balthazar and Christopher Feth as Amahl. Tickets are $15, $12 & $10.
At the Sturbridge Federated Church, 8 Maple Street, Sturbridge, MA. 508-347-3915. www.sturfed.org, http://spencerperformingarts.com.
Sat Jan 8, 2005 7:00 PM
Sun Jan 9, 2005 2:00 PM
Fri Jan 14, 2005 7:00 PM
Sat Jan 15, 2005 7:00 PM
Sun Jan 16, 2005 2:00 PM

'Love and Six'. Brahms: Liebeslieder Waltzer
A winter song recital in the beautiful, newly constructed Recital Hall at Salem State College. Soloists include Lynn Shane*, soprano; Petra Pacaric, mezzo*; Evan Denmark, tenor*; Mark Morgan*, baritone; Joe Stroup* and Karen Gahagan*, pianists. Also on the program will be songs by Schubert, Schumann, Mahler, Brahms, and Wolf. FREE and open to the public
At the Recital Hall, Central Campus, Loring Avenue at Canal Street, Salem State College, Salem, MA. For more information: 978-352-5452. Directions at www.salemstate.edu.
Fri Jan 21, 2005 8:00 PM