The Return of Nathan Gunn 05-24-2009 Baritone Nathan Gunn returns as Tarquinius in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia. Photo by Bill Phelps. When it comes to versatility, baritone Nathan Gunn is an artist who doesn't shy away from a challenge. His return to the Opera Company of Philadelphia for the season finale and company premiere of Benjamin Britten's The Rape of Lucretia is performed on the heels of star turns in two World Premiere operas - as Alec Harvey in Houston Grand Opera's A Brief Encounter and as Father DeLaura in Love and Other Demons at the Glyndebourne Festival. He has thrilled audiences on the finest stages in the U.S. and abroad in classic roles like Rossini's Figaro in The Barber of Seville, Mozart's Papageno in The Magic Flute and as the title character in Britten's epic Billy Budd. Now, he returns as the perpetrator of Lucretia's ruin in this classic tale. "This piece, besides being beautiful," Gunn shares, "dives deeply into the mysteries of life, and the nature of good and evil and the role that we humans play in it." Gunn is equally comfortable outside the standard operatic repertoire, possessing a talent that engages audiences with many different musical styles. He recently appeared in semi-staged performances of Camelot with the New York Philharmonic (broadcast live on PBS's Great Performances) and performed Showboat at Carnegie Hall. In 2007, he collaborated with Sony/BMG Masterworks to release the CD, "Just Before Sunrise," which has won praise for its thoughtful selection of songs by contemporary composers from Gene Scheer to Sting. The Chicago Sun-Times said, "Gunn sounds totally at ease on "Just Before Sunrise," unlike other classical artists who can't scale back their voices when singing in a non-operatic setting." Of the selections, Gunn told the Sun-Times, "It's not a crossover disc. It's just beautiful music…. I feel there's a category of music aimed at people aged 35 to 55 that's sort of disappeared. And it's a shame, because there are so many great composers out there now writing songs for this audience." Beyond the stage, Gunn's career has garnered impressive notice in recent seasons, with appearances on mainstream media such as Good Morning America and a star turn on Stephen Colbert's Colbert Report, where he emphasized the accessibility of opera to the Comedy Central celeb host - and joined Colbert in imagining who might win a cage match: Carmen or Madama Butterfly! Vanity Fair also recently included Gunn in an impressive spread of opera's hottest stars on the rise - but when it comes down to it, audiences come to hear what The New York Times describes as "… an unfailing beauty of tone, warmed into a finely gauged dramatic portrayal." An alumnus of the Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artist Program who won not only the Met's National Council Auditions but the first Beverly Sills Award, Gunn also holds a position as Professor of Voice at his alma mater, the University of Illinois, when he is not on the road with his burgeoning performance career, and is committed to fostering the development of young artists and new operatic work. This June, Philadelphia audiences can hear Nathan Gunn in just five performances at the intimate Perelman Theater - don't miss his performance in OCP's company premiere of The Rape of Lucretia! Click here to purchase tickets now! LISTEN LIVE TO NATHAN GUNN ON RADIO TIMES, THURSDAY 6/4 FROM 11AM-12NOON. To learn more about Nathan Gunn, visit his web site at www.nathangunn.com. View the promo for Nathan's Just Before Sunrise CD. Click here to view Nathan's appearance on The Colbert Report. View the Vanity Fair article featuring Nathan Gunn. Read more articles on Nathan here.
Baritone Nathan Gunn returns as Tarquinius in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia. Photo by Bill Phelps.
When it comes to versatility, baritone Nathan Gunn is an artist who doesn't shy away from a challenge. His return to the Opera Company of Philadelphia for the season finale and company premiere of Benjamin Britten's The Rape of Lucretia is performed on the heels of star turns in two World Premiere operas - as Alec Harvey in Houston Grand Opera's A Brief Encounter and as Father DeLaura in Love and Other Demons at the Glyndebourne Festival. He has thrilled audiences on the finest stages in the U.S. and abroad in classic roles like Rossini's Figaro in The Barber of Seville, Mozart's Papageno in The Magic Flute and as the title character in Britten's epic Billy Budd. Now, he returns as the perpetrator of Lucretia's ruin in this classic tale. "This piece, besides being beautiful," Gunn shares, "dives deeply into the mysteries of life, and the nature of good and evil and the role that we humans play in it."
Gunn is equally comfortable outside the standard operatic repertoire, possessing a talent that engages audiences with many different musical styles. He recently appeared in semi-staged performances of Camelot with the New York Philharmonic (broadcast live on PBS's Great Performances) and performed Showboat at Carnegie Hall. In 2007, he collaborated with Sony/BMG Masterworks to release the CD, "Just Before Sunrise," which has won praise for its thoughtful selection of songs by contemporary composers from Gene Scheer to Sting. The Chicago Sun-Times said, "Gunn sounds totally at ease on "Just Before Sunrise," unlike other classical artists who can't scale back their voices when singing in a non-operatic setting." Of the selections, Gunn told the Sun-Times, "It's not a crossover disc. It's just beautiful music…. I feel there's a category of music aimed at people aged 35 to 55 that's sort of disappeared. And it's a shame, because there are so many great composers out there now writing songs for this audience."
Beyond the stage, Gunn's career has garnered impressive notice in recent seasons, with appearances on mainstream media such as Good Morning America and a star turn on Stephen Colbert's Colbert Report, where he emphasized the accessibility of opera to the Comedy Central celeb host - and joined Colbert in imagining who might win a cage match: Carmen or Madama Butterfly! Vanity Fair also recently included Gunn in an impressive spread of opera's hottest stars on the rise - but when it comes down to it, audiences come to hear what The New York Times describes as "… an unfailing beauty of tone, warmed into a finely gauged dramatic portrayal." An alumnus of the Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artist Program who won not only the Met's National Council Auditions but the first Beverly Sills Award, Gunn also holds a position as Professor of Voice at his alma mater, the University of Illinois, when he is not on the road with his burgeoning performance career, and is committed to fostering the development of young artists and new operatic work.
This June, Philadelphia audiences can hear Nathan Gunn in just five performances at the intimate Perelman Theater - don't miss his performance in OCP's company premiere of The Rape of Lucretia!
Click here to purchase tickets now!
LISTEN LIVE TO NATHAN GUNN ON RADIO TIMES, THURSDAY 6/4 FROM 11AM-12NOON.
To learn more about Nathan Gunn, visit his web site at www.nathangunn.com.
View the promo for Nathan's Just Before Sunrise CD.
Click here to view Nathan's appearance on The Colbert Report.
View the Vanity Fair article featuring Nathan Gunn.
Read more articles on Nathan here.
