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Revision as of 15:00, 4 September 2006 by Voceditenore (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The American tenor Rockwell Blake was born on January 10, 1951 in Plattsburgh, New York, where he also began his musical studies. Trained in singing by Renata Carisio, he made his solo operatic debut in 1976 as Lindoro in Rossini's L'italiana in Algeri at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.. He made his debut at the New York Metropolitan Opera House in 1981 in the same role, with Marilyn Horne as his Isabella and went on to become one of the outstanding Rossini singers of his generation, singing regularly at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro since 1983.
His superb vocal technique, two-and-a-half octave range, and elegant style have also made him a highly successful interpreter of Mozart, Donizetti and Bellini as well as early French opera. He has sung the leading tenor role in over 50 operas including such relative rarities as Rossini's Zelmira, Mozart's' Zaide, Donizetti's Il Furioso all'Isola San Domingo, and L'Infedelta Delusa by Haydn.
Since 2001 he been teaching young singers as well as continuing to perform on stage (albeit less frequently) and has given master classes at the Associazione Lirica Concertistica Italiana in Milan, the Conservatoire Nationale de Paris, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Duke University in North Carolina, the State University of New York, the Hamburg Staatsoper, and the Chicago Lyric Opera young artists program.
Prizes and Distinctions
Cavaliere Ufficiale, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana 1994
Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et Lettres de la République Française 2001
Honorary Doctorate of Music, State University of New York
Richard Tucker Award 1978
Diapason d'Or de l'Aneé 1994
Victoire de la Musique 1997
Grand Prix du Palmares des Palmares 2004
Discography
Opera
Boieldieu - La Dame blanche (CD Angel Records)
Donizetti - Alina (CD Nuova Era)
Mozart - Mitridate Re di Ponto (DVD Euro Arts)
Rossini - Il barbiere di Siviglia (CD Nuova Era)
Rossini - La Donna del Lago, Conductor: Riccardo Muti (CD Philips)
Rossini - La Donna del Lago, Conductor: Riccardo Muti (DVD La Scala Collection)
Rossini - La Donna del Lago, Conductor: Claudio Scimone (CD Ponto)
Rossini - Elisabetta Regina d'Inghilterra (DVD Hardy Classic)
Recital
Airs d'Opéras Français (CD EMI)
Encore Rossini (CD Arabesque)
The Mozart Tenor (CD Arabesque)
Rossini Melodies (CD EMI)
The Rossini Tenor (CD Arabesque)
Links
IMG Artists - Rockwell Blake Page
Thea Dispeker Artists Management - Rockwell Blake Page (includes his complete repertoire in both opera and orchestral/choral works)
Interviews on WNIB Radio - 13 January 1991 and 14 January 1996 (with commentary by the interviewer, Bruce Duffie)