Ryan Allen (bass)

Image:Ryan Allen as Dr. Bartolo.JPG

File:Carlisle Floyd, Ryan Allen.jpg

The singer debuted at the Metropolitan Opera{{cite web | url=http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/frame.htm | title=Metopera Database: | accessdate=2008-02-13 | author=The Metropolitan Opera Archives | authorlink=Metropolitan Opera | pages=Keyword Search: Ryan Allen; performance date, January 23, 1993 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090616235216/http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/frame.htm | archivedate=June 16, 2009 | url-status=live}} in 1993 as Hans Foltz in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg by Richard Wagner. Coming to opera from the field of acting, the bass's repertoire favored roles with character development and stage movement. These roles ranged from the comic Don Basilio{{cite web | url=http://www.curtainup.com/barberseville.html | title=A Curtain Up Opera Review, Il Barbiere di Siviglia | publisher=Curtain Up | date=July 5, 1999 | accessdate=2008-08-06 | author=Elyse Sommer}} in Il barbiere di Siviglia by Gioacchino Rossini to the pathetic Candy"Bleak story of shattered men makes edgy opera," D.T. Baker, Edmonton Journal, B6. in Of Mice and Men by Carlisle Floyd. Allen also appeared as an oratorio soloist with various symphony orchestras and oratorio societies. In 1989 he debuted at Carnegie Hall, singing the bass solos in Mozart's Requiem.[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE6DF123CF932A35755C0A96F948260 NYTimes.com, Review/Music, 10 Choruses From Across the Nation]

Allen was a lyric bass capable of singing the deepest pitches composed in opera. He performed the role of Seneca[http://milwaukeesfs.livejournal.com/117244.html milwaukeesfs: University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Opera, The Coronation of Poppea.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110822005923/http://milwaukeesfs.livejournal.com/117244.html |date=2011-08-22 }} in L'incoronazione di Poppea by Monteverdi, which requires a low D.[http://www.dutchdivas.net/highC.html Dutch Divas – the high C] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080308174947/http://www.dutchdivas.net/highC.html |date=2008-03-08 }} Although primarily an exponent of the great buffo roles, the bass demonstrated versatility. He performed not only in opera and oratorio, but also in the musical theater field (Judge Turpin in Sweeney Todd)"Indianola, IA," Derek M. Mills, Opera News, December 9, 1995, p. 56. and the operetta field in Gilbert and Sullivan roles, such as the title character in The Mikado."'Mikado' opera is delightfully absurd," David Stabler, The Oregonian, May 15, 2000, Entertainment Section, p. 1. The ability to sing in diverse musical styles was underscored when he sang A Kurt Weill Cabaret with Martha Schlamme."Schlamme and company do justice to Weill's genius," Arden Anderson Broeking, Darien News-Review, March 8, 1984, p. 10. He participated in several world premieres, including My Friend's Story by Martin Bresnick at the International Festival of Arts and Ideas,{{cite web | last = | first = |authorlink = | title = International Festival of Arts and Ideas | work = | publisher = | year = | url = http://www.artidea.org/sites/default/files/downloads/myfriendsstory-insert.pdf| accessdate = 8 July 2016}} Holy Blood and Crescent Moon by Stewart Copeland with the Cleveland Opera, and The Cask of Amontillado by Russell CurrieThe New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell, 2004. Copyright: Macmillan Publishers Limited, 1980 with the Bronx Arts Ensemble in the Bronx, New York, followed by revivals off-broadway at the Vital Theater, Golden Fleece, Ltd. and Symphony Space. Caliban, a monodrama using the words of the character Caliban from Shakespeare's The Tempest, was written for and dedicated to him by Russell Currie. Ryan Allen can be heard as Elviro on a 1994 recording of Handel's Xerxes (Koch Schwann), in recordings of Russell Currie's music on the High Fire label, and seen as Betto on a video of Gianni Schicchi (Metropolitan Opera Guild).

Born in South Carolina, Allen attended school in Columbia, the city of his birth, and Dallas, Texas, graduating from the latter at Thomas Jefferson High School. He demonstrated talent early, singing the lead in his junior high school musical while still a boy soprano. In high school, he played as first trombone in the band and sang in the A Cappella Choir. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Austin College in Sherman, Texas, and a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Texas at Austin, the bass continued his training in the Merola Opera Program{{cite web| title =Merola Alumni| work =Merola Opera Program| url =http://merolaopera.com/alumni| accessdate =16 August 2012| url-status =dead| archiveurl =https://web.archive.org/web/20120611003327/http://merolaopera.com/alumni| archivedate =11 June 2012}} and with Boris Goldovsky. He lived in Charleston, South Carolina.

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041003/ART10/41003001/-1/ART Ryan Allen as Don Basilio in The Barber of Seville]
• [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9907E0D71238F932A25754C0A9669C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all Ryan Allen as the Stage Manager in Six Characters in Search of an Author]
• [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-jan-25-ca-1547-story.html Ryan Allen as Pistola in Falstaff]
• [http://www.frequencybox.com/portfolio/atlantaopera/2001/artists_AtruC.htm Ryan Allen at FrequencyBox.com]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Ryan}}

Category:American operatic basses

Category:University of Texas at Austin College of Fine Arts alumni

Category:People from Edgewater, New Jersey

Category:1943 births

Category:2018 deaths

Category:Musicians from Columbia, South Carolina

Category:Thomas Jefferson High School (Dallas) alumni

Category:20th-century American male opera singers

Category:21st-century American male opera singers

Category:Singers from New Jersey

Category:Classical musicians from New Jersey

Category:Singers from South Carolina

Category:Classical musicians from South Carolina