Blake Davidson

Baritone

"Blake Davidson stood out from the pack with a ringing, glorious baritone."

FORT WORTH STAR TELEGRAM

Performances of Distinction:

Dallas Symphony Orchestra* Carnegie Hall* Auckland Philharmonia

International:

Winner 2001 International Bellini Lyric Arts Competition, American Repertoire Award
Grand Prize Contest in Ragusa,Italy

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Biography: (As of January, 2008)

Blake Davidson made his international debut in concert at the Tokyo Opera House, preceded by a presentation at AliceTully Hall in New York as a part of his Bellini Competition Award ( Italy ). He has returned to Carnegie Hall since then to sing solo concerts in Weill Hall. Auckland Philharmonia featured Davidson as Tonio in I Pagliacci, with Miguel Harth-Bedoya conducting. Davidson joined Sarasota Opera to sing the title role in Verdi’s Macbeth for a student performance, covering other performances (original and traditional versions), and was called upon to step in for a performance. Additionally he covered the baritone lead, Manfredo, in Montemezzi’s L’amore dei Tre Re. He made his Dallas Opera debut in their production of Fidelio and sang Schaunard in La Boheme with Anchorage Opera. He also recently sang the role of Morales in a Dallas Symphony concert version of Carmen at the Bravo Vail! music festival.

Mr. Davidson’s expansion into opera is preceded by extensive musical theatre performances including Casa Mañana and Dallas Summer Musicals. With a flair for musical theatre, this led to symphonic Broadway concerts including Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s 2000, 01, and 02 Broadway! concerts, about which Punch Shaw of the Fort Worth Star Telegram said, “Blake Davidson stood out from the pack with a ringing, glorious baritone. He displayed exceptional power even in his highest notes and a consistently gorgeous tone.” Other pops concerts include the 1998, 2000, and 2004 Christmas at the SuperPops concerts and the headliner artist for the 40th anniversary concert of the Irving Symphony. 2004 also included a Pops concert with The Florida Orchestra performing in Tampa , St. Petersburg , and Clearwater , about which John Fleming of the St. Petersburg Times said "Davidson…has a tour de force in ‘Soliloquy’." Soon thereafter he made his Fort Worth Symphony debut under the baton of Miguel Harth-Bedoya in a Broadway concert, then a Sondheim concert. This return to musical theater continued recently in a production of Evita in which Mr. Davidson played the role of Juan Peron to rave reviews. John Garcia of talkinbroadway.com said, “As Juan Peron, Blake Davidson provides the best singing voice of the evening - a colored, sturdy, and booming baritone voice that you never get tired of hearing. Davidson's portrayal of Peron is smashing!”

The Dallas Symphony presents Mr. Davidson as the baritone soloist on their CD entitled "A Dallas Christmas Gala", under Andrew Litton’s baton, released on the Delos label, about which Scott Cantrell of the Dallas Morning News said, "The high points...are Blake Davidson's solos, his baritone as warm and rich as plum pudding." His many appearances with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra include Bravo! Vail, where he partnered with Sylvia McNair. They again collaborated in a Highlander Concert Series (Dallas) recital in 2002. He has become a favorite also with the University of Virginia choral program, soloing with them in the Brahms Requiem in 2004 and being asked to come back in 2005 for Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem. He is in demand with many orchestras for a full range of repertoire. With his versatility and love of connecting with audiences, he admired for his gala appearances, recitals, concerts, and informal programs.

In Fort Worth Davidson sang Zaretsky and the Captain while covering the title role in Fort Worth Symphony’s production of a semi-staged Eugene Onegin. In October of that same year Blake performed in one of Ned Rorem’s quintessential works, Evidence of Things Not Seen, a cycle of thirty-six songs for four solo singers and piano. "Modern at the Modern by Cliburn " series, performed at the Modern Arts Museum of Fort Worth, presented a tribute concert celebrating the eighty-first birthday of composer Ned Rorem, who was in attendance. This concert series had Davidson return to perform excerpts from Mark Adamo’s Lysistrata, with the composer directing the production.

2006 highlights included Bach’s B Minor Mass, Dubois’ 7 Last Words of Christ, the Mozart Requiem, Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah. Memorial Day saw him returning to the Dallas Symphony to narrate “ America , why I love her”, and in July he sang the lead role in Garland Summer Musical’s production of Kiss Me, Kate. Davidson then finished the year off with concerts in Belton, Galveston , Ft. Worth , and Georgetown .

2007 highlights included concerts with Plano Symphony, Galveston Symphony, Filharmonico de Jalisco ( Guadalajara , Mexico ), and others. He was seen as The Duke/Dr. Carrasco in Casa Manana’s production of Man Of La Mancha, about which Lawson Taitte of the Dallas Morning News said, “Blake Davidson as the doctor provides some of the best singing of the evening.” The end of the year saw him featured in an episode of “Barney and Friends”, as well as the release of a recording of Menotti’s “The Old Maid and the Thief”, in which Blake sings the role of Bob. It was released by Albany Records in December.

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Opera Repertoire:

Amahl and the Night Visitors - - Balthazar **

Amahl and the Night Visitors - - Melchior*

La Ariadne - - Harlekin *

Il barbiere di Siviglia - - Figaro *

La boheme - - Marcello *

La boheme - - Schaunard **

Carmen - - Escamillo *

Cosi fan tutti - - Guglielmo *

Don Giovanni - - Masetto *

Don Pasquale - - Dr. Malatesta*

Eugene Onegin - - Zaretsky **

Eugene Onegin - - Eugene Onegin (cover)

Faust - - Valentin *

L'amour dei Tre Re - - Manfredo **

Macbeth - - Macbeth **

Madama Butterfly - - Sharpless *

The Magic Flute - - Papageno **

The Masque of Angels (Argento) + - - Metatron **

Pagliacci - - Tonio **

Pagliacci - - Silvio *

The Three Hermits (Paulus) + - - The Bishop**

** role performed * role in preparation + composer present

Orchestra Repertoire:

Magnificat - - Bach

St. Matthew Passion - - Bach

St. John Passion - - Bach

Mass in B Minor - - Bach

Coffee Cantata - - Bach

Christ Lag in Todesbanden - - Bach

Mass in C Major - - Beethoven

Symphony No. 9 - - Beethoven

Requiem - - Brahms

Requiem - - Duruflé

Requiem - - Faure

Messiah - - Handel

The Creation - - Haydn

Lord Nelson Mass - - Haydn

Elijah - - Mendelssohn

Coronation Mass - - Mozart

Requiem - - Mozart

Vesperae Solemnes - - Mozart

Evidence of Things Not Seen - - Rorem (Piano)

Christmas Oratorio - - Saint Saens

Mass in G - - Schubert

Five Mystical Songs - - Vaughan Williams

Hodie - - Vaughan Williams

Opera Companies:

The Dallas Opera

Anchorage Opera

Sarasota Opera

Northlake Opera Theatre

Highlander Concert Series

The Opera Project: Nyela Basney, founder, artistic director, and conductor

Orchestras:

ISO Symphony of New York

Dallas Symphony

Auckland Philharmonia (NZ)

Florida Orchestra

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra

Voices of Change (Chamber Ensemble)

Plano Symphony Orchestra

Galveston Symphony

Irving Symphony

Las Colinas Symphony

Garland Symphony

Allen Symphony

Reviews:

H.M.S. Pinafore, The Living Opera, July 2008
“Actually, the Living Opera has a fine bunch of singers. Blake Davidson’s Bill Bobstay is a standout, with a particularly powerful and well-formed voice.” -- Scott Cantrell, THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS

Man of La Mancha, Casa Manana, November 2007
”Blake Davidson as the doctor does some of the show's best singing.” -- Lawson Taitte, THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS

Kiss Me, Kate, Garland Summer Musicals, July 2006
”Leading the company is Blake Davidson as "Fred Graham/Petruchio". As the egotistical, manic, & imposing leading man of his theater company, Mr. Davidson is in a word: magnificent. This highly talented actor has a large, booming, baritone voice that is muscular, bold, powerful, and rich. This extremely talented man also has great volume that requires not a hint of body mike. When he went for the long, sustaining notes I'm sure you could here him beyond the parking lot. It's that good! Several times throughout the evening his solos were met with thunderous response from the audience.

Evita, Lyric Stage, February 2006
“Blake Davidson, as Juan Peron, commanded his role...his lush voice and sharp acting skills made his performance bounce.” -- Elaine Liner, THE DALLAS OBSERVER

“Blake Davidson provides the best singing voice of the evening. His is a colored, sturdy, and booming baritone voice that you never get tired of hearing during the evening. You wish Webber wrote more songs for Peron after you hear Davidson's golden vocal pipes fly into the air and fill the theater. His portrayal of Peron is smashing.” -- John Garcia, TALKINBROADWAY.COM

Carnegie Hall (Weill Hall) concert, April 2005
“The marvelous American baritone Blake Davidson gave his wonderful stage presence and rich, house-filling voice to Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Soliloquy from Carousel. He is a splendid performer who brings a great dignity and maturity that goes beyond his still relatively few years. As he grows as an artist, I will not be at all surprised to see him join the ranks of such great singers as Thomas Hampson or William Sharp.” -- Jeffrey James, Editor, INTERNATIONAL COMPOSER

Pagliacci , Tonio, (semi-staged) Auckland Philharmonia, Auckland, NZ, November, 2004
"The two Americans impressed: Brian Mulligan as Silvio with his effortless lyricism, Blake Davidson, as Tonio, putting the Prologue across with the same pizzazz that one might expect from a baritone who has Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Soliloquy" under his belt." -- William Dart. THE NEW ZEALAND HERALD

Rodgers and Hammerstein Tribute, The Florida Orchestra, Tamps, Clearwater, St. :Petersburg, FL, June, 2004
"Davidson…has a tour de force in ‘Soliloquy’." -- John Fleming, ST. PETERSBURG TIMES

The Best of Broadway, Fort Worth Symphony, Fort Worth, TX., March, 2004
"The most important factor was the quartet of opera singers…have the ability (and wisdom), to find a more casual approach…all well sung. Davidson just about brought the house down with ‘Old Man River’." -- Punch Shaw, FORT WORTH STAR TELEGRAM, 3/26/04

Tribute to Richard Rodgers, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Dallas,Texas, February, 2002
The soloists were a lively group with a decent sense of pop style. Mr. Davidson would probably win the Mr. Personality award, his "Soliloquy" from Carousel glowed with life. -- Olin Chism, DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 2/8/02

Broadway!, Dallas Symphony Pops, Dallas,Texas, 2001
"Blake Davidson stood out from the pack with a ringing, glorious baritone. He displayed exceptional power even in his highest notes and a consistently gorgeous tone. -- "Punch Shaw, FORT WORTH STAR TELEGRAM

"On occasion the program created a sense of theater that placed it above a mere song review. Such a moment was 'Too Many Mornings' from Mr. Sondheim's Follies, realized by Mr. Davidson and Ms. Evans." -- Olin Chism, DALLAS MORNING NEWS

"Dallas Christmas Gala" CD recording, Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, 2000
"The high points...are Blake Davidson's solos, his baritone as warm and rich as plum pudding." -- Scott Cantrell, DALLAS MORNING NEWS

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