Anthony Dean Griffey

Anthony Dean Griffey (born February 12 in High Point, North Carolina) is an American opera singer. With his lyric tenor voice, Griffey has become a regular presence on the stages of opera houses and concert halls around the world.[1] Griffey has been noted for his outstanding acting talent in addition to his remarkable voice.[2][3][4] 2007 he starred alongside Audra McDonald and Patti Lupone in The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny at the Los Angeles Opera, the recording of which won two Grammy Awards.[5] In the 2005 edition of Musical America Griffey was cited as one of twelve young singers of distinction.[6] Griffey was honored as an inductee into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2011.[7] In the spring of 2015 Griffey was appointed as Professor of Voice at the Eastman School of Music.

With the rare combination of a light, lyric timbre and considerable vocal heft,[8] Griffey's voice has been cited as somewhat of an anomaly[9] and has attracted the attention of many prominent composers and conductors.[10] Richard Dyer of the Boston Globe has said: "Griffey has voice, technique, musicianship, diction, and poetry in his soul."[11]

Early life and education

Anthony Dean Griffey was born in High Point, North Carolina to a family of little means. Both his parents worked in the local furniture factories. He first began singing at the age of five in his local church. He started to study voice in high school, and subsequently attended Wingate University as a music major, with the intention of becoming a music minister.[12] At the encouragement of his teachers at Wingate, Griffey auditioned successfully for the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, where he studied with John Maloy. Griffey double majored in vocal performance and literature, receiving a Master's of Music/Performer's Certificate. After completing his studies at Eastman, he was recommended by Rita Shane and Renee Fleming to audition at The Juilliard School for Beverley Peck Johnson, who would become Griffey's teacher and mentor until her death in 2001. Shortly after entering Juilliard he auditioned for James Levine and joined the Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artist's program.

Career

While in the Lindemann program he made his debut at the Met in 1995 playing the First Knight in Parsifal. From 1995 to 2003 he continued to regularly appear in supporting roles at the Met, in such operas as Aida, Manon, Billy Budd, Die Zauberflote, Susannah, The Flying Dutchman, The Queen of Spades, Boris Godunov, Salome, Tristan und Isolde, and Don Carlo.[13]

Griffey's first major career breakthrough came in 1996 when, after auditioning for the role of Bob Boles in a student production of Peter Grimes at Tanglewood Festival, the conductor, Seiji Ozawa, was so impressed by his singing that he offered him the title role instead. Griffey later reprised this role in 1998 at the Metropolitan Opera, filling in for an indisposed Chris Merritt.[14] Grimes would become Griffey's signature role, which he has performed to critical acclaim in Glyndebourne, Opera Bastille, Japan, San Diego, and Santa Fe, culminating In 2008 when the Metropolitan Opera mounted a new production of Grimes starring Griffey. Of the latter production, Justin Davidson of New York Magazine called Griffey's interpretation "one of the most richly textured and subtle characters to dominate the Met's vast stage in a long time."[15]

Ozawa would become a major figure in Griffey's career, inviting him to sing the tenor solo in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, as well as featuring him in a recording of the War Requiem with the Saito Kinen Orchestra. He also featured Griffey in several more performances of Peter Grimes, stating: "I told my manager, if I go anywhere in the world to do Peter Grimes, I want Tony to come with me."[10]

In 1997, Griffey took on a role which would also become one of his signatures: Lennie in Carlisle Floyd's Of Mice and Men, at Glimmerglass Festival. He has received widespread acclaim for his interpretation of this role, with Anthony Tommasini of the New York Times raving: "If there were an Academy Award for Opera, Griffey would have won it for his performance as the feeble-minded Lennie."[16] Griffey has performed the role of Lennie to great success places such as Bregenz, the New York City Opera, the Houston Grand Opera (where he also recorded it) and for Opera Australia at Sydney and Melbourne. For his performances as Lennie in Australia, the 2012 Green Room Awards presented Griffey with the title of best Principal Male Opera performance.[17] Griffey was also presented with the 2012 Helpmann Award for Best Male Opera Performance for his appearances as Lennie in Australia.[18]

Other roles which Griffey has performed are Mozart's Idomeneo (at Mostly Mozart festival)[19] Florestan in Beethoven's Fidelio (Opera Company of Philadelphia and the Florentine Opera),[20][21] Male Chorus in The Rape of Lucretia at Houston Grand Opera,[22] and the title role in Robert Kurka's The Good Soldier Schweik at Glimmerglass Festival[23]

In 2007 he starred as Jimmy Mahoney in Kurt Weill's Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny with the Los Angeles Opera.[24] Griffey's performance was widely acclaimed, with Opera News describing his Jimmy as: "...a sensation. His well-knit voice, ranging from a hefty lower range to a clarion top, had no need for the production's microphones. His way with "When the sky turns brighter" was particularly haunting, evoking pathos on the scale of 'E lucevan le stelle.'"[25] This production was recorded on DVD, and subsequently won the 2009 Grammy Awards for "Best Classical Album" and "Best Opera Recording."[5]

In 2010 Griffey performed the title role in Igor Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex at Avery Fisher Hall with the New York Philharmonic under the baton of Valery Gergiev.[26]

Griffey is an avid recitalist, championing English-language vocal literature. At his New York recital debut at Zankel Hall, he premiered a new song cycle by André Previn, accompanied by the composer himself. Of this recital, Peter G. Davis of New York Magazine remarked: "Griffey sang everything utterly naturally, devoid of artifice yet still full of character and nuance, whether probing the bitterness of Vaughan Williams’s Shropshire lad or slyly enumerating the treasures of Copland’s chortling farmer who "'bought me a cat'..... for now savor the moment and his career choices. This is a big vocal talent."[27] Previn, who has been a champion of Griffey since first hearing him in his 1996 Tanglewood Peter Grimes, also selected Griffey to perform and record the role of Mitch in his opera version of A Streetcar Named Desire at the San Francisco Opera. In 2013 he reprised the role of Mitch to critical acclaim in the New York premiere at Carnegie Hall and in the first ever production at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.[28][29]

Griffey is also a frequent performer of concert repertoire, and has appeared with many of the world's leading orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, London Philharmonic, Montreal Symphony, Toronto Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Orchestre de Paris, London Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, St. Luke's Chamber Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, RAI National Symphony Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, Vara Radio Orchestra - Amsterdam, The Halle, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquesta Nacional de España, and the Berlin Philharmonic, and has collaborated with such prominent conductors as: James Levine, Jaap van Zweden, David Zinman, Patrick Summers, Mark Wigglesworth, Michael Tilson Thomas, Sir Andrew Davis, Robert Spano, Andreas Delfs, Mark Elder, Naeme Jarvi, Julius Rudel, Mariss Jansons, Edo de Waart, Sir Neville Marriner, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Alan Gilbert, Kurt Masur, Lorin Maazel, Steuart Bedford, Donald Runnicles, Stephane Deneve, Sir Colin Davis, Christoph Eschenbach, Valery Gergiev, James Conlon, Gerard Schwarz, and Charles Dutoit.[30]

In the spring of 2006, Griffey had the distinction of being invited expressly by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to perform in recital at the Supreme Court of the United States.[31]

Griffey is a frequent guest at the world's most prominent festivals including the BBC Proms, Saito Kinen Festival, Edinburgh Festival, Tanglewood, Ravinia, Aspen Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, Lanaudiere Festival, Chamber Music Festival Northwest, Marlboro Music School and Festival, Grand Teton's Festival, and the Eastern Music Festival.

In 2012 Griffey was presented with an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from his Alma Mater, Wingate University[32]

Humanitarian efforts

Since the start of his career Griffey has taken an active role in many charitable efforts, advocating for arts programs in the Guilford County Public Schools and Asheboro City Schools. Mr. Griffey also actively serves on the Mental Health Associates of the Triad board, as well as "Open Door Shelter," where he has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the homeless in his hometown.

Selected recordings

External links

References

  1. ↑ "IMG Artists". Retrieved 15 November 2010.
  2. ↑ Tommasini, Anthony (2008-03-01). "The Outsider in Their Midst: Britten's Tale of the Haunted Misfit". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  3. ↑ "Powerful tale given full voice". The Australian. 2011-07-26.
  4. ↑ Barney Zwartz (2011-11-28). "Steinbeck classic a compelling opera in Beresford's hands". Smh.com.au. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  5. 1 2 "The 51st Annual Grammy Awards Winners List". Archived from the original on 19 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
  6. ↑ "Other Feature Articles 2005". MusicalAmerica. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  7. ↑ "Inductee - Anthony Dean Griffey". North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. 2011-09-24. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  8. ↑
  9. ↑ David Mermelstein - February 14, 2007 00:03 EST (2007-02-14). "McDonald, LuPone Shine in Vegas-Style `Mahagonny' at L.A. Opera". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  10. 1 2 Archived December 18, 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ↑ "An Online Arts Journal in North Carolina | Music for a Great Space Presents Anthony Dean Griffey, tenor and Warren Jones, piano". CVNC. 2012-04-13. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  12. ↑ "A Tenor of Survival - Page 3 - Los Angeles Times". Articles.latimes.com. 2008-05-04. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  13. ↑ Inmagic, Inc. "Metropolitan Opera Association". Archives.metoperafamily.org. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  14. ↑ "Viewpoint > Opera News > The Met Opera Guild". Opera News. 2014-04-13. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  15. ↑ Davidson, Justin (2008-03-13). "'Peter Grimes' at the Metropolitan Opera - New York Magazine Classical Music Review". Nymag.com. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  16. ↑
  17. ↑ "operainsider.info". operainsider.info. 2012-03-23. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  18. ↑ Eva Rinaldi (2012-09-25). "Helpmann Awards 2012: Sydney, Australia". StreetCorner.com.au. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  19. ↑ Davis, Peter G. (1998-08-17). "Idomeneo Theory". Nymag.com. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  20. ↑ Jim Rutter. ""Opera Company's "Fidelio'". Broad Street Review. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  21. ↑ https://web.archive.org/20060111212921/http://www.marcuscenter.org:80/events/view.php?event=1044. Archived from the original on January 11, 2006. Retrieved July 1, 2012. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  22. ↑
  23. ↑ Paul Schomer. "World of Opera". NPR. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  24. ↑ San Diego Opera. "Interview of Anthony Dean Griffey with San Diego Opera". Ariaserious.blogspot.com. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  25. ↑ "LOS ANGELES — Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, Los Angeles Opera, 2/10/07 > Opera News > The Met Opera Guild". Opera News. 2014-04-13. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  26. ↑ Schweitzer, Vivien (2010-04-29). "An Emotive ‘Oedipus’ in Stravinsky Festival". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  27. ↑ Davis, Peter G. (2004-11-08). "Ian Bostridge & Anthony Dean Griffey - New York Magazine Classical Music Review". Nymag.com. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  28. ↑ Tommasini, Anthony (2013-03-15). "Blanche Meets Stanley Anew, Reintroduced as Opera : Renée Fleming in ‘Streetcar Named Desire,’ at Carnegie Hall". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  29. ↑ "Renee Fleming keeps Lyric’s ‘Streetcar’ on course - Chicago Sun-Times". Suntimes.com. 2013-03-27. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  30. ↑ Archived June 25, 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  31. ↑
  32. ↑ "Wingate University alum Anthony Dean Griffey receives honorary degree - News - Wingate University". Wingate.edu. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
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