Richard Troxell

Richard Troxell is an American operatic tenor who has sung leading roles in the opera houses of North America, Europe and Asia since his professional debut in 1993. His signature roles include Lt. Pinkerton, which he sang in Frederic Mitterrand's 1995 film version of Madame Butterfly and Don José in Carmen which he has sung at the Sydney Opera House, the Teatro Petruzzelli in Italy, and the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing.

Life and career

Troxell was born and raised in Thurmont, Maryland.[1] He graduated from the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia in 1992 and made his professional debut in 1993 as Alfredo in La traviata with Cleveland Opera. His earliest roles included Tybalt in Roméo et Juliette (Théâtre du Capitole, Toulouse and Opéra-Comique, Paris), Tamino in The Magic Flute (Virginia Opera) and the title role in Faust (Boston Lyric Opera).[2]

In 1995, Troxell appeared as Lt. Pinkerton in Frederic Mitterrand's 1995 film version of Madame Butterfly, a role he had never sung before and had to learn for the audition.[3][4] He went on to sing Pinkerton many times, including performances with Opéra de Montréal, Los Angeles Opera, Arizona Opera, and Portland Opera. His filmography also includes Cyrano de Bergerac (as Christian with Roberto Alagna in the title role), filmed at the Opéra National de Montpellier in 2003 and released on DVD by Deutsche Grammophon; and La rondine (as Prunier with Ainhoa Arteta in the title role), filmed at Washington Opera in 1998, broadcast on PBS and later released on DVD by Decca.[5]

In the 2005/2006 season Troxell added the role of Don José in Carmen to his repertoire and has subsequently sung it with Portland Opera and at the Sydney Opera House,[6] the Teatro Petruzzelli in Italy,[7] and the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing.[8] His other roles in the mainstream tenor repertoire have included Rodolfo in La bohème, the title role in The Tales of Hoffmann,[9] the Duke in Rigoletto, and Lensky in Eugene Onegin.[10] However, he has also appeared in leading tenor roles in relative rarities such as Gounod's La colombe with Opéra Français de New York (1997),[11] Offenbach's La Périchole with the Opera Company of Philadelphia (2002),[12] Gluck's L'île de Merlin in its US premiere at the Spoleto Festival USA (2007),[13] Hérold's Zampa at the Opéra-Comique (2008),[14] and Philip Glass's Galileo Galilei with Portland Opera (2012).[15] He has sung in the world premieres of two late-20th century operas with Opera Theatre of St. Louis—in 1995 he created the role of Joel Edmund in the world premiere of Stephen Paulus's The Woman at Otowi Crossing,[16] and in 2000 he created the role of To-no-Chujo in the world premiere of Minoru Miki's The Tale of Genji.[17]

Among Troxell's performances on the concert stage as tenor soloist are Weill's The Seven Deadly Sins (Philadelphia Orchestra, 2004),[18] Carmina Burana (San Francisco Symphony, 2005), and Handel's Messiah (Pittsburgh Symphony, 2009). He has also been a frequent performer at the Ocean City Pops concerts.

Personal life

Troxell is married to the dancer and choreographer, Lisa Lovelace. The couple have two sons, Shane and Wilder, and reside in the countryside of Chester County, Pennsylvania.[19]

Recordings

Opera

Concert and song

References

  1. "Renowned Tenor Richard Troxell To Sing in Celebration of Show’s 50th Anniversary". The Catoctin Banner. 2006-08. Retrieved 2008-12-19. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. Dyer, Richard "'Faust', 'Falstaff', and 'Xerxes' at Boston Lyric Opera". Boston Globe. Retrieved 17 January 2013 via Highbeam Research (subscription required).
  3. Holden, Stephen (3 May 1996). "Love Is Blind as Ever, But the Music Is Nice". New York Times. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  4. Philadelphia City Paper (29 August–5 September 1996). "The Tenor Of His Times". Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  5. Waleson, Heidi 25 March 1998). "Love and Betrayal". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  6. McCallum, Peter (17 January 2011). "Review: Carmen". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  7. Il Corriere del Mezzogiorno (20 January 2012). "La Fame di Camilla al Forma; Carmen, tutto esaurito al Petruzzelli. Retrieved 17 January 2013 (Italian).
  8. People's Daily, French edition (13 May 2010). "Beijing: répétition de Carmen au Grand Théâtre National". Retrieved 17 January 2013 (French).
  9. Staruch, Steve (30 October 2006). "Richard Troxell tells tales of a tenor". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  10. Buckley, Daniel (13 January 2000). "Learning Russian was a hurdle for tenor". Tucson Citizen. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  11. Freeman, John W. (July 1997). "In Review: New York City". Opera News. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  12. Dobrin, Peter (22 January 2002). "Denyce Graves is grand in 'La Perichole', which is not". Philadelphia Enquirer. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  13. Oestreich, James R. (2 June 2007). "Strange, Faraway Fantasies of Hell and Paradise". New York Times. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  14. Carlin, Francis (12 March 2008). "Review: Zampa, Opéra-Comique, Paris". Financial Times. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  15. Stabler, David (29 March 2012). "Exploring science and religion as Portland Opera presents Philip Glass' 'Galileo Galilei'". The Oregonian. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  16. Cantrell, Scott (17 June 1995). "Road trip? 'Otowi' opera is well worth a drive to St. Louis". Kansas City Star. Retrieved 17 January 2013 (subscription required),
  17. Miller, Sarah Bryan (17 June 2000). "'Genji' Combines Japanese Sensibility with Western Form". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 17 January 2013 (subscription required).
  18. Stearns, David Patrick (3 January 2004). "Upwardly mobile, from Weill to Strauss The Philadelphians began with 'The Seven Deadly Sins' and ended with a suite from 'Der Rosenkavalier'". Philadelphia Enquirer. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  19. Richard Troxell's official biography. Retrieved 17 January 2013.

External links

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