“Far and away the most commanding performance was that of bass-baritone Kyle
Ketelsen as Leporello. He has a naturally beautiful, superbly trained voice,
rich and clear at the low end, smooth and flexible in the middle range and
effortless at the top. Good as his sound was, his acting was better. Ketelsen
fully realized the role. He was rewarded at the curtain-call by an uninhibited
outburst of cheering and a standing ovation."
Jess Anderson, OPERA NEWS
American bass-baritone
Kyle Ketelsen is in regular demand by the world's leading opera companies and
orchestras for his vibrant and handsome stage presence and his distinctive
vocalism. He begins the 2008/09 season at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden as
Leporello in Don Giovanni conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras , followed
by a return to the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona in the title role in Le
Nozze di Figaro. Other opera engagements this season include Faust
with the Minnesota Opera, and his debut at De Nederlandse Opera in Amsterdam in
Carmen conducted by Mariss Jansons. Concert engagements include
appearances with the Philharmonia Orchestra in Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex
under Esa-Pekka Salonen, his debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in
Stravinsky’s Pulcinella under the baton of Pierre Boulez, the St. Louis
Symphony Orchestra in Berlioz’ The Damnation of Faust under David Zinman,
and Verdi’s Requiem with the Madison Symphony.
In the 2007/08 season,
Kyle Ketelsen returned to Covent Garden where he performed Escamillo in
Carmen. He sang Leporello in Don Giovanni for his debuts at Los
Angeles Opera and the Gran Teatre del Liceu. He also sang the four villains in a
new production of Les Contes d’Hoffmann for his debut at the Hamburg
State Opera, and Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor at Madison Opera.
Following his return to
the Royal Opera, Covent Garden as Figaro under Sir Colin Davis, Kyle Ketelsen
began the 2006/7 season with the opening night of the Los Angeles Philharmonic
singing de Falla's El Retablo del Maese Pedro under Esa-Pekka Salonen.
He sang under Sir Colin again in his debut with the Orchestre National de France
in Berlioz's Romeo et Juliette. He toured Europe under Sir John Eliot
Gardiner and the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra in a Mozart anniversary year
program. This was followed by his debut with the Cleveland Orchestra in Haydn's
Harmoniemesse conducted by Franz Welser-Möst. Later in the season, he
made his San Francisco Opera debut as Escamillo in Carmen and returned
to the Royal Opera as Zoroastro in Handel's Orlando under Sir Charles
Mackerras and as Leporello in Don Giovanni under Ivor Bolton.
He also brought his renowned Figaro to Boston for his debut at Boston Lyric
Opera under Stephen Lord.
Kyle Ketelsen has
garnered great critical acclaim for his portrayals with the major American
theaters, as well as theaters around the world. He made is Covent Garden debut
as the Sprecher in Die Zauberflöte under Mackerras, where he then
returned later that season as Henrik in Carl Nielsen’s Maskerade in a new
production by David Pountney, and a debut with Teatro Carlo Felico in Genoa as
Figaro. His Lyric Opera of Chicago debut was as
Masetto in a new production of Don Giovanni conducted by Christoph
Eschenbach and directed by Peter Stein with a cast including Bryn Terfel, Karita
Mattila and Susan Graham. In recent seasons, he made his debut with the
Metropolitan Opera as Angelotti in Tosca, he sang the title role of
Don Giovanni for his debut with the Minnesota Opera, Mozart’s Figaro for his
New York City Opera debut as well as at Opera Pacific, the role of Leporello
with Glimmerglass Opera and Michigan Opera Theater, Escamillo in Carmen
with Washington National Opera, Opera Theater of St. Louis, Michigan Opera
Theater, the Teatro Real, Madrid and Orlando Opera, and his debut performances
of Gounod's Mephistopheles in Faust with Michigan Opera Theater. Other
roles in Washington include Oroveso in Norma , the Sprecher in
Die Zauberflöte and the Villains in Les Contes d’Hoffmann and
Abimelech in Samson et Dalila. He has also sung Colline in La Boheme
with Opera Pacific, Michigan Opera Theater and in St. Louis. Other repertoire
includes Basilio in Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Ferrando in Il
Trovatore.
In concert, Kyle
Ketelsen has collaborated with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles
Philharmonic in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Berlioz’s Lélio
and Kaija Saariaho’s Cinq reflets au l’Amour de loin. He made debuts with
the St. Louis Symphony in Messiah under David Robertson and with the
Seattle Symphony in Mozart’s Requiem under Itzhak Perlman. Among
others, he has performed with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Pasadena
Symphony, the Pacific Symphony, Richmond Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony and
numerous other organizations throughout the Midwest. He made his Carnegie Hall
debut with Haydn's Creation with the Oratorio Society of New York and
repeated this work with Music of the Baroque in Chicago. His concert repertoire
also includes the Verdi Requiem, Brahms Deutsches Requiem, Handel
Messiah, Fauré Requiem, Dvorák Te Deum, the Bach St. Matthew and St. John
Passions and the Mozart C-Minor Mass. Among the newest additions to his
concert repertoire is Mahler's Eighth Symphony in Madison under John DeMain.
Mr. Ketelsen has won
First Prize in several international vocal competitions, including the
Metropolitan Opera National Council, the Richard Tucker Music Foundation (Career
Grant), the George London Foundation, the Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation, the
Sullivan Foundation, Opera Index, the MacAllister Awards, Fort Worth Opera,
National Opera Association, Connecticut Opera and the Liederkranz Foundation.
Kyle Ketelsen is a
native of Clinton, Iowa. He received his undergraduate degree from the
University of Iowa where he studied with Albert Gammon and did his graduate
studies at Indiana University where he studied with Giorgio Tozzi. He currently
resides in Wisconsin with his wife and children.
Date Last Edited: 11th
August 2008
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