Dan Kempson, baritone, is gaining notice as a young artist of great promise, with a strong lyric voice and striking stage presence.  In the Fall of 2009 Mr. Kempson will join the prestigious Pittsburgh Opera Center, where he will sing Tarquinius (The Rape of Lucretia) and Moralès (Carmen), perform a student matinée of Count Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro) and understudy the title role in Eugene Onegin.  Other upcoming performances include Belcore (cover) in L’elisir d’amore with the Caramoor Festival under the baton of Will Crutchfield.

 

Mr. Kempson is a recent graduate of Manhattan School of Music, where sang Gabriel von Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus, Ronaldo Cabral in the NY Premiere of John Musto’s Later the Same Evening, George Jones in Street Scene, and was a soloist in Orff’s Carmina Burana.  Dan received his undergraduate education from Peabody Conservatory, were his performances included Count Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Count Carl-Magnus (A Little Night Music) and Le Superintendent in Cendrillon.

 

Other performances title role in Don Giovanni with Amsterdam Concert Opera in New York City, Carmina Burana with the Yale Symphony Orchestra, New Choral Society of Scarsdale, and Connecticut Master Chorale and Orchestra; Anthony Hope in a concert version of Sweeney Todd with OFY Productions; John Brooke in Mark Adamo’s Little Women at Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center with Center City Opera Theatre; Papageno (The Magic Flute) and El Gallo (The Fantasticks) at Seagle Music Colony; and Guglielmo (Così fan tutte), and the cover of Harlekin (Ariadne auf Naxos) with Intermezzo Opera Festival.

 

A frequent soloist in oratorio and concert, Mr. Kempson has sung the Fauré Requiem, Schubert Mass in G, Pergolesi Magnificat, Gounod St. Cecilia Mass, and Duruflé Messe cum Jubilo, and Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs.

 

Mr. Kempson has been the recipient of many awards, including Winner of the 2009 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Boston District (New England Regional Finalist), National Semifinalist in the 2009 Eleanor McCollum Competition of the Houston Grand Opera, Encouragement Grants from both the Gerda Lissner Foundation and Opera Index, Inc, Finalist in the 2008 Competitions of the Liederkranz Foundation and Oratorio Society of New York, and Third Place (Young Artist Division) at the 2006 Charles Lynam Competition. Mr. Kempson grew up in Wilton, CT.

Danbury News-Times May 23, 2008