Drew Slatton
Tenor Drew Slatton has thrilled opera audiences across the United States, Europe, and South Korea. Something of a "factotum" of a tenor, he has appeared in over 40 leading tenor roles varying from the Bel Canto repertoire to French Lyric to dramatic Verdi and Verismo repertoire and even the roles of Wagner. Since Mr. Slatton also is one of only a handful of tenors in history who has performed every leading tenor role penned by Giacomo Puccini, he is highly sought after to perform Puccini's repertoire.
Mr. Slatton has garnered much praise for his “focused vocal intensity and fine acting.” He is well known for his “distinctive steely timbre,” “thrilling high notes,” and “robust tenor voice.” Critics have described his singing as “impressive,” “impassioned,” “incandescent,” “beautifully phrased,” “intense,” and “riveting.” Mr. Slatton’s awards include honors from Opera Music Theater International, the Center for Contemporary Opera, the Richard Tauber Competition, and Artist of the Year from Syracuse Opera. Also popular in recital, oratorio, and symphonic venues, he has appeared as a concert soloist in Lincoln Centre, Carnegie Hall, and many other theatres internationally. He also has been featured in many television and radio events across the United States and South Korea.
Highlights of his opera career include performances of Cavaradossi in Tosca with Connecticut Opera, Mobile Opera, and Opera International; Radames in Aida with Orlando Opera, Sacramento Opera, and Nevada Opera; Manrico in Il Trovatore with Mobile Opera, Opera Illinois, and Opera North; the title role of Andrea Chenier with Mobile Opera and Pensacola Opera; Don Jose in Carmen with the West Virginia Symphony, Pensacola Opera, and with Teatro Lyrico di Bari in Seville, Spain where the opera is set; Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with Lyric Opera of San Antonio, Orlando Opera, and Art Park; Canio in Pagliacci with Syracuse Opera, Connecticut Opera, and Tri-Cities Opera; the title role of Les Contes d'Hoffman with Des Moines Metro Opera, Augusta Opera, and DiCapo Opera; Pollione in Norma with Hawaii Lyric Opera, Opera at Florham, and Metro Lyirc Opera; the title role of the tour-de-force one-man opera Henry Faust with The Living Opera; and Calaf in Turandot with Opera Delaware among many other productions over his illustrious career.
Though the son of a piano teacher and having grown up in a household where singing was nearly an every day occurence, Mr. Slatton did not discover he had an operatic voice until his Senior year of High School when he discovered he could outsing his entire High School Chorus. With a strong theatre background and a life-long interest in orchestral music, Mr. Slatton pursued degrees in music at Abilene Christian University and Louisiana State University where he studied with Dr. Rollie Blondeau and Paul Knowles respectively. While studying at LSU, he made his professional debut as Alidoro in La Cenerentola with the Baton Rouge Opera. This was followed the next season by an internship with the New Orleans Opera Association.
Mr. Slatton then was able to gain a fellowship in Opera Music Theatre International where he studied under the world famous basso Jerome Hines, who solidified Mr. Slatton's technique and taught him valuable lessons about surviving in the world of Opera. Mr. Hines and OMTI were invaluable in launching Mr. Slatton's international career.
Mr. Slatton has worked with a large number of outstanding musical artists. Here follows a partial list of many of these great artists:
Conductors: Antonio Amato, Robert Ashens, Dennis Assaf, John Balme, William Barkhymer, Thomas Carlo Bo, Francisco Bonnin, Michael Borowitz, Marc-Andre Bougie, Giampaolo Bracale, Per Brevig, Adrian Bryttan, Louis Burkot, Susan Caldwell, Fiora Contino, Grant Cooper, Anton Coppola, John DiCostanzo, Gary DiPasquasio, Mark Flint, Anthony LaGruth, Daniel Kleinknecht, Robert Larsen, David Lawton, John Massaro, Peter Mark, Pacien Mazzagatti, James Meena, Steve Mosteller, Steven Osgood, Michael Rechiutti, Jeffrey Rink, Timm Rolek, Ed Roberts, Enrique Patron da Rueda, Denis Segond, Duane Skrabalak, Jerome Shannon, Michel Singher, Scott Speck, Markand Thakar, Willie Anthony Waters, William Weibel, Steven White, Richard Woitach, Martin Wright, David Wroe;
Singers:
Adina Aaron, Donnie Ray Albert, Gustav Andreassen, Audrey Babcock, Bridget Basile, Elizabeth Blancke-Biggs, Hope Briggs, Jane Bunnel, Michele Capalbo, Elisazbeth Carter-Stith, Ralph Cato, Michael Corvino, Dominic Cossa, Cynthia Clayton, Brian Davis, Mark Delavan, Michael Devlin, Justino Diaz, Grace Echauri, Dean Elzinga, Marc Embree, Faith Eshem, Cheryl Evans, Colleen Gaetano, Bonaldo Giaiotti, Katharine Goeldner, Eugenie Grunwald, Jerry Hadley, Carla Thelen Hanson, Suzan Hanson, Neal Harrelson, Craig Hart, Michael Hendrick, Jerome Hines, Richard Hobson, Dennis Jesse, Gwendolyn Jones, Kim Josephson, Brian Juahiainen, Gregory Keil, Sondra Kelly, James King, Stephan Kirchgraber, Matthew Lau, Yunah Lee, Marquita Lister, Indira Mahajan, Malcolm MacKenzie, Indira Mahajan, Marie-Adele McArthur, Robert Merrill, Irina Mishura, Shiela Murphy, Carol Neblett, Julie Nesrallah, Oziel Garza-Ornelas, Erich Parce, Rick Piersall, Amy Pfrimmer, Joanna Porackova, Samuel Ramey, Jesse Raven, Arnold Rawls, Jane Redding, Nili Riemer, Stacy Rishoi, Mark Risinger, Mark Rucker, Carter Scott, Ashraf Sewailam, Barbara Shirvis, Kevin Short, Gary Simpson, Stefan Skafarowski, David Small, Sharon Spinetti, Gregory Stapp, Charles Robert Stephens, William Stone, Mikhail Svetlov, Indra Thomas, Todd Thomas, Carmen Tancredi, Phyllis Treigle, Matt Trevino, Hector Vasquez, Peter Volpe, Kenneth Weber, Caroline Whisnant, Carla Wood, Grant Youngblood, Ai-Lan Zhu;
Stage Directors: Laura Alley, Elizabeth Bachman, Joseph Bascetta, Ed Bourgeois, Elisabetta Bruss, Michael Capasso, Craig Fields, John Hoomes, Robert Larsen, James Lucas, Leeland Kimball, Ron Luchsinger, Kyle Marrerro, James Marvel, Richard McKee, Dan Montez, George Osborne, Joseph Pouhé, GianMaria Romagnoli, Ellen Schlaefer, Albert Sherman, Peter Sicilian, Robert Swedberg, Paula Williams.
When not singing or learning new roles, Mr. Slatton spends much of his time in the study of ancient Jewish and Christian religious literature. Long a student of history, recently he published a book on the historical Jesus, "What Did Jesus Do? - Come and Hear the Rabbi Y'shua" available from any book store.
Mr. Slatton has garnered much praise for his “focused vocal intensity and fine acting.” He is well known for his “distinctive steely timbre,” “thrilling high notes,” and “robust tenor voice.” Critics have described his singing as “impressive,” “impassioned,” “incandescent,” “beautifully phrased,” “intense,” and “riveting.” Mr. Slatton’s awards include honors from Opera Music Theater International, the Center for Contemporary Opera, the Richard Tauber Competition, and Artist of the Year from Syracuse Opera. Also popular in recital, oratorio, and symphonic venues, he has appeared as a concert soloist in Lincoln Centre, Carnegie Hall, and many other theatres internationally. He also has been featured in many television and radio events across the United States and South Korea.
Highlights of his opera career include performances of Cavaradossi in Tosca with Connecticut Opera, Mobile Opera, and Opera International; Radames in Aida with Orlando Opera, Sacramento Opera, and Nevada Opera; Manrico in Il Trovatore with Mobile Opera, Opera Illinois, and Opera North; the title role of Andrea Chenier with Mobile Opera and Pensacola Opera; Don Jose in Carmen with the West Virginia Symphony, Pensacola Opera, and with Teatro Lyrico di Bari in Seville, Spain where the opera is set; Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with Lyric Opera of San Antonio, Orlando Opera, and Art Park; Canio in Pagliacci with Syracuse Opera, Connecticut Opera, and Tri-Cities Opera; the title role of Les Contes d'Hoffman with Des Moines Metro Opera, Augusta Opera, and DiCapo Opera; Pollione in Norma with Hawaii Lyric Opera, Opera at Florham, and Metro Lyirc Opera; the title role of the tour-de-force one-man opera Henry Faust with The Living Opera; and Calaf in Turandot with Opera Delaware among many other productions over his illustrious career.
Though the son of a piano teacher and having grown up in a household where singing was nearly an every day occurence, Mr. Slatton did not discover he had an operatic voice until his Senior year of High School when he discovered he could outsing his entire High School Chorus. With a strong theatre background and a life-long interest in orchestral music, Mr. Slatton pursued degrees in music at Abilene Christian University and Louisiana State University where he studied with Dr. Rollie Blondeau and Paul Knowles respectively. While studying at LSU, he made his professional debut as Alidoro in La Cenerentola with the Baton Rouge Opera. This was followed the next season by an internship with the New Orleans Opera Association.
Mr. Slatton then was able to gain a fellowship in Opera Music Theatre International where he studied under the world famous basso Jerome Hines, who solidified Mr. Slatton's technique and taught him valuable lessons about surviving in the world of Opera. Mr. Hines and OMTI were invaluable in launching Mr. Slatton's international career.
Mr. Slatton has worked with a large number of outstanding musical artists. Here follows a partial list of many of these great artists:
Conductors: Antonio Amato, Robert Ashens, Dennis Assaf, John Balme, William Barkhymer, Thomas Carlo Bo, Francisco Bonnin, Michael Borowitz, Marc-Andre Bougie, Giampaolo Bracale, Per Brevig, Adrian Bryttan, Louis Burkot, Susan Caldwell, Fiora Contino, Grant Cooper, Anton Coppola, John DiCostanzo, Gary DiPasquasio, Mark Flint, Anthony LaGruth, Daniel Kleinknecht, Robert Larsen, David Lawton, John Massaro, Peter Mark, Pacien Mazzagatti, James Meena, Steve Mosteller, Steven Osgood, Michael Rechiutti, Jeffrey Rink, Timm Rolek, Ed Roberts, Enrique Patron da Rueda, Denis Segond, Duane Skrabalak, Jerome Shannon, Michel Singher, Scott Speck, Markand Thakar, Willie Anthony Waters, William Weibel, Steven White, Richard Woitach, Martin Wright, David Wroe;
Singers:
Adina Aaron, Donnie Ray Albert, Gustav Andreassen, Audrey Babcock, Bridget Basile, Elizabeth Blancke-Biggs, Hope Briggs, Jane Bunnel, Michele Capalbo, Elisazbeth Carter-Stith, Ralph Cato, Michael Corvino, Dominic Cossa, Cynthia Clayton, Brian Davis, Mark Delavan, Michael Devlin, Justino Diaz, Grace Echauri, Dean Elzinga, Marc Embree, Faith Eshem, Cheryl Evans, Colleen Gaetano, Bonaldo Giaiotti, Katharine Goeldner, Eugenie Grunwald, Jerry Hadley, Carla Thelen Hanson, Suzan Hanson, Neal Harrelson, Craig Hart, Michael Hendrick, Jerome Hines, Richard Hobson, Dennis Jesse, Gwendolyn Jones, Kim Josephson, Brian Juahiainen, Gregory Keil, Sondra Kelly, James King, Stephan Kirchgraber, Matthew Lau, Yunah Lee, Marquita Lister, Indira Mahajan, Malcolm MacKenzie, Indira Mahajan, Marie-Adele McArthur, Robert Merrill, Irina Mishura, Shiela Murphy, Carol Neblett, Julie Nesrallah, Oziel Garza-Ornelas, Erich Parce, Rick Piersall, Amy Pfrimmer, Joanna Porackova, Samuel Ramey, Jesse Raven, Arnold Rawls, Jane Redding, Nili Riemer, Stacy Rishoi, Mark Risinger, Mark Rucker, Carter Scott, Ashraf Sewailam, Barbara Shirvis, Kevin Short, Gary Simpson, Stefan Skafarowski, David Small, Sharon Spinetti, Gregory Stapp, Charles Robert Stephens, William Stone, Mikhail Svetlov, Indra Thomas, Todd Thomas, Carmen Tancredi, Phyllis Treigle, Matt Trevino, Hector Vasquez, Peter Volpe, Kenneth Weber, Caroline Whisnant, Carla Wood, Grant Youngblood, Ai-Lan Zhu;
Stage Directors: Laura Alley, Elizabeth Bachman, Joseph Bascetta, Ed Bourgeois, Elisabetta Bruss, Michael Capasso, Craig Fields, John Hoomes, Robert Larsen, James Lucas, Leeland Kimball, Ron Luchsinger, Kyle Marrerro, James Marvel, Richard McKee, Dan Montez, George Osborne, Joseph Pouhé, GianMaria Romagnoli, Ellen Schlaefer, Albert Sherman, Peter Sicilian, Robert Swedberg, Paula Williams.
When not singing or learning new roles, Mr. Slatton spends much of his time in the study of ancient Jewish and Christian religious literature. Long a student of history, recently he published a book on the historical Jesus, "What Did Jesus Do? - Come and Hear the Rabbi Y'shua" available from any book store.
