| Bruce Kelly |
Introduction “Bruce Kelly as Sharpless was his usual class act, vocally sure and character sound.” Opera Canada, Paula Citron BiographyBaritone Bruce Kelly’s career has taken him to many of the important opera houses and concert halls of Europe and his native Canada. He has appeared in Nice, Strasbourg, Lieges, Avignon and Moscow in a variety of leading roles including Silvio (PAGLIACCI), Guglielmo (COSI FAN TUTTE), Marcello (LA BOHEME) and Sharpless (MADAMA BUTTERFLY). Performances as Mercutio (ROMÉO ET JULIETTE), Lescaut (MANON LESCAUT), Manuel (LA VIDA BREVE), Paquino (GOYESCAS), Biterolf (TANNHÄUSER), Abimelech (SAMSON ET DALILA), and Ottokar (DER FREISCHÜTZ), Ernesto (IL PIRATA) are evidence of the wide range of roles at his command. In Canada Mr. Kelly has appeared as guest soloist with numerous orchestras, including the Toronto Symphony, Kitchener Waterloo Symphony, Winnipeg Symphony, Thunder Bay Symphony, Kingston Symphony, Newfoundland Symphony and Niagara Symphony. He starred as the Elder Brother in THE PRODIGAL SON in Toronto, Guelph, London and Goderich for the Britten Festival and was engaged by Pacific Opera Victoria for a rare production of Hoiby’s THE TEMPEST. Mr. Kelly was featured in THE MUSIC MAN for the Thousand Islands Playhouse in Gananoque, Ontario and enjoyed performances of CARMINA BURANA with the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony, Sacristan in TOSCA for Pacific Opera Victoria and at London’s Grand Theatre, Bach’s JOHANNES PASSION for Orchestra London and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 for the Regina Symphony in seasons past. He was heard as Count Capulet in ROMÉO ET JULIETTE for Opera Ontario, in Verdi’s REQUIEM for the Kingston Symphony and in MESSIAH for the Mississauga Choral Society. During the 2006-2007 season, he was heard in Schafer’s PALACE OF THE CINNABAR PHOENIX in Haliburton, as Geronte in MANON LESCAUT for Pacific Opera Victoria, in Handel’s SAMSON with the Victoria Philharmonic Choir and in ROMÉO ET JULIETTE for Opera de Quebec. In 2007-2008, he returned to the Victoria Philharmonic Choir for Dvorak’s SPECTRE’S BRIDE, Kingston for MESSIAH, Pacific Opera Victoria for Sharpless in MADAMA BUTTERFLY and Hamilton for DIE SCHÖPFUNG with the Bach Elgar Choir. Highlights of the 2008-2009 season included Haydn’s SEASONS with the Victoria Philharmonic Choir, Der Sprecher in DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE for Pacific Opera Victoria, Brahms’ DEUTSCHES REQUIEM for the Orchestra London and concerts with the Kingston Symphony and the Vancouver Island Symphony. In 2009-2010, Mr. Kelly made his role debut as Germont in LA TRAVIATA for Pacific Opera Victoria, later repeated for Saskatoon Opera, sang Walton in I PURITANI for Opera in Concert, an Opera Gala for the Kingston Symphony and debuts for Festival of the Sound in a pops evening. He returned to Pacific Opera Victoria in the fall of 2010 for Garibaldo in RODELINDA and sang Mozart’s REQUIEM for the 2011 Festival of the Sound conducted by Lydia Adams. He has appeared in the roles of Eisenstein (DIE FLEDERMAUS), the Devil (GRISELIDIS), Tonio (I PAGLIACCI), Henry (HENRY VIII), Falke (DIE FLEDERMAUS) and Conachar (DEIRDRE) with various companies including Calgary Opera, Opera Ontario, Opera Lyra Ottawa, Opera in Concert and Toronto Operetta Theatre. Other credits include Tranio (TAMING OF THE SHREW), and Bartolo in LE NOZZE DI FIGARO with Pacific Opera Victoria and Scarpia in TOSCA with the Kingston Symphony. He also appeared in CARMINA BURANA with the Toronto International Choral Festival, Kinsgton Symphony and the Victoria Symphony and in Mozart’s REQUIEM with the Grand Philharmonic Choir of Kitchener, Ontario. January 2012 Full RepertoireOpera
Concert
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Reviews“The richly timbered baritone in this case was Bruce Kelly.” Leader-Post – David Green
“But, the star turn of the evening was baritone Bruce Kelly’s Doctor Engel. Kelly acted so quietly and sang so well that he seemed to have been flown in from another higher budget and altogether superior production. (The Student Prince with Toronto Operetta Theatre) The Globe and Mail – Ken Winters
“Of the minor characters, Bruce Kelly stood out for his assured stage presence and rich baritone.” (MARRIAGE OF FIGARO with Pacific Opera Victoria) Times Colonist – Susan Down
“Bruce Kelly as Sharpless was his usual class act, vocally sure and character sound.” Opera Canada – Paula Citron |