Charles Blandy, tenor
Charles Blandy is a versatile lyric tenor, equally at home in Mozart and Bach as in the most challenging contemporary music. He was praised by Opera News and the Boston Globe for his performance as Francis Flute in Britten’s Midsummer Night’s Dream at Tanglewood, and appeared in the world premiere of Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar at Tanglewood, starring Dawn Upshaw and conducted by Robert Spano. He later reprised the role at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. At Emmanuel Music in Boston, he has sung Tamino in Alice Goodman’s English translation of The Magic Flute, conducted by Craig Smith, and next year will sing the role of Lurcanio in Handel’s Ariodante. Other opera roles include Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte, Ottavio in Don Giovanni, and Macheath in The Beggar’s Opera. He made his company debut with Opera Boston recently, appearing in Offenbach’s La Vie Parisienne and Glück’s Alceste.
Mr. Blandy was a finalist in the 2005 Oratorio Society of New York solo competition, singing in Weill Recital Hall in New York City. Recent concert appearances include Handel’s Messiah with the Charlotte Symphony and Handel Choir of Baltimore. He is often a soloist with the Cantata Singers in Boston, with whom he appeared in Bach’s St. John Passion, under guest conductor John Harbison. With them he has also sung in Schumann’s Scenes from Goethe’s Faust and Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. Other notable performances include Britten’s St. Nicolas, conducted by Raymond Leppard, Britten’s Cantata Misericordium, also with the Charlotte Symphony, and Handel’s Israel in Egypt and Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, with Emmanuel Music under conductor Craig Smith.
He is adept in contemporary music: On four days notice he took over a tricky tenor part in Berio’s Sinfonia under conductor Robert Spano at Tanglewood. His performance of Jorge Liderman’s Song of Songs with the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players (now a Bridge Records CD) was called “sterling” by the San Francisco Chronicle. This year he will give the US premiere of Einojuhani Rautavaara’s song cycle for voice and strings Die Liebenden with Chameleon Arts Ensemble. A CD of songs by American composer Arthur Berger on the Arsis label is forthcoming.
Mr. Blandy possesses a wide repertoire in art song. He has sung works of Daniel Pinkham, Francis Poulenc, and Arthur Honegger with the Florestan Recital Project, and this year will perform songs of Schumann with Emmanuel Music.
He teaches in Harvard University’s Holden Voice Program and at Tufts University. In 2003 and 2004, he was a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, where he was awarded the Grace B. Jackson prize. He received his Master’s Degree from Indiana University, where he studied voice with Alan Bennett and Lieder with Leonard Hokanson, and has studied at the Britten-Pears School in Aldeburgh, England. In Chicago he studied with Ronald Combs and Winifred Brown. He is a native of Troy, NY, and graduated from Oberlin College with a BA in religion.