| American
born baritone DAVID PITTMAN-JENNINGS began his musical studies as an
oboist in his home state at the University of Oklahoma. Following a brief
military tour, he continued vocal studies with Elisabeth Parham in Los Angeles
where he won first prize with the International Loren Zachary Competition.
In 1976 he was invitted to become a member of the Graz Opera Company in Austria,
which was the gateway to a rich and successful International career. Since
that time he has distinguished himself on the great stages of the opera
world in Germany, Austria, Holland, Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, South
America, Israel and the United States in many different operatic roles and
as a concert and recital artist. A noted interpreter of contemporay music
as well as the more traditional repertoire, the baritone has performed
the role of Moses in Arnold Schoenberg's MOSES AND ARON under the direction
of Peter Stein and Pierre
Boulez at the Amsterdam Opera in October 1995, in 1996 at the Salzburger
Festspiele again under Boulez, with whom Pittman-Jennings has recorded
the role on the Deutsche Grammaphone label, and in 1999 with the Chicago
Symphony Orchestra in Chicago and Berlin. In the modern repertory he
has also sung the title role in WOZZECK, Dr. Schoen in Berg's LULU,
the title role in Michael Tippet's KING PRIAM, Balstrode in Britten's PETER
GRIMES . Among other roles in which the baritone has distinguished himself,
he has performed Mandryka in Richard Strauss' ARABELLA which he sang with
Kiri Te Kanawa at the
Wiener Staatsoper, at the Semperoper in Dresden, and at the Santa Fe
Opera, Jochana'an in Strauss' SALOME, Amfortas and Klingsor in Wagner's
PARSIFAL, Kurwenal in Wagner's TRISTAN UND ISOLDE, the Dutchman in Wagner's
FLIEGENDE HOLLANDER in 1998, the Count in Mozart's NOZZE DI FIGARO, Don
Alfonso in Mozart's COSI FAN TUTTE and the Count in Strauss' CAPRICCIO
. The baritone is also renowned for his interpretations of Renato in Verdi's
BALLO IN MASCHERA which he sang with Julia Varady at the Staatsoper in
Munich, as well as in the Arena di Verona, Amonasro in Franco Zeffirelli's
production of Verdi's AIDA at the Teatro San Carlos in Naples, Scarpia
in Puccini's TOSCA at the Arena di Verona, Sharpless in Puccini's MADAMA
BUTTERFLY, Germont in Verdi's LA TRAVIATA, Marcello in Puccini's LA BOHEME,
and as Basilio in Resphigi's LA FIAMMA for the Rome Opera (recorded by
Agora Records), as well as Verdi's RIGOLETTO. In his season 1999-2000,
David Pittman-Jennings interpreted the title role in IL PRIGIONIERO with
the Philharmonic Orchestra of Montreal, under the direction of Charles Dutoit in Montreal,
at Carnegie Hall in New York and in Tokyo with the NHK Orchestra also under
the direction of Maestro Dutoit. The artist particularly distiguished himself
in the role of Christopher Colombus in the opera of the same name. written
by Milhaud in a new production at the Staatsoper Berlin. In addition, he
sang Klingsor (PARSIFAL) at the Scottish National Opera and at the Liceu
in Barcelona in a concert version with Placido Domingo and Linda Watson,
the title role in WOZZECK at the Theatore Municipal in Santiago di Chile,
Rigoletto in Leipzig and Golaud (PELLEAS ET MELISANDE) at the Cincinnati
Opera's Summer Festival. As a concert singer, he has been heard most recently
as soloist in Verdi's REQUIEM, and in the repertoire by Mozart, Dvorak,
Brahms, Faure, in Mendelssohn's ELIJAH, Beethoven's 9th Symphony, Orff's
CARMINA BURANA as well as works by Berg, Berlioz, Schoenberg, Zemlinsky
and Britten. The baritone's discography includes Schoenberg's ODE TO NAPOLEON
and MOSES UND ARON on the Deutsche Grammaphone label, Respighi's LA FIAMMA
for Agora Records, UN MALHEUREUX VETU DE NOIR on the Donemus label, on
the FNAC label Verdi's REQUIEM. |
| American
baritone David Pittman-Jennings began his musical studies as an oboist
at the University of Oklahoma. He studied singing with Elisabeth Parham
in Los Angeles where he won first prize at the International Loren Zachary
Competition. In 1976 he
became an ensemble member of the Graz Opera, which marked the beginning
of his international career. Since then, Pittman-Jennings
has distinguished himself in several major centers in Germany, France,
Italy, Spain, South America, Israel, Japan and the US in operatic roles
and as a concert and song singer.
A leading performer of 20th-century repertoire, Pittman-Jennings starred as Moses/"Moses und Aron" in the production of Peter Stein and under Pierre Boulez at the Amsterdam Opera; a role he reprised with the same conductor in Salzburg and recorded for Deutsche Grammophon. In January 2002 he sang the part at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin. Other important roles from the 20th century repertoire included Wozzeck in the Operas of Parma, Buenos Aires and Santiago de Chile and at the Spoleto Festival in the USA, Balstrode/"Peter Grimes" in Genoa and Strasbourg, the title role in Dallapiccola's "Il Prigioniero " in Châtelet in Paris under Esa-Pekka Salonen (also in Carnegie Hall (New York) and Tokyo, each time under Charles Dutoit), the title role in Krenek's "Karl V" in Bonn and Cologne, the title role in Milhaud's "Christophe Colomb" in Berlin in the production of Peter Greenaway and Cortez in Wolfgang Rihm's "Die Eroberung von Mexico" in Frankfurt. Other opera roles included Mandryka/"Arabella" in the Wiener Staatsoper with Kiri Te Kanawa and in the Semperoper in Dresden with Felicity Lott, Jochanaan/"Salome" in Bonn and Berlin; Amfortas and Klingsor/"Parsifal" with ao Plácido Domingo in the Liceu in Barcelona; Almaviva/"Le Nozze di Figaro" in Amsterdam and Nice and at the Mozart-Schönbrunn Festival in Vienna and Don Alfonso/"Così fan tutte" in Hamburg. David Pittman-Jennings is also renowned for his interpretation of the role of Renato/"Un Ballo in Maschera" which he sang alongside Julia Varady at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich,at the Opera of Verona and in Frankfurt. Also worth mentioning are Amonasro/"Aida" in Zeffirelli's production in Naples, Scarpia/"Tosca" in Verona, among others, Germont/"La Traviata" in, among others, the Semperoper, Châtelet and the Frankfurt Opera, Basilio in Respighi's "La Fiamma" at the Opera of Rome, "Rigoletto" in Leipzig and Golaud/"Pelléas et Mélisande" for the Cincinatti Opera Festival. Recent engagements include Scarpia at the Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago, the lead role in Henze's "We come to the River" in Hamburg, "Der fliegende Holländer" in Buenos Aires and "Wozzeck" in Montreal and Tokyo. David Pittman-Jennings could previously be admired at the Flemish Opera as Vincent van Gogh in "Un Malheureux vêtu de Noir" by Jan van Vlijmen, in the title role of Tippett's "King Priam", as Frank/"Die tote Stadt" and as Dr. Schön in "Lulu". |