David Stout, bass-baritone
I did consider not choosing a Singer of the Month this month. I was only going to two performances, and I had no idea what the standard at Opera Holland Park was like. But Singer of the Month was created to draw attention to very good singers whom not enough people have heard of, and, as soon as I’d seen David Stout in Rigoletto, I knew he was one of these
I saw David for the first time two years ago in British Youth Opera’s production of The Cunning Little Vixen. He took the very challenging role of the Forester, and then returned to the BYO last year to sing Guglielmo. In Rigoletto, he took the much smaller role of Marullo, which was reviewed by Madam Caterpillar. David caught my eye as soon as he walked onto the stage. Instead of being just one of the gang, his Marullo was a fully-developed and very interesting character.
David was formerly Head Chorister at Westminster Abbey, and has lived in England and South Africa. He studied zoology at Durham University, and singing in Cambridge and at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. His performances as Marullo marked his debut with Opera Holland Park; I hope he will sing with them again soon. Other roles include Guglielmo, Count Almaviva, Eugene Onegin, Giorgio Germont, Giuseppe The Gondoliers, Scarpia and Belcore L’elisir d’amore. He has sung Falstaff and Gianni Schicchi at the Guildhall, and also Don Cassandro La finta semplice. He has also performed in works including the Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, Carmina Burana, Judas Maccabaeus,The Creation, and A Sea Symphony.
His plans include roles in English Touring Opera’s Dido and Aeneas, Orfeo and Erismena, Papageno for Grange Park Opera, and WNO’s production of Carmen.
Read David’s official biography. If you click on Soundbite, you can hear him singing Count Almaviva’s aria.
Reviews:
The Cunning Little Vixen – Seen and Heard (Marc Bridle)
Falstaff – Musical Pointers (Peter Grahame Woolf)
Gianni Schicchi – Classical Source (Alexander Campbell)
Cunning Little Vixen
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