Kevin Langan

Kevin Langan (born April 1, 1955) is an American operatic bass.

Early life

Langan was born in New York on April 1, 1955. San Francisco Opera, and Opera America. In 1983, Langan won the Richard Tucker Music Foundation Grant Award.

According to Langan, it was seeing The Beatles perform on TV in 1964 on The Ed Sullivan Show that made him want to pursue a career in opera. Years later, in an April 2017 interview with LA Opus, Langan recalled telling the story during a rehearsal break at Carnegie Hall to Paul McCartney, who laughed and replied: "[That's the first time] The Beatles inspired someone to go into opera!" The New York Times wrote: "Mr. Langan, a true basso in the classic sense of the word, is of an all-but-vanished breed."

In a 2017 interview for BroadwayWorld, Langan recalls when he was a sophomore at New England Conservatory in 1974 and Met opera singer Maria Callas told him: "I will give you one piece of advice. People will tell you constantly how to sing. Make it louder, softer, faster, slower." She then placed her hand over his heart and said: "Always remain true to this when you sing no matter what they tell you!"

Career

Langan has performed with opera singers and conductors including Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo, Marilyn Horne, He became the first artist to give 300 performances in 43 productions with the San Francisco Opera; and 19 productions with the San Diego Opera.

Langan was the last protégé of the EMI record producer Walter Legge.

Reviews

Langan's portrayals and performances have been received with great acclaim by critics and audiences alike.

Tim Page of The New York Times wrote of Langan's voice that it intoned a "deep, toffee-smooth" sound with "convincing interpretive abilities".

The magazine Opera wrote that Langan's delivery of Mozart's "La vendetta" from The Marriage of Figaro under the direction of Nikolaus Harnoncourt (the recording of which was nominated for a Grammy Award on the Teldec label) was "absolutely revelatory ... with a vocal sheen that [has] never heard before".

David Laviska of musicalcriticism.com wrote of Langan's performance of Friar Laurence in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette that he delivered it all in a "vibrant, ringing tone, polished phrasing, incisive diction, and convincing, unfussy acting" package.

Filmography

1994 Turandot Timur San Francisco Opera, live performance Arthaus Music 1990 Orlando furioso AstolfoSan Francisco Opera, live performanceArthaus Music 1981 Aida King of EgyptSan Francisco Opera, live performance Kultur 1981 Samson et Dalila Un vieillard hébreu San Francisco Opera, live performanceKultur 2009 The Cunning Little Vixen Parson, Badger Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, live performance Arthaus Music

Discography Year Title Role Notes Label 1994 The Marriage of Figaro Antonio Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; Nikolaus Harnoncourt, conductor Teldec 1998 Emmeline Henry Mosher Santa Fe Opera; George Manahan, conductor Albany Records