Roderick Kennedy

Roderick Kennedy (born Birmingham, 7 May 1951) is an English operatic bass who appeared at the major opera houses in the UK and in Europe, recording a number of supporting roles in his repertoire. Since 2004 he has been the artistic director of Dorset Opera Festival.

Career From 1969 to 1974 Kennedy was an advertising executive; he studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and took private lessons with Otakar Kraus. An early principal role was as Banquo in a Brunel University production of Macbeth (Paris version) in February 1976.

He was a member of the Royal Opera Chorus from 1975-78 and sang solos with them; his debut at Covent Garden was as a waiter in Der Rosenkavalier in November 1975, and sang regularly with them from the 1976-77 season to the 1980s. His many roles included Angelotti, Doctor Grenvil and Fasolt. With the company he toured to La Scala Milan in 1976 and sang Angelotti and Sciaronne on the company's Far East tour in 1979. At English National Opera he sang the Podesta in The Thieving Magpie, the Tutor in Count Ory and Fasolt in Das Rheingold. He appeared as the Doctor in Geraint Evans's production of Wozzeck at San Francisco Opera in 1981, having also sung the role in a David Alden production for Scottish Opera - one reviewer commenting that he had surely done nothing better on stage - under Simon Rattle. In Europe he appeared at the opera houses of Paris, Florence, Barcelona, Berlin and Vienna.

Kennedy became Artistic Director of Dorset Opera for its 2005 season, when the organization moved to a new home, Bryanston School in Blandford. He had previously sung in ten productions for the company over two decades and had lived with his family in Bournemouth for many years.

Recordings Lucrezia Borgia - Donizetti (conductor Richard Bonynge), (Astolfo), Opus Arte DVD, 1980 Robinson Crusoé - Offenbach (conductor Alun Francis), (Sir William Crusoe), Opera Rara 1981 (also at the Proms in 1980) Maria Padilla - Donizetti ((conductor Alun Francis), (Ramiro), Opera Rara 1981 Patience - Sullivan (conductor Alexander Faris), (Major Murgatroyd), Universal DVD 1982 Messiah - Handel (conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt), Teldec 1983 Idomeneo - Mozart (conductor Bernard Haitink), (the Voice), Philips 1983 La Cenerentola - Rossini (conductor Donato Renzetti), (Alindoro), Warner 1983 (also at the Proms in 1983) The Immortal Hour - Boughton (conductor Alan G Melville), (Dalua), Hyperion 1984 Ariane et Barbe-bleue - Dukas (conductor Gary Bertini) (Barbe-Bleue), Capriccio 1986 Die Sieben Todsuenden - Weill (conductor Michael Tilson Thomas), CBS 1988 Dialogue between Tom Filuter and his Man by Ned the Dog Stealer; Three Songs (Rio Grande, Theodore, A Long Time Ago) - Lord Berners, Heritage 2016