On Stage Studio 2, TVO – first aired on June 8, 2003. Paula Todd interviews tenor Michael Colvin early in his professional career, fresh out of the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio.
Colvin performs Donizetti’s “Quanto e bella” from L’elisir d’amore and “Dein ist mein ganzes Herz” from Franz Lehár’s Das Land des Lächelns with COC’s Wayne Vogan at the piano.
The veteran Canadian tenor reflects on his operatic journey that spans the romantic leads of Mozart and Bel Canto to character roles of Reimann and Humperdinck.
As they say — time flies when you are having fun. Tenor Michael Colvin knows it all too well. The Canadian has already been singing professionally for over 22 years. In the second half of his career so far, Colvin has transitioned from the typical romantic leads of Mozart and Bel Canto to that of character tenor roles. Whether jolly or evil, audiences can count on Colvin bringing to each character the requisite theatricality and brilliant vocalism…
SEPTEMBER 15, 2019
CAST & CREATIVE TEAM
PAUL DANIEL conductor
IAN STOREY Peter Grimes
LISE DAVIDSEN Ellen Orford
CATHERINE WYN-ROGERS Auntie
CHRISTOPHER PURVES Balstrode
DIANA MONTAGUE Mrs. Sedley
JOSHUA BLOOM Swallow
HUW MONTAGUE RENDALL Ned Keene
MICHAEL COLVIN Bob Boles
BONAVENTURA BOTTONE Rev. Horace Adams
BARNABY REA Hobson
SOLOMIA LUKYANETS Niece 1
RHIAN LOIS Niece 2
Michael’s 2019-2020 season begins in Salzburg, Austria, with his return to the prestigious Salzburg Festival, appearing as King Laïos in Achim Freyer’s new production of George Enescu’s OEDIPE, conducted by Ingo Metzmacher and starring Christopher Maltman and Sir John Tomlinson.
Fall sees his debut at the Enescu Festival in Bucharest, Romania as Bob Boles in Britten’s PETER GRIMES conducted by Paul Daniel, followed by a return to Opéra National de Paris for a revival of Calixto Bieito’s acclaimed 2016 production of Aribert Reimann’s LEAR, under the baton of Fabio Luisi.
The New Year heralds Michael’s debut in one of opera’s greatest character roles, appearing as The Witch in Humperdinck’s HANSEL & GRETEL for the home-town Canadian Opera Company. This new production, under the baton of COC Music Director, Johannes Debus, will be directed by Joel Ivany.
The season ends in Madrid, Spain, with his Teatro Real debut as the Duke of Cornwall in Reimann’s LEAR, directed by Calixto Bieito and conducted by Simone Young.
Future seasons include a return to London’s Royal Opera House and English National Opera as well as debuts at Bayerische Staatsoper Munich and Italy’s renowned Teatro alla Scala among others.
“Vivid”, “superb”, “riveting”, “powerful”, “decadent”… are just some of the superlatives used to describe Michael Colvin’s recent turn as King Herod in English National Opera’s new production of Salome, directed by Adena Jacobs and conducted by ENO Music Director, Martyn Brabbins.
Colvin as King Herod in ENO’s Salome, October 2018. Photo: (c) Catherine Ashmore
“Colvin, in turn, sang with force and impressive tone as he tore up the stage with his riveting portrayal. He was superb.” – San Francisco Classical Voice, Letter from London
“Colvin and Bickley are superb. She wonderfully suggests Herodias’s fraying dignity. He sounds all the more sinister for singing so elegantly and refusing to shout, like so many Herods.” – Tim Ashley, The Guardian
“Michael Colvin is a vivid Herod” – Richard Fairman, Financial Times
“Presiding over events is Michael Colvin’s Herod clad in an ermine-edged Father Christmas coat and not much else, but his incarnation of paranoid derangement is highly convincing… The negotiating argy-bargy between him (Herod) and his step-daughter (Salome), who exhibits an EU-style inflexibility in her demand for Jokanaan’s head, is beautifully sung.” – Michael Church, The Independent
“Vocally, Michael Colvin is a stylish Herod and shoulders the direction convincingly” – Peter Reed, Classical Source
“Michael Colvin’s Herod, flopping around in puddles of blood, was a study in moral and mental decline, disturbingly lascivious and with a well-crafted repellance to him” – Dominic Lowe, Bachtrack.com
“Michael Colvin’s decadent Herod is excellent” – Barry Millington, The Evening Standard
“Both Susan Bickley and Michael Colvin gave us superbly sung accounts of their roles…” – Robert Hugill, PlanetHugill.com
“…there is no denying that, with his excellent tenor, [Colvin] can fill a stage.” – Sam Smith, Opera-Online
“Michael Colvin’s Herod… is vocally on top of the part” – Larkreviews.co.uk
“Michael Colvin’s Herod is suitably both disturbing and disturbed as he rolls around on the blood-soaked stage. His vocals are tortured and powerful…” – Aliya Al-Hassan, BroadwayWorld.com
“Blood is everywhere; splashed about by Herod (a magnificently disgusting Michael Colvin).” – James Fitzgerald, Londonist.com
“much of the singing is impeccable, notably Allison Cook as Salome and Michael Colvin as Herod.” – Sebastian Taylor, The Camden News Journal
Colvin as King Herod in ENO’s Salome, October 2018. Photo: (c) Catherine Ashmore