Artist description A native of Nelson, B.C., Kevin has over ten years experience as a composer and performer of original music, as well as over thirty theatrical and operatic productions. He was a winner of the Ottawa Choral Society's Young Artist Search, as well as twice winner of the National Association of Teachers of Singing competition. Kevin has done advanced studies in contemporary opera and song at the Banff Centre for the Arts, and has just completed his Master's Degree in opera performance at McGill University in Montreal under the tutelage Winston Purdy. Some favorite roles include: Ford in Falstaff (Verdi), Belcore in L'Elisir D'Amore (Donizetti), The Father in Six Characters in Search of an Author (Weisgall), John Proctor in The Crucible (Ward), Dapertutto in Les contes d'Hoffmann (Offenbach), the Clock and Cat in L'enfant et les Sortileges (Ravel), and creating the role of Mad Anthony Wayne in the premiere of John Beckwith's Taptoo!!. Most recently, Kevin has performed the role of Ford in Verdi's Falstaff with the 88-piece McGill Symphony orchestra. Kevin has also been a soloist for many great choral and instrumental works, such as Stravinski's "Les Noces" and "Renard", as well as masses by Mozart, Dvorjak and Vaughn-Williams, as well as Brahms' Requiem. However, Kevin's experience isn't limited only to the opera stage. "Operaman", a nickname given to him by an article in the montreal Gazette, has become his Fringe Festival personality, performing at Festivals in Montreal and Winnipeg, as well as various venues across Canada, and even France. His musical, "Road Stories" was performed at the McGill Drama Festival, and went on to be remounted as a part of the Montreal Fringe Festival in 1999. A longtime guitarist, Kevin has also released two CD's of original music, and has performed in theatres, bars, restaurants and coffeehouses across Canada and the Northern U.S. Kevin is currently living in Europe, building his career as a professional opera singer. In 2002-2003, he was a mamber of the Zürich Opera Studio, and made his German dubut at the Bad Hersfelder Festspiele, performing the role of Angelotti in Puccini's "Tosca".

Music Style Classical/ Opera

Musical Influences Bryn Terfel, Thomas Hampson, Fischer-Diskau

Similar Artists Bryn Terfel, Thomas Hampson, Fischer-Diskau

Instruments Baritone voice

Press Reviews Saturday 23 June 2001 Operaman at home on the Fringe BILL BROWNSTEIN The Gazette He calls himself the Kevin Armstrong Band. Granted, he's a big fella, but a band is generally composed of more than just one member. Even in this eclectic day and age, Kevin Armstrong stands out. By day, he studies and performs opera at McGill University. By night, he is a one-man folk-rock band making the rounds of city clubs and street corners. All the time, Armstrong is a marketing machine on overdrive. The setting is the Fringe fest's outdoor stage on the corner of the Main and Rachel St. Armstrong is set to perform in a few minutes, but business comes first. He's pushing his disc Untitled One and Second Album. And he's pushing his official, large and definitely no n-designer Kevin Armstrong underwear. "There's a picture of me where you'll always remember me," explains Armstrong, 26. That would be on the crotch of the undies. On the butt end is Armstrong's Web site address. This has been a wacky Armstrong week. Al ong with the opera classes and the Fringe performances - he can be caught again this afternoon at 2 on the outdoor stage - Armstrong will be donning his fanciest duds and singing gospel tomorrow at St. Andrew's-Dominion-Douglas United Church. "I guess I am different," he declares, while putting his official undies away and picking up his guitar. "I don't really fit the mold of your typical opera singer, nor do I fit the mold of your typical rock singer. I don't even fit the mold of your typical young person. Who else would order spinach pizza?" He has a point - about the pizza. But Armstrong's luck could soon change. He just auditioned for a role in Baz (Moulin Rouge) Luhrman's operatic update of La Boheme, slated to go to Broadway next year. "That's a long way from Kelowna," says Armstrong, referring to his hometown roots in B.C. He moved to Montreal five years ago "to expand my small-town horizons." It also afforded him the opportunity to earn his bachelor's degree in music at McGill. He's now p ursuing his master's degree in opera performance. Over the past few years, he's landed roles in such Opera McGill productions as Les Contes d'Hoffman, L'Enfant et les Sortileges, the world premiere of John Beckwith's Taptoo!! and The Crucible. He has also performed as a soloist in works by Stravinsky, Dvorak, Schubert and Mozart. In the fall, he will be featured in Opera McGill's L'Elisir d'Amore, and then he'll head to Toronto to perform in Rossini's La Gazza Ladra with the Opera in Concert company. So how does Operaman end up at the Fringe? "This is where I feel most at home," Armstrong states. "Anything goes here. I can do anything I want." Short of giving away the official Kevin Armstrong underwear. Before Armstrong hits the stage, he offers a free pair of undies to the first person in the audience who'll buy his disc. He has offers for the disc, but no takers for the underwear. "Ah, you're all just scared I've already worn them, but I haven't - really," he says. I'm a little concerned. I as k Armstrong if this is how Pavarotti started, shilling official underwear. "He probably would have, except they don't make underwear that large," he shoots back. The show begins. Armstrong's first tune is a raunchy folk offering, apparently about the al phabet. He follows with a confessional about his first nude-beach experience. The small crowd applauds respectfully when Armstrong completes the second tune. But not good enough for this performer. Time for Armstrong to morph into Operaman and shake the crowd up. He puts the guitar down, turns off the microphone and, in his booming baritone, belts a Verdi aria. The crowd goes wild. A couple of punkers at one table start hollering: "Ver-di! Ver-di! Ver-di!" Operaman comes back at them with a smashing Puccini aria, in Italian no less. The punkers now scream: "Puc-cini! Puc-ci-ni! Puc-ci-ni!" "OK then, now I've got a real treat for you all," Armstrong tells the enthusiastic crowd. "I'm going to do the Bugs Bunny aria." (Note to purists: that's from t he Barber of Seville.) The whole place erupts. What a sight to behold. Punkers singing along: "Figaro, Fi-garo, Fiiii-gar-oooooo!" Operaman gets a standing O."Ros-si-ni! Ros-si-ni! Ros-si-ni!," they shriek. "Opera rocks!" comments the mountainous Ste ph Herman, who handles Fringe security - a polite way of saying that he chucks drunks out. An alternative combo is set to take the stage next, but one of the punkers confides that Operaman will be awfully hard to top. Or bottom, for that matter, what with the undies giveaway. ¨

Location Montreal, Quebec - Canada

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