Opera News features Ryan McKinny

Ryan McKinny in Opera News (© James Hickey 2012)

Ryan McKinny seems an ideal fit for the Wagner bass-baritone roles he is pursuing — Amfortas, the Dutchman. In fact, he has spent a long time trying to figure out what his voice is, and what it isn't. "When you enter competitions in your early twenties," he says, "if you are a lyric soprano or Rossini tenor, I think you kind of understand what you're supposed to be doing. With lower male voices or bigger soprano voices, it's not always clear. You're not always ready to sing what you're supposed to sing."

[Read the entire feature in Opera News]

Make sure to catch McKinny's upcoming performances in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde. He'll be performing Melot with the Canadian Opera Company from January 29 to February 23, 2013 and then Kurnewal with the Houston Grand Opera from April 18 to May 5. The Isolde in Houston will be Nina Stemme, who is arguably the reigning Wagnerian soprano in the world today.

 Ryan McKinny sings "Die Frist ist um"  from the Flying Dutchman: