A Birthday Tribute to Randal Turner

Randal Turner

We have a lot of favorite singers on Barihunks, ranging from the mega-stars like Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Mariusz Kwiecien to the upcoming singers like Matthew Morris, Hadleigh Adams and Jonathan Estabrooks. Then there is Randal Turner, who is in that middle ground with his student days behind him and stardom just a big break away.

Despite being from Indiana and attending the esteemed singing program at Indiana University, his career has been primarily in European opera houses. Perhaps it's because he's based in Zurich.

However, we still can't figure out why he's not been engaged by more American companies. We saw his sexually charged and vocally sublime Don Giovanni in Detroit, as well as his debut at New York City Opera in Rufus Wainwright's Prima Donna and were incredibly impressed. We've been selling his debut CD on the site, which was his West Coast recital debut and filled with music from America's greatest composers: Jake Heggie, Ricky Ian Gordon, Glen Roven, Clint Borzoni and his fellow Swiss-based American, Julia Schwartz.

We're at a loss why he's not on the schedules of more American opera companies. If any of them are reading this, we're eager to hear him in some early to mid-Verdi, some non-Ring Wagner and some more American or English opera (Billy Budd!). Of course, we won't complain about another Don Giovanni either.

Happy Birthday to one of our favorite singers!