Ed Parks reprises Mercutio; Premieres as Steve Jobs

Ed Parks

Ed Parks, who sang a successful Mercutio in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette at the Atlanta Opera last season, will reprise the role halfway across the globe later this month. He'll be joining tenor Jean- François Borras and soprano Nino Machaidze at the Opera de Monte Carlo at the Royal Opera House Muscat in Oman for three performances on September 29 and 30, and October 1. Tickets are available online.

Next season, he'll be singing a very different role, as he performs the title role in the world premiere of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs at The Santa Fe Opera from July 22 July to August 25, 2017. He'll be joined by Sasha Cooke as Laurene Powell Jobs, Wei Wu as Kôbun Chino Otogawa and Garrett Sorenson as Woz. The opera will be directed by Kevin Newbury with sets by Victoria Tzykun.

 Ed Parks sings Avant de quitter ces lieux from Faust 

The opera is composed by Mason Bates with a libretto by Mark Campbell. It examines the life of Apple founder Steve Jobs, an innovator who simplified communication with sleek devices, but who paradoxically learned that  complex human relationships require more than one button to work. The opera starts at a moment in Jobs’ life  when he must face his own mortality and circles back to the events and people in his past that shaped and  inspired him: his father Paul, Zen Buddhism, his relationship with a woman whose child he initially disowned,  his quick rise and fall as mogul, and – most importantly – his wife Laurene, who showed him the power of love  and connection.    

In between, Parks is singing Count Almaviva in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen with Nashville Opera and Marcello in Puccini's La bohème at the Minnesota Opera.

Ed Parks to make Hungarian debut

Ed Parks to appear at the Budapest Congress Center

Operalia finalist Ed Parks will be making his Hungarian debut at the Budapest Congress Center on December 21st in Budapest. He'll be performing a Christmas concert with soprano Ingrid Kertesi, the Kodály Children's Choir and the Máv Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ádám Medveczky.

The benefit concert will make complementary tickets available for grandparents and their grandchildren. The goal of the concert is to strengthen the Christmas bond between generations.

Parks returns to the U.S. to cover David Pershall (who we recently posted about) as Schaunard in Puccini's La bohème at the Metropolitan Opera from January 6-23. On February 13th, he'll appear as part of the Cliburn Concerts in Fort Worth, Texas performing the music of Ben Moore with accompanist Brian Zeger. In May, he'll head to the Atlanta Opera to perform Mercutio in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette.

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Marco Vassalli & Malte Roesner

 

American Barihunk Ed Parks takes 3rd at Operalia

Ed Parks performing at Operalia

American barihunk Ed Parks walked away with 3rd Prize and $10,000 at this year's Operalia Competition in London. He performed Rossini's Largo al factotum from the Barber of Seville in the final round.  Barihunks Tobias Greenhalgh from the U.S. and Bongani Justice Kubheka from South Africa also made it to the final round, where eleven singers competed.

Hunkentenor Ioan Hotea won over the hearts of viewers and judges

Norwegian dramatic soprano Lise Davidsen, who sang Dich, teure Halle from Wagner's Tannhäuser took 1st Prize for women. She also won the Audience Prize for female singers. Romanian hunkentenor Ioan Hotea, who sang Ah! mes amis from Donizetti's Daughter of the Regiment took the top male singer prize. He also won the Zarzuela Prize for male singers. Darren Peni Pati took 2nd Prize for male singers, while Hyesang Park and Noluvuyiso Mpofu finished 2nd and 3rd respectively for women.

Other prizes included a Zarzuela Prize for South Korean soprano Hyesang Park and and Audience Prize for Darren Pene Pati.