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"Fresh Lyric Tenor” (OperaNews Online) Blake Friedman, is a native of
Chicago, Illinois. Praised for his “climactic high notes”
by Q on Stage, Mr. Friedman was named Honorable Mention in the 2010
Eisenberg-Fried Concerto Competition and was a finalist in The New York
Lyric Opera Theatre Vocal Competition of 2010. In 2010 Mr.
Friedman will be singing Ernesto in Don Pasquale with the Townsend
Opera Players, followed by Orestes in The Sacrificer by Halpern at the
New York New Church.
Mr. Friedman’s performance credits include opera, oratorio, solo and
choral engagements, most notably the Cover of Tenor 6 “The Prince” in
Conrad Susa’s Transformations as guest artist at The Juilliard School,
cover of Nemorino in L’Elisir D’Amore at Bel Canto at Caramoor, and as
Jimmy O’Keefe in Later the Same Evening by John Musto. Later the
Same Evening earned Mr. Friedman praise from OperaNews Online critic
Fred Cohn, “Among the men, Blake Friedman, as the young man from
Virginia, made the strongest effect… the character's zestful nature
lived in the very tone of his fresh lyric tenor.” Mr. Friedman’s
portrayal of Jimmy can also be heard on the Albany Records Label
recording of Later the Same Evening.
Other roles include Paolino in The Secret Marriage by Cimarosa, Don
Anchise in Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera, and Buchanan in Street Scene
by Kurt Weill. Mr. Friedman’s concert repertoire includes Uriel
in The Creation by Haydn; Tenor Soloist for Handel’s Messiah, Ode on
St. Cecilia’s Day, and Chandos Anthem no. 9; and Tenor Soloist for
Bach’s Magnificat and Cantata No. 4, “Chris lag in todes banden”.
Mr. Friedman holds a Professional Studies Degree from the Manhattan
School of Music where he was a recipient of the Rodgers and Hammerstein
Scholarship Award/Richard Rodgers Scholar. He also holds his
Master’s of Music Degree from The Manhattan School, and received his
Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music.
9/2/10
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