Randall Scotting
Possessing a dramatic voice and a passion for communication, Randall Scotting is receiving recognition for his sensitive musicianship and masculine and commanding stage presence; his performances as Oberon in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream have been called “impressive” by The New York Times and “ethereal” by Opera News.
His operatic roles run the gamut of style and genre including: Oberon in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (with Des Moines Metro Opera, Juilliard Opera Center and Opera North), Teseo in Vivaldi’s Ercole sul Termodonte (at the Spoleto Festival, Italy with il Complesso Barocco, released on DVD and voted “best DVD of 2007” in Italy), Prince Orlofsky in Strauss’ Die Fledermaus and the title role in Orfeo ed Euridice by Gluck (both with Boulder Opera Theater), several Handel operas including the role of Ottone* in Agrippina and the title role in Flavio* (both with New York City Opera), Nireno in Giulio Cesare (with Opera Colorado), Athamas in Semele (with Boulder Opera Theater); and upcoming in 2009 Randall will perform the role of Ottone in Handel’s Agrippina with the Landestheater Neustreltiz in Germany, sing recitals throughout Hungary and Germany, as well as make his operatic debut in Central America singing the title role in Handel’s Rinaldo.
Randall is also an avid performer of Contemporary classical music. A recent compact disc release highlights Randall as soloist in a 2008 commission of Dive: a water music, a cantata with chorus and instrumental ensemble. Also in 2008, Randall performed a fully staged version of Peter Maxwell Davies’ Eight Songs for a Mad King with ensemble FusionChamber; a follow up to a highly successful collaboration featuring Randall singing Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire in 2007. Other new music experiences include exploration of contemporary music performance styles at the esteemed Britten-Pears Programme in Adelburgh England, and a 2006 performance of Channah, a gospel oratorio by Paul Schoenfield with the Juilliard Focus! Festival.
Improvisation in both avant-garde and Baroque styles is a growing focus in Randall’s performing. Appearing at Carnegie Hall twice during the spring of 2008, Randall sang under the baton of Ton Koopman and returned to Carnegie Hall in performance with Bobby Mcferrin among 20 singers from various backgrounds and musical traditions performing in a completely improvised work. He has also studied improvisation with Ann Baltz at Operaworks and at Second City in Chicago.
In the summer of 2008, Randall was a vocal fellow at the prestigious Steans Institute at the Ravinia Festival studying and performing an eclectic mix of classical song repertoire coaching with Malcolm Martineau, Brian Zeger and others. He continues to explore diverse styles and genres of music in 2008-2009 as a Fulbright Scholar in Budapest, Hungary specializing in study and performance of the region’s folk music as well as Contemporary Hungarian composers’ works.
In operatic competition, Randall has been a first place District Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (2006), where he was also a two-time Regional Finalist. He has been an award winner in the Denver Lyric Opera Guild Competition (2006), and he was selected as a finalist for the Dallas Opera Guild Competition (2004) and the Licia-Albanese Puccini Competition (2008).
