Kevin Langan

{{short description|American operatic bass (born 1955)}} {{for|the footballer and soccer coach|Kevin Langan (footballer)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}} '''Kevin Langan''' (born April 1, 1955) is an American operatic bass.<ref name="GROVE">{{cite book |last= Williams Macy |first= Laura |date=January 1, 2008 |title=Grove Book of Opera Singers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N0zthpCZuAUC&pg=PA265|publisher= Oxford University Press |page=265 |isbn=9780195337655 }}</ref>

==Early life==

Langan was born in New York on April 1, 1955.<ref name="GROVE" /> He studied voice with Margaret Harshaw at Indiana University School of Music.<ref name="GROVE" /> He went on to win auditions with the Metropolitan Opera,<ref>Metropolitan Opera. [https://www.metopera.org/uploadedFiles/MetOpera/auditions/national_council_auditions/past_winners/2010_natcouncilwinners.pdf National Council Winners] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141211043528/http://www.metopera.org/uploadedFiles/MetOpera/auditions/national_council_auditions/past_winners/2010_natcouncilwinners.pdf |date=December 11, 2014 }}. Retrieved 10 January 2018.</ref> San Francisco Opera, and Opera America. In 1983, Langan won the Richard Tucker Music Foundation Grant Award.

According to Langan, it was seeing The Beatles perform on TV in 1964 on ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' that made him want to pursue a career in opera. Years later, in an April 2017 interview with ''LA Opus'', Langan recalled telling the story during a rehearsal break at Carnegie Hall to Paul McCartney, who laughed and replied: "[That's the first time] The Beatles inspired someone to go into opera!"<ref name=LA />

Sponsored by Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Walter Legge, Langan gave his first recital at Wigmore Hall in 1979.<ref name="GROVE" /> He gave his New York City recital debut at Carnegie Hall on April 4, 1984.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=New York|date=April 9, 1984|title=Kevin Langan, bass (N. Y. recital debut)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IuYCAAAAMBAJ&dq=Kevin+Langan+bass&pg=PA93|page=93|access-date=January 8, 2018}}</ref> ''The New York Times'' wrote: "Mr. Langan, a true basso in the classic sense of the word, is of an all-but-vanished breed."<ref name=NYT>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/08/arts/music-debuts-review-three-pianists-bass-string-quartet-perform-recitals.html |title=Music: Debuts in Review; Three Pianists, a Bass and a String Quartet Perform in Recitals |last=Paige |first=Tim |date=April 8, 1984 |work=The New York Times|access-date=January 8, 2018}}</ref>

In a 2017 interview for ''BroadwayWorld'', Langan recalls when he was a sophomore at New England Conservatory in 1974 and Met opera singer Maria Callas told him: "I will give you one piece of advice. People will tell you constantly how to sing. Make it louder, softer, faster, slower." She then placed her hand over his heart and said: "Always remain true to this when you sing no matter what they tell you!"<ref name=BWW>{{cite web |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwopera/article/BWW-Interview-Kevin-Langan-on-Operatic-Idols-and-Vocal-Longevity-20170413|title=Kevin Langan on Operatic Idols and Vocal Longevity |last=Miner |first=Erica |date=April 3, 2017 |website=BroadwayWorld|access-date=January 7, 2017}}</ref>

==Career==

Langan has performed with opera singers and conductors including Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo, Marilyn Horne,<ref name=BWW /> Sherrill Milnes and Seiji Ozawa, and has gained the reputation of achieving one of the longest and most productive singing careers on the opera stage in the last couple decades.<ref name=LA>{{cite web |url=https://www.laopus.com/2017/04/kevin-langan-on-operatic-idols-and.html|title=Kevin Langan on Operatic Idols and Vocal Longevity|last=Miner |first=Erica |date=April 12, 2017 |website=LA Opus |access-date=March 4, 2024}}</ref> He became the first artist to give 300 performances in 43 productions with the San Francisco Opera;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sfsymphony.org/Data/Event-Data/Artists/L/Kevin-Langan-Rocco|access-date=4 March 2024|title= Kevin Langan|publisher=San Francisco Symphony}}</ref> and 19 productions with the San Diego Opera.<ref name=LA /> Over all, Langan has performed in over 80 roles throughout 1300-plus performances, in 38 years.<ref name=LA />

Langan starred in the premiere of the opera ''Emmeline'' by American composer Tobias Picker in 1996 as Henry Mosher (Emmeline's Father).

He is married to American operatic soprano, Sally Wolf.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.boulderweekly.com/entertainment/music/life-in-opera/|title=Life in opera: Couple celebrates 30 years in the business |last=Alexander |first=Peter |date=July 3, 2013|work=Boulder Weekly|access-date=January 8, 2017}}</ref>

Langan was the last protégé of the EMI record producer Walter Legge.<ref>{{cite book|title=On and Off the Record: A Memoir of Walter Legge|author=Elisabeth Schwarzkopf|year=1982|publisher=Faber and Faber|edition=1st|page=7|url=https://archive.org/details/onoffrecordmemoi0000schw_g6s4/page/6/mode/2up?q=Langan|url-access=registration|isbn=0-571-11928-X}}</ref>

==Reviews==

Langan's portrayals and performances have been received with great acclaim by critics and audiences alike.<ref name=MW>{{cite web|url=http://musicalworld.com/artists/kevin-langan/reviews.html|title=Kevin Langan – Reviews|website=musicalworld.com|access-date=January 6, 2018}}</ref>

Tim Page of ''The New York Times'' wrote of Langan's voice that it intoned a "deep, toffee-smooth" sound with "convincing interpretive abilities".<ref name=NYT />

The magazine ''Opera'' wrote that Langan's delivery of Mozart's "La vendetta" from ''The Marriage of Figaro'' under the direction of Nikolaus Harnoncourt (the recording of which was nominated for a Grammy Award on the Teldec label) was "absolutely revelatory ... with a vocal sheen that [has] never heard before".<ref name=MW />

David Laviska of musicalcriticism.com wrote of Langan's performance of Friar Laurence in Gounod's ''Roméo et Juliette'' that he delivered it all in a "vibrant, ringing tone, polished phrasing, incisive diction, and convincing, unfussy acting" package.<ref name=MW />

==Filmography==

{| class="wikitable" |- | 1994 | ''Turandot'' | Timur | San Francisco Opera, live performance | Arthaus Music |- | 1990 | ''Orlando furioso'' | Astolfo |San Francisco Opera, live performance |Arthaus Music |- | 1981 | ''Aida'' | King of Egypt |San Francisco Opera, live performance | Kultur |- | 1981 | ''Samson et Dalila'' | Un vieillard hébreu | San Francisco Opera, live performance |Kultur |- | 2009 | ''The Cunning Little Vixen'' | Parson, Badger | Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, live performance | Arthaus Music |}

==Discography== {| class="wikitable" ! Year !! Title !!Role !! Notes!! Label |- | 1994 || ''The Marriage of Figaro'' || Antonio || Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; Nikolaus Harnoncourt, conductor|| Teldec |- | 1998 || ''Emmeline'' ||Henry Mosher || Santa Fe Opera; George Manahan, conductor || Albany Records |- |}

==References== {{reflist|30em}}

==External links== * {{IMDb name|0485981}} * [https://www.operamusica.com/artist/kevin-langan/ Kevin Langan], Opera Musica * [https://www.classicalsinger.com/magazine/archived.php?id=3095 "Langan Longevity"]{{Dead link|date=January 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, ''Classical Singer Magazine''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Langan, Kevin}} Category:Living people Category:1955 births Category:American operatic basses Category:New England Conservatory alumni Category:Jacobs School of Music alumni Category:Singers from New York City Category:Classical musicians from New York (state)