Baritone Kenneth Overton is working nonstop these days — singing, performing, and debuting new works. But it isn’t in vain.
“I don’t want to sound sappy, but performing on stage for me is like breathing or eating — I have to do it!” he said. “On stage is where I am my most authentic self, it is where I am most comfortable. It’s also a very spiritual experience for me. I feel that my voice is one of the gifts God has entrusted to me to do beautiful things while I’m here on earth. I am merely a vessel for that.”
Performing Coast to Coast
Kenneth is preparing for a few roles in a number of operas: Amonasro in Verdi’s Aida with Boheme Opera and in Billy Budd with San Francisco Opera. He also is preparing to perform and record Richard Danielpour’s The Passion of Yeshua with the Buffalo Philharmonic, a piece that he premiered with OBF last year.
For the 2019 Oregon Bach Festival, Kenneth will be lending his beautiful voice for three performances: Mozart Requiem on Friday, June 28; the highly-anticipated Bach in Motion on Friday, July 5; and C.P.E. Bach Magnificat on Tuesday, July 9.
The St. Louis Theater Circle award nominee recently completed a 10-city tour with The American Spiritual Ensemble, whose mission is to keep the American Negro Spiritual alive. “Whenever I have time, I love to tour with this amazing ensemble,” he said.
He also recently premiered a work by composer Adolphus Hailstork, a 20-minute chamber work for baritone and string quartet entitled Nobody Knows. It was written to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the first Africans arriving on United States soil and forced into slavery, with the text based on the man on the “other cross” next to Christ.
“I pursued it because it’s always an honor to be asked to do a world premiere, and the subject matter of the piece is very dear and personal to me,” Kenneth said.
Life Shapes Artistry
Looking back, Kenneth can definitely see and feel how his life experience has infused his art. There are certain roles that he has done over a long period of time that because he has dealt with certain obstacles in his life and he can bring that experience to the part. For example, Kenneth recently performed the lead role in Lost in the Stars by Kurt Weill after not having done it in a decade.
“As an African American man who has seen a lot in regards to police brutality and an unjust legal system, so many of the moments in that role rang much truer and more visceral than they did 10 years ago,” he said.
It’s one of the things about character study that is so exciting for Kenneth. In college, his opera workshop teacher would challenge the students to do character profiles of a “day in the life” of both the character and themselves in a typical day.
“It’s amazing what you discover,” Kenneth added.
Though every day can be different for this baritone, who has sung in 43 states and 20 countries, his daily mantra is something he learned from Judith Jamison, famous dancer of Alvin Ailey acclaim: “Pray, Prepare, Proceed.”
“This helps me stay grounded and focused every day,” Kenneth said. “I want people to remember that my work came from my heart, that it was sincere, and that I gave my all.”
Learn more about Kenneth Overton.
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