Cast Corner (International) - Joel Cummings (Tenor)

For our second installment of Cast Corner we are happy to introduce one of our two Alfreds. One of a handful of our "International Guests", Seattle based Tenor, Joel Cummings will be joining us for the first time on the VanCOCO stage!

A graduate of the North England Conservatory (Masters of Music), Joel already has a plethora of credits to his name including Giuseppe (La Traviata), Fernando (Cosi fan tutte), and Tamino (Die Zauberflöte) just to name a few.

Joel with his beautiful bride Jaci.

In speaking with Joel we were pleased to discover that he is a true singing actor and is digging deep to bring to an honest and realistic character to the stage.

We always want to know what makes an opera singer tick and so we are always interested in the answer to this question...

Q: How did you get started with opera?

A: During my freshman year at Pacific Lutheran University, I attended the Opera Workshop performance of Die Fledermaus. The Rosalinda was Angela Meade, who made her Metropolitan Opera debut a couple years ago and is now an international star. She was good back then too. I was so blown away, and after talking with my teacher, I decided I was "all in", and the rest is history.

Q: We all have a guilty pleasure when it comes to our listening tastes, what do you enjoy listening to that we might find surprising? 

A: Renee Fleming singing Over the Rainbow.

Q: What excites you most about this show?

A: The play between the characters, specifically in the Jail Scene at the end. I just love ad-libbing on stage and playing with my stage colleagues, and this show calls for that quite a bit. 

Last question Joel... (for now anyway)

Q: Who are your musical mentors (Teachers, coaches, etc) and what is it about them that inspires you?

A: My current teacher is Erich Parce, who had a great career internationally as a baritone, most notably at The Metropolitan Opera. He has turned to directing now, and I love how obsessed he is with honesty as a singer. Sometimes we can get caught up in the act of singing and think we're fooling our audience with big, loud notes, but in reality when we are honest and truly feel the music and the character, that's when we get the best response.

Joel is "happy and excited" to be bringing to life the the wit and charm of "Alfred the Opera Singing Tenor" and we can't wait to get to know him through the rehearsal process and to share his beautiful tenor voice with our audience. We're confident our audience will leave this show humming a tune or two and thinking to themselves... Wow! Those characters were alive and vibrant!

Don't miss your chance to hear Joel make his VanCOCO debut! He will be performing the role of Alfred on Friday, January 4th (in Vancouver) and on Sunday, January 6th (in White Rock). 

And remember that Opera Tickets make great Stocking Stuffers! 

Click HERE to get yours today!