Texas Opera Alliance names Ryan Speedo Green as its first Artist in Residence
Unique statewide residency program begins March 12
Outreach and performance events will include virtual visits to public schools, juvenile detention facilities, local conservatories, and more
(Austin, TX—March 1, 2021)—The Texas Opera Alliance today announces that acclaimed bass baritone Ryan Speedo Green will be its first Artist in Residence. Beginning Friday, March 12, and culminating with his performance at the end of the month in Austin Opera’s An All-Star Concert, Green will participate in a variety of outreach and performance programs for the Alliance’s five member companies: Austin Opera, The Dallas Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Houston Grand Opera, and OPERA San Antonio.
Green is renowned for his sensitive portrayals of a wide range of heroic roles on some of the world’s greatest stages. But he is also well known for his unique path in the opera world, an improbable journey that began in a juvenile detention facility and carried him from solitary confinement to stardom. Green’s gripping life story is the subject of a best-selling book, Sing for Your Life: A Story of Race, Music, and Family, which has recently been adapted for the stage.
“I am excited to spend these weeks in the great state of Texas, and I am grateful to partner with the wonderful companies who make up the Texas Opera Alliance as the very first artist in residence,” says Ryan Speedo Green. “Throughout my life, I’ve been very fortunate to have a series of mentors and educators who have guided me in my journey. I’m very happy to have the opportunity through this partnership to provide this same kind of mentorship to the young people of Texas. I’m hopeful that by sharing my journey during these events with young artists, incarcerated youth, and musicians from all walks of life, I can help them learn from my story and provide inspire the next generation.”
Green, who will be based in the capital city for his two-week residency, will use Austin Opera’s Indy Terrace rehearsal studio as the virtual home base for his activities, which will include classroom visits with students at Manor ISD in Austin; virtual classroom visits at DISD schools in Dallas as part of The Dallas Opera’s TDO Career Days program—in addition to a guest appearance
on TDO Network’s Taking the Stage with Kristian and Quo (date and time TBA at dallasopera.org); Fort Worth Opera will partner with the Tarrant County Pearls of The Society, Incorporated and I.M. Terrell Academy of STEM and VPA to provide a series of public master classes and career talks for their voice students in addition to Fort Worth Opera's Lesley Resident Artists, who will participate
in master classes with Green as well; in Houston, Green will teach the Bauer Family HSVS master class and participate in a roundtable discussion and mentorship with members of the HGO Studio; and OPERA San Antonio is coordinating master classes with voice students at The University of Texas at San Antonio, Trinity University, and The University of the Incarnate Word. He will also host a virtual welcome happy hour to introduce himself to the state community and convene an all-state meeting of the Alliance’s Teen Opera Club of Texas. An up-to-date list of Green’s events will be available at texasoperaalliance.org.
For a preview of Green’s artistry and life story prior to his arrival in the Lone Star State, a recent episode of Live from Indy Terrace—featuring Green and Bergner in conversation with Austin Opera General Director & CEO Annie Burridge—is available for on-demand viewing on the company’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.
About Ryan Speedo Green
A native of Suffolk, Virginia, bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green will soon make his Austin Opera debut in An All-Star Concert. Earlier this season, he sang the role of Jake in the Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess for his debut with Theatre an der Wien in Vienna and made his house debut with Opera Columbus in the stage version of his best-selling biography Sing for Your Life, written by New York Times journalist Daniel Bergner, which tells the story of his personal and artistic journey from a trailer park to a juvenile detention center of last resort to the stage of the Metropolitan Opera. Upon the publication of the book, Green was profiled on CBS News’s 60 Minutes. He is a graduate of the Met’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program and a winner of the 2011 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the 2021 Beverly Sills Artist Award; he appears regularly at the Met and at the Vienna State Opera, where he was a member of the ensemble for several seasons. He has also starred as Osmin in Mozart’s The Abduction from the Seraglio at Houston Grand Opera and as Escamillo in Carmen at OPERA San Antonio.
About the Texas Opera Alliance
Founded in 2020, the Texas Opera Alliance is a collaborative initiative of the five major Texas opera companies: Austin Opera, The Dallas Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Houston Grand Opera, and OPERA San Antonio. The mission of the Alliance is to advance and diversify the operatic art form through innovative production partnerships, audience-building initiatives, and collaborative investments in new works, ensuring that opera continues to thrive in the Lone Star State. Learn more at texasoperaalliance.org.
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Press Contact
Melysa Rogen, Austin Opera
512-610-7680
mrogen@austinopera.org