Pops Press

Tenor Carl Tanner to make Cleveland debut in program of Italian selections

Thursday, April 02, 2009 Donald Rosenberg Plain Dealer Reporter

Carl Tanner never intended to sing in the world's great opera houses. He grew up listening to country music, playing football and working jobs far removed from the artistic - bounty hunter and truck driver.

But family members and strangers urged the Virginia native with the big voice to pursue a career as a professional singer. The tenor moved to New York City in 1990 with a dream and $73 in his pocket. In recent years, he has sung with such opera companies as London's Covent Garden and Milan's La Scala.

Tanner, 46, makes his local debut Saturday at Severance Hall singing Italian arias and duets with the Cleveland Pops Orchestra under Carl Topilow. The program, "Bella Notte: The Magic and Romance of Italy," also features soprano Laura Pedersen.

As he talks about his career, Tanner gives the impression he's amazed to have traveled so far. While working as a singing waiter in a New York restaurant, he had a chance meeting with actor Robert Duvall that led to an introduction to Richard Gaddes of the Santa Fe Opera.

Tanner auditioned for the company, along with 50 other tenors, at the Manhattan School of Music. One of the pieces he sang was "O Holy Night."

"By the time I finished, they were all crying," Tanner said by phone recently from his home in Fairfax, Va. "I knew I had something there."

The audition led to a summer in Santa Fe and a contract with a manager who sent Tanner to opera companies in need of a tenor who could sing Puccini, Verdi and Bizet. He learned 22 roles in three years, including Calaf in "Turandot," which has become a staple of his repertoire, along with Don Jose ("Carmen") and Canio ("Pagliacci").

"My debut at La Scala was my 160th performance [as Don Jose]," he said. "I've sung 132 Calafs."

Tanner has served as a cover for the role of Don Jose at the Metropolitan Opera, and he sang two Calafs in New York parks with the company in 2003. He replaced Ben Heppner on short notice in the killing role of Menelaus in Strauss' "Die Aegyptische Helena" for performances and a Telarc recording.

In Cleveland, Tanner will sing Calaf's signature aria, "Nessun dorma," and other beloved pieces, including "Ingemisco" from the Verdi Requiem. Then he'll head to Germany's Dresden State Opera for Radames in "Aida" and sing his first Des Grieux in Puccini's "Manon Lescaut" in the Canary Islands.

He tackles his first Otello later this year, but not before a 15-performance run of Calafs in Barcelona, Spain.

"It's a role I love," Tanner said, "and it fits me like a glove right now."

To reach Donald Rosenberg:

drosenberg@plaind.com, 216-999-4269

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