Ep. 9: Nathan Gunn

*All podcasts formerly on SoundCloud have now been redirected to Anchor.* I was very lucky to meet Nathan while starring in English National Opera's production of Lehár's classic operetta The Merry Widow. In this interview, we discuss his career and collegial friendships formed in London and the UK, his delightful but fully committed Wigmore Hall recital presented while in London, and his thoughts and approaches to singing and performance - and when Mandy Patinkin sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" to him in Yiddish during their two-man show in front of 10,000 people. Special thanks to: Staci Levine at Groundswell Theatricals for arranging the interview, and Nathan for additional arrangements - this interview was organised with two days' notice! Originally published on 30th March 2019. Interview recorded on 28th March 2019. Baritone Nathan Gunn has sung leading lyric baritone roles and appeared in several world premieres in many of the most renowned opera houses of the world including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Royal Opera House, Paris Opera, and Bayerische Staatsoper. Also a distinguished concert performer, Mr. Gunn has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra, and has been presented in recitals in New York, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, London, and Brussels. His discography includes Billy Budd (Virgin Classics), Rogers & Hammerstein’s Allegro (Sony Masterworks Broadway), Il Barbiere di Siviglia (SONY Classics), and his solo albums Just Before Sunrise (Sony/BMG Masterworks) and American Anthem (EMI). Mr. Gunn recently ventured outside the standard opera repertoire with performances of the title role in Sweeney Todd at the Houston Grand Opera, Camelot and Carousel with the New York Philharmonic, Show Boat at Carnegie Hall and the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Wonderful Town with the London Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Gunn is a professor of voice at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and General Director of the Lyric Theater @ Illinois. SoundCloud – @talkingclassicalpodcast Twitter – @tc_podcasts Facebook – @talkingclassicalpodcast YouTube - https://bit.ly/2WF4duy Blog – talkingclassicalpodcast.wordpress.com