Baritone Pyatnychko debuts with San Francisco Opera
SAN FRANCISCO - Ukrainian baritone Stephan Pyatnychko made his debut with the San Francisco Opera as Amonasro in "Aida" in a nine-performance run that opened June 7 and runs through July 1.
Since his appearance on the international operatic scene six years ago, Mr. Pyatnychko continues to make important debuts and appear in new productions. His most recent appearance was in a new production of "Don Carlo" opposite José Cura at the Zurich Opera in January and February, which was preceded by his debut there in November 2000 as Manfredo in Montemezzi's "L'Amore dei Tre Re" opposite Samuel Ramey, once again in a new production.
Mr. Pyatnychko was born in 1963 in the village of Hnylovody in the Ternopil region of Ukraine. He began his vocal studies at the Lysenko Conservatory in Lviv, and upon graduation in 1987 became the house baritone for the Ivan Franko Opera Theater in his native Lviv for several years.
His first offers in the West came as covers for Paris Bastille in "Simone Boccanegra" and "Lucia di Lammermoor" in 1991, a year that brought him to the United States in a special gala concert for the Baltimore Opera.
His European debut took place in 1996 in the title role of "Rigoletto" for the Geneva Opera, followed by his American operatic debut as Count di Luna in "Il Trovatore" for the Baltimore Opera later that season.
During the summer of 1997 Mr. Pyatnychko made his debut at the Bregenz Festival, Austria, in Rubenstein's "The Demon," in the title role that he reprised at the Konzerthaus in Vienna. He returned to the Bregenz Festival in 1998 in Montemezzi's "L'Amore dei Tre Re," and yet again in "Un Ballo in Maschera" in the summer of 2000.
In an interview conducted recently in Lviv, Mr. Pyatnychko spoke of a project he would very much like to see realized: the Solomea Krushelnytska State Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet (formerly, the Ivan Franko National Theater of Opera and Ballet) of Lviv performing Yuliy Meytus', "Ukradene Schastia," ("Stolen Happiness," based on Ivan Franko's drama), on the famed floating stage at the Bregenz Festival.
In New York the baritone made his debut at Carnegie Hall in November of 1999 in Donizetti's previously unknown "Adelia" opposite Mariella Devia and Paul Plishka with the Opera Orchestra of New York under Eve Queller.
On September 7, Mr. Pyatnychko returns to San Francisco where he will open the season at the San Francisco Opera in the title role of "Rigoletto."
A frequent visitor to his homeland, the baritone will appear with the National Orchestra of Folk Instruments, under the direction of Y. Hutsalo, at the National Philharmonic in Kyiv in November.
A CD recording of the performance of Montemezzi's "L'Amore dei Tre Re" at the Bregenz Festival in 1998 has come out on the Koch Schwann label.
Mr. Pyatnychko is represented by George M. Martynuk, Public Relations & Artists Management, of New York.
Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, June 10, 2001, No. 23, Vol. LXIX
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