Montreal-born bass-baritone Taras Kulish performs in North America, Europe (11/06/05)

Montreal-born bass-baritone Taras Kulish performs in North America, Europe

MONTREAL - Canadian Ukrainian bass-baritone Taras Kulish, who made his Canadian opera debut in 1992 as a member of the Montreal Opera young artists' ensemble, has been engaged in a successful career performing with opera companies and orchestras across Canada, the United States and in Europe.

On November 6 Mr. Kulish will appear at the Oseredok Ukrainian Cultural Center in Winnipeg in a concert of Ukrainian opera arias, and French and English songs. The second half of the concert program will feature the songs of Bohdan Wesolowsky (1915-1971), with Mr. Kulish accompanied by a pianist, a guitarist and a bandoneon player.

Mr. Kulish made his U.S. debut at the Tanglewood Music Festival in 1996 in the role of Hobson in the opera "Peter Grimes" by Benjamin Britten under world-renowned conductor Seiji Ozawa. His European operatic debut was in 2002 in France and Belgium in the title role of "Don Giovanni" under the stage direction of film director Gérard Corbiau ("Farinelli").

Mr. Kulish's recent performances in Canada this year have included a return to the Opera Lyra Ottawa as Luther, Crespel and Shlemil in "The Tales of Hoffman," and another return to the Manitoba Opera, where he sang the roles of Sparafucile and Monterone in "Rigoletto."

Returning to Europe last spring, Mr. Kulish sang the role of Prince Gremin in "Eugene Onegin" in the Czech Republic.

Having a real flair for comic roles, Mr. Kulish made a role debut in February 2004 at Opera Saskatchewan as Don Magnifico in "La Cenerentola."

Mr. Kulish's performances have received critical acclaim for, among other attributes, "exemplary diction and a warm masculine bass-baritone, charming the audience with his thespian antics" (Opera News) and "impressive projection and rich timbre" (Opera Canada Magazine).

His recitals this season included a concert at the The Washington Group Cultural Fund Music Series, held in cooperation with the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington.

Most recently, Mr. Kulish appeared with the Manitoba Opera Company in "La Bohème," in the role of Colline, with performances held at the Centennial Theater in Winnipeg on October 29, November 1 and 4.

On November 18 Mr. Kulish will be in Quebec where he will sing as bass soloist in "The Messiah" with L'Orchestre Symphonique de Trois Rivières.

In 2006 Mr. Kulish returns to the Montreal Symphony Orchestra as bass soloist in Nielsen's 3rd Symphony, and in the fall of 2006 he returns to Calgary Opera as Don Magnifico in "La Cenerentola."

The popular songs of Mr. Wesolowsky - an array of tangos, waltzes, foxtrots and rumbas composed between 1930 and 1970 - form part of Mr. Kulish's general repertoire. (For a biographic sketch of Mr. Wesolowsky, see sidebar).

According to Mr. Kulish, Mr. Wesolowsky's ouevre, some 150 songs, constitute a wealth of repertoire to explore and make popular again as they were throughout the 1950s and '60s - a retro style of music that is very popular today.

Among Wesolowsky's songs were such hits as "Pryide Sche Chas" (The Time Will Come), "Lety Tuzhlyva Pisne" (Song of Longing) and "Namaliuy Meni Nich" (Paint Me The Night).

Mr. Kulish is in the process of recording a selection of Mr. Wesolowsky's songs on a CD. He also plans to undertake a tour of Canada and the United States with this repertoire next summer.

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A native of Montreal, Mr. Kulish completed musical studies at McGill and University of Toronto and, as a young artist, he received professional training at l'Opéra de Montréal and Vancouver Opera. He was a finalist at the Belvedere International Opera Competition in Vienna and has been a recipient of grants from the Canada Council, the Jacqueline Desmarais Foundation and the Martha Lou Henley Foundation.

Highlights from Mr. Kulish's concert work include repeat appearances with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Metropolitan Orchestra and various recital societies throughout Canada and the United States.

His oratorio experience includes Handel's "Messiah" with the Vancouver Bach Choir, the Vancouver and Edmonton symphonies, Beethoven's 9th Symphony with the Victoria Symphony, and Bruckner's Mass in F minor as invited soloist with the University of Ottawa Choral Society.

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