"A star is born!" Such were the acclamations which greeted Keith Ikaia-Purdy's 1991 Hamburg Opera debut as WERTHER; the Berliner Morgenpost wrote further: "Seldom does a young tenor debut with such extravagant vocal riches." Five years later, in reviewing The Hamburg Opera Festival, Die Welt declared Ikaia-Purdy "one of the brightest stars in the tenor-heavens" - no small complement given that the same review addressed the contributions of his TOSCA colleagues Eva Marton and Sherill Milnes, as well as the performances of tenors Neil Shicoff (as José), Franciso Araiza (as Don Carlo) and Plácido Domingo (in recital and as conductor.) Now - evidenced by fifteen seasons of critically acclaimed performances upon the world's leading stages, in a range of repertoire of remarkable breadth - one is inevitably led to conclude that the "extravagant riches" once praised by the Berliner Morgenpost, are under-girded by exceptional technical acumen.
But above all else, Ikaia-Purdy's esteemed status is founded upon his marvelous tenor voice - described by the press as "opulently ringing," "of velvet-timbre" and "crowned by a thrilling, effortlessly produced upper range" - to which native gifts he brings a singular musicality - marked by impeccable taste and elegance of line- as well as an artist's sense of musical style: artistry seasoned and enriched by hundreds of performances alongside the world's finest musicians, conductors and colleagues.
Since the dawn of the new century, Ikaia-Purdy's career milestones have included:
- An internationally telecast LA BOHÈME under Philippe Jourdan, with the company of the German State Opera, Berlin on Christmas Day 2001 (ARTE);
- A February 2000 Metropolitan Opera debut as HOFFMANN - the New York Times praising the tenor's "youthful energy, arching phrasing and intelligence" and expressing gratitude for his "lyrical ardor, vocal agility and attractive sound";
- A September 2001 La Scala debut as Gaston in Verdi's JÉRUSALEM under Zubin Mehta - to quote La Repubblica : "the three principals (Furlanetto, Mescheriakova,) and the brazen tenor of Keith Ikaia-Purdy were outstanding;"
- A May 2002 invitation from Plácido Domingo for CARMEN with the Washington National Opera opposite Jennifer Larmore;
- A main stage Debut Recital, as well as performances of TOSCA with the Opera of Toulouse - Tout Toulouse wrote of the "triumph of the young American tenor," while La Croix du Midi named him "the real discovery... whose ample and generous voice - homogenous throughout the range, sparkling in its upper third - assure the young artist a fine future;"
- A summer 2002 debut in CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA at the Glimmerglass Festival - Andante Magazine finding his performance "among the best of the 2002 season."
- A triumphant October 2003 return to the Athens Megaron for I VESPRI SICILIANI alongside Chernov, Neves/Coelho and Burchaladze - Das Opernglas singling him out for exceptional praise: "The Hawaiian tenor sang the difficult role (of Arrigo) with fine legato and adroit piano culture, while possessing all of the requisite security-on-high as well as vocal carrying power. His supple phrasing distinguished him most agreeably ... ;"
- The Christmas 2004 international telecast and DVD release of "Christmas in Vienna" with colleagues I. Raimondi, Eröd and the Vienna Boys Choir (ORF); and
- A summer 2005 Festival "hat trick:" BUTTERFLY with the Schleswig-Holstein Festival; a "MET Stars" Opera Gala with the Rheingau Music Festival; and, an internationally broadcast Ravenna Festival performance of highlights from MEFISTOFELE under Riccardo Muti, with the Orchestra and Chorus of Florence's Maggio Musicale.
A Verdian Voice Rooted in Bel Canto Tradition
When, under the auspices of Carlo Bergonzi, Ikaia-Purdy made his European debut in the title role of Verdi's rarely seen "IL CORSARO," Il Corriere della Sera titled its laudatory review: "Dall'ukulele a Verdi" - "from the ukulele to Verdi." And while Ikaia-Purdy modestly claims no skill on the ukulele, the review's poetic title is not inapt; for, Ikaia-Purdy's "warm," typically Hawaiian voice is a natural fit for the works of Verdi. Fortunately this gift of Nature is fortified by the educational and experiential Nurture of the true artist, revealed both in the technical refinement of his tenor voice and, in his musicianly attention to the rhythmic architecture of Verdian - and indeed, all operatic - literature. It follows that Ikaia-Purdy is recognized as a leading specialist in the bel canto operas of Verdi's early period. Highlights from radio broadcasts of STIFFELIO, I DUE FOSCARI and CORSARO featuring the tenor in triumphant form, can be heard on Koch-Schwann's "Verdi in Ludwigsburg" CD. To date Ikaia-Purdy has performed fourteen of Verdi's operas - and, most particularly, those of Verdi's early period. (The number reaches sixteen, exclusive of the REQUIEM, if one includes earlier American performances!)
Like his teacher and paradigm Carlo Bergonzi, Ikaia-Purdy has undertaken a thorough study and regular performance of the bel canto operas of Verdi's great Italian predecessors, convinced that this alone provides the foundation upon which a Verdian singer must build his career. Critical success in roles such as Edgardo (LUCIA) Tebaldo (I CAPULETTI e I MONTECCHI,) Arnold (TELL) and Nemorino (ELISIR), as well in the song literature of the bel canto masters, exemplify his disciplined vocal approach, and account for the tenor's reputation as a singer of rare artistic refinement - preferring, against the trend, beauty of tone and melodic line over volume for its own sake. Thus he was quite pleased by the New Yorker magazine's qualified praise for "the Turiddu of Keith Ikaia-Purdy, a beautifully schooled Hawaiian tenor whose only fault was a purity of line that may have been a shade too elegant for the brute he was playing." Such "erring on the side of good taste and musical purity" explains as well his penchant for French operatic literature.
A Special Affinity for French Repertoire
Due to the brilliance of his upper register, mastery of dynamic shading and the dramatic, dark coloration of his freely ringing voice, from the onset of his career Ikaia-Purdy has enjoyed great success in the great lyric-dramatic roles of the French repertoire. In addition to serving to introduce him to the MET audience, HOFFMANN was the role of his triumphant Geneva Opera debut. Further significant French repertoire debuts have included CARMEN (José) in the Holland Festival under Riccardo Chailly, FAUST - the role of his celebrated debuts at both the Deutsche Oper, Berlin, and Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires; JÉRUSALEM, first under Mehta in Vienna, and later for his Carnegie Hall debut under Queler - one critic noting that in the great aria of Gaston "he brought the house down with his two high Cs". He went on to debut this rarely heard opera in both the Dresden Opera Festival and with the Frankfurt Opera. And, on New Year's Day 2004 he appeared from the Leipzig Gewandhaus in an internationally telecast French Opera Gala. Under the baton of Fabio Luisi, Ikaia-Purdy joined Dilber and Nadia Krasteva in a program of arias and duets from WERTHER, ROMEO et JULIETTE, HOFFMANN, LAKME and PECHEURS de PERLES. The Leipzig Volkszeitung review gets right to the point: "Great tenors are rare; Leipzig has now experienced one."
Neither brilliant high tones, nor voice alone, account for Ikaia-Purdy's extraordinary success in the French repertoire. The language itself has been a critical, even determinative factor in his success. The Frankfurt Allgemeine Zeitung spoke to this aspect of the tenor's art when he again sang JÉRUSALEM in 2003: "The fact that the male soloists delivered their French text at a minimally adequate level of understandability would not have been so apparent, had Keith Ikaia-Purdy not set such a high standard. The fact that one was able to understand every one of the tenor's words, and indeed, that even in the ensembles with the full orchestral accompaniment he was nevertheless able to communicate the slightest of emotional nuances, is simply fantastic!" WERTHER too has been a role long associated with Ikaia-Purdy; for in addition to being his "breakout role" in Hamburg, it introduced him to the operas of Leipzig, Stuttgart, Bucharest and Stockholm. Of the Stockholm debut, L'OPERA praised "una voce splendidissima." Later this season he returns to WERTHER in a new Robert Tannenbaum production in Karlsruhe. Finally in Vienna - where WERTHER has recently been added to his repertoire list, he has scored a great personal and artistic triumph in Rossini's impossible GUILLAUME TELL, appeared in Donizetti's FAVORITE - and most recently made his first appearance in the utterly complete 5 Act French original version of DON CARLOS. And finally, in February 2007 he will make his Barcelona, Liceu debut in a concert dedicated to Verdi's French Grand Opera- thus neatly combining his gifts as both a Verdian and French- schooled tenor.
"The Hawaiian on the Danube" Any consideration of the tenor's considerable international achievements must begin with a review of his activities in the theater which he has long called "home." In 1992 Ikaia-Purdy began his association with the legendary Vienna State Opera auspiciously: as Alfredo in TRAVIATA, with Guadagno in the pit, and the great Piero Cappucilli as his father. In the ensuing sixteen seasons, his Vienna
repertoire has come to include the leading tenor roles in: GUILLAUME TELL; BOHÈME; ELISIR; ROSENKAVALIER; HOFFMANN; BUTTERFLY; MANON; MACBETH; TOSCA; MEFISTOFELE; LUCIA; BALLO; JÉRUSALEM; DON CARLO (it.); DON CARLOS (fr.); BOCCANEGRA; FAVORITE; NABUCCO; and STIFFELIO among others. As of this date, he has sung more than 230 performances in Vienna - sharing the stage with the very finest of this generation's lyric artists; among them: Marton; Kabaivanska; Dessay; Gruberova; Rost; Coelho; Malfitano; Gauci; Frittoli; I. Raimondi; Isokoski; Guleghina; Crider; Gheorghiu; Vaness; Kirschlager; W. Maier; Zajick; Urmana; Nucci; Bruson; Hampson; Fondary; Michaels-Moore; Hvorostovsky; Milnes; Tichy; Pons; Ghiaurov; R. Raimondi; Morris; Scanduzzi; Furlanetto; Pertusi; Rydl; and Ramey; and performing under the baton of maestros such as Mehta; Muti; C. Kleiber; Guadagno; de Billy; Luisi; Viotti; Palumbo; Chaslin; Stein; Hager; and Sutej.
During his many seasons in the legendary "House on the Ring," Ikaia-Purdy has become one of Vienna's most respected, and - in a voice-category where it is
remarkably rare - most dependable tenor stars. His beautiful voice, spot-on musicianship, theatrical instinct, and - perhaps most importantly - his typically Hawaiian perpetually "even-keeled" temperament, have enabled critically successful, often last minute (and at times, mid-performance!) rescues of operas such as BOHÈME, FAVORITE, BALLO, LUCIA, DON CARLO (Ital.) and DON CARLOS (Fr.) A now famous example was his dramatic save of TOSCA for ailing colleague Luciano Pavarotti - rightly earning him thunderous ovations. So too, amid performances of JÉRUSALEM, he took on the brutally difficult role of Arnold in TELL, performing the public dress rehearsal - hence earning the tenor public acclaim, and the profoundest respect of his opera house colleagues. Ikaia-Purdy, one learns, is truly one of opera's "good souls," and for this among so many reasons, he has earned the genuine affection and respect of those with whom he has had the pleasure to work. Indeed, "respect" is a word often heard from stage partners and opera house staff when Ikaia-Purdy comes under discussion - respect for his success in an exceptionally wide repertoire; respect for his unfailing technical acumen; respect for his unfailingly modesty and even temperament; respect for his tireless - and manifestly fruitful - efforts to continually improve his performance skills, to rethink and revise his stage characterizations; and, finally, respect for the intelligence, care and patience with which he has managed to build his active operatic, concert and recital repertoire. For although famously affable, he long ago learned the value of saying a definite "no" to offers of repertoire - however financially attractive - which he feels would compromise his vocal health or jeopardize the quality of preexisting engagements.
In view of his many years of faithfulness to his "home theater" and the profound respect he feels for the State Opera's management team, as well as his on- and off-stage colleagues there, he is proud to have been referred to as "Vienna's house tenor" - and he smiles to read of "the Hawaiian on the Danube."
He returns to the theater later this season for TOSCA, and next season he will join Leo Nucci and Sondra Radvanovsky in his first Vienna performances as Arrigo in VESPRI.
The Grand Tour - In the two years immediately following his Italian debut as Verdi's CORSARO, Ikaia-Purdy began his European career in earnest as a member of the Wiesbaden Opera, first as Alfredo (TRAVIATA), later adding DON CARLO, FAUST, LUISA MILLER, RIGOLETTO, EVANGELIMANN and CAVALLERIA. It was during this same period that he debuted as 
WERTHER in Hamburg, subsequently adding there BOHÈME, CAPULETTI (opposite Agnes Baltsa), ROSENKAVALIER and WEST SIDE STORY. Since then Ikaia-Purdy has been on a Grand Tour of the world's leading operatic venues. For example, he was honored to appear as Alfredo in Zubin Mehta's first TRAVIATA as Musical Director in Munich. The Bavarian State Opera has also seen his BALLO, BOHÈME, BUTTERFLY and ROSENKAVALIER. Guest appearances have included: Covent Garden (ALZIRA); Zurich (BALLO, TRAVIATA and LUCIA); Geneva (HOFFMANN); Athens Megaron (VESPRI and LOMBARDI); the German Opera Berlin (BOHÈME, TRAVIATA, FAUST and BALLO); the State Opera Berlin (BOHÈME and BUTTERFLY); Strasbourg (DON CARLO); Leipzig (RIGOLETTO); Frankfurt (RIGOLETTO, JÉRUSALEM and ROSENKAVALIER);
Dresden (JÉRUSALEM and ROSENKAVALIER); Shanghai (DON CARLO); Ludwigsburg Festival (BALLO, STIFFELIO, LUISA MILLER, DUE FOSCARI, CORSARO, ATTILA, NABUCCO, DAMNATION de FAUST and the Verdi REQUIEM); Salzburg (DON CARLO); Bonn (TOSCA and TRAVIATA); Stuttgart (WERTHER, RIGOLETTO and ATTILA); Dusseldorf (BOHÈME, RIGOLETTO, LUCIA and CARLO); Liege (LUISA MILLER and LUCIA); Reims (LUCIA); Prague (VESPRI, ELISIR); Cologne (BOHÈME), Trieste (DON CARLO), Normandy (BALLO); Mannheim (CARMEN); St. Gallen (TOSCA, TRAVIATA and ATTILA); Pretoria (HOFFMANN); Timisoara (TOSCA and RIGOLETTO); Athens Festival (RIGOLETTO) Savonlinna Festival (RIGOLETTO); Solothurm Festival (DON CARLO); and the Torre del Lago Puccini Festival (BOHÈME). And following his 1999 engagement by the Metropolitan Opera as cover for Thomas Hampson in WERTHER, he was invited this make his house debut in 2000 as HOFFMANN.On the symphonic stage, Ikaia-Purdy has been heard with: Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic in Beethoven's MISSA SOLEMNIS; with Sir Colin Davis and the Dresden Staatskapelle in the Berlioz REQUIEM; with the Concertgebouw Orchestra in the Verdi REQUIEM under Chailly, and in LES TROYENS (Iopas) under De Waart; in "Das Lied von der Erde" with the Vienna State Opera Orchestra, under Simone Young, and with the Bochum Symphony under Steven Sloane; Bruckner's TE DEUM with the Dortmund Symphony under Arthur Fagin; and the Hague Residence
Orchestra in Beethoven's IX SYMPHONY. The tenor has further appeared with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Symphony, Frankfurt Symphony, South West German Radio Orchestra, the Hungarian Philharmonic, the Minneapolis Symphony, the Honolulu Symphony, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Johann-Strauss Orchestra (Wiesbaden); as well as with the Opera Orchestra of Sofia for a televised concert featuring "Stars of the Vienna State Opera." Further operatic concerts with artists such as Eve Queler, Fabio Luisi, Eliane Coelho, Lucia Aliberti, Miriam Gauci, Barbara Daniels, Ildiko Raimondi, Dilber, Alan Titus, Dmitri Hvorostovsky Sergei Leiferkus, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Hao-Jiang Tian, Martile Rowland, Franz Grundheber and the Vienna Choir Boys have also ensured his growing popularity. And, he now devotes an increasing portion of his performing schedule to recital, specializing in the French "melodie" and Italian art song literature of the "bel canto" period. As well as being featured in the SWR television film - "The Opera Star and the School Teacher", and as a guest host of "Nix wie raus in Hawaii," Ikaia-Purdy has been the subject of a portrait film "The Dream of Opera" under the auspices of award winning film director Lothar Spree, produced by Ilona Grundmann Film Productions. So too, his most recent Duke in Timisoara, alongside Leo Nucci in the title role of RIGOLETTO was broadcast live when the two represented the Vienna State Opera for a gala night performance. And, in addition to the above mentioned Koch-Schwann's CD "Verdi in Ludwigsburg," ORF has just released "Christmas in Vienna 2004" on DVD where he can be heard together with Vienna colleagues KS. Ildiko Raimondi, Adrian Eröd, members of the Vienna Symphony and the Vienna Choir Boys; and finally, he performs the Italian Tenor in Carlos Kleiber's critically acclaimed DER ROSENKAVALIER (DGG DVD). And on 30 April 2007 Naxos Records. Profil Edition will release the 2 CD set: Hector Berlioz's Großen Totenmess, Op. 5, featuring Ikaia-Purdy and the Staatskapelle Dresden under Sir Colin Davis.
- A Second Home ...
Since the beginning of the 2002 season Ikaia-Purdy has been adopted into a "second operatic home"- the Baden State Theater in Karlsruhe. Here, in a well managed company of exceptional singing actors, Ikaia-Purdy has been delighted to appear in celebrated new productions of LUISA MILLER, MEFISTOFELE, HOFFMANN and ELISIR, as well as revivals of LUCIA, CARMEN, BOHÈME, BUTTERFLY and TOSCA. The enthusiastic press and warmly appreciative public have made this new cooperation a source of great pleasure for the tenor -who has now accepted reengagement through at least the 2007-08 season. Last season he has added BOCCANEGRA; and just last week he did his first stage performances of 
TURANDOT. Future Karlsruhe plans include premieres as WERTHER, DON CARLO and as Alfano's rarely seen CYRANO de BERGERAC. The texts of articles and reviews quoted above may be found in the Press Reviews portion of this site.
Photos appearing in this article: 1) Private Portrait; 2) Placard for MET debut HOFFMANN; 3) Portrait of Giuseppi Verdi; 4) as Manrico, TROVATORE (Saarbruecken); 5) as WERTHER (Royal Opera, Stockholm); 6) Private Portrait in lei; 7) Vienna State Opera; 8) as Cavaradossi, TOSCA - with Renato Bruson (VSO); 9) Private Photo before CORSARO placard (Busseto, Italy); 10) Private Photo before DON CARLO placards (Wiesbaden International May Festival); 11) in concert with the Orchestre della Suisse Romande, Dilber, Sergei Leiferkus, Fabio Luisi (Victoria Hall, Geneva); 12) in concert with NDR Symphony; 13) Logo of Badisches Staatstheater; Karlsruhe; 14) as Rodolfo, LUISA MILLER (Karlsruhe.)