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“THE VIEW FROM THE STAGE”: the Tenor speaks … |
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The tenor's first musical experiences were modestly garnered as a choir baritone with the Concert Glee of Hawaii's internationally famous Kamehameha Schools. So, when asked today where he began his musical training - rather than naming a university or conservatory - he answers without hesitation "in the choir at Kamehameha." And while he insists that he garnered no acclaim whatsoever as a singer there, he proudly concedes that the character of his voice today was already evident then - being, in his words "typically Hawaiian in timbre and range: standard issue Hawaiian." It was as an "undistinguished Concert Glee member" that he was invited to sing in the chorus of Hawaii Opera for MEFISTOFELE and RIGOLETTO. His interest was piqued, but strictly as a new audience member, increasingly avid record collector and fan. (He remains all three.)
It was only during university in southern California that his remarkable vocal potential was discovered - and that "quite by accident" when he was cast in a role requiring him to sing. His auditors promptly persuaded him to add "vocal performance" as a major. He was soon performing such diverse baritone parts as Papageno (ZAUBERFLÖTE) and Scarpia (TOSCA), as well as doing the bass solos (!) in THE MESSIAH in college and regional productions. (In typically modest fashion, he completed his degree in Business Administration "should opera not pan out.")
By the time he graduated from Redland's University, he had earned a fine regional reputation, as well as amassing numerous operatic performance awards and study grants. However, even though scholarship juries were unanimous in their praise for the quality of Ikaia-Purdy's baritone voice, individual jurors were increasingly suspicious of its categorization. So, after fulfilling his remaining engagements, he "retired" to the San Francisco Bay Area where, while supporting himself variously as a computer data entry clerk, bank teller, chorus singer, theater usher and "whatever-else-came-along," he began the difficult work of retraining his voice as a tenor.
At this point in the discussion of "himself" Ikaia-Purdy is growing increasingly uncomfortable. In fact, it turns out "the whole idea of a homepage makes me very uneasy - mostly because it could lead to the false impression that, if I have had some  success in my career, it was of my own making. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The one thing I want to make sure is that the new site gives credit where it's due. I have always been lucky - blessed really - with the right folks helping me at the right time. My applause is for them."
... Now a tenor: Maestros Gregg, Olla &Bergonzi
Retraining as a tenor was just such a time - when the right folks stepped up. But finding the right teacher for this
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