Rare is the raw talent with the fortitude to surmount every obstacle separating an impossible dream from success. Operatic tenor Carl Tanner is the exception. Spurred by his love of music, a rich “spinto” (lyric and dramatic) tenor voice and encouragement from expert admirers along the way, he traveled a long, circuitous route from Arlington’s Washington-Lee High School chorus to stardom on world stages.
This week he returns home to perform a benefit for Aurora Opera Theatre (formerly Opera Company of Northern Virginia), which gave him his first professional role in Puccini’s “Edgar.” He will be joined in the program featuring favorite arias and duets by Wagnerian baritone Philip Horst, soprano Paula Delligatti and Scottish soprano Lesley Craigie. They will be accompanied by pianist Patrick O’Donnell.
| ONSTAGE |
| Carl Tanner |
| » Where: Rosslyn Spectrum Theatre at Artisphere |
| » When: 8 p.m. Friday |
| » Info: $40; instantseats.com |
“When John Edward Niles offered me that role, the opera had never been staged,” Tanner said, speaking from Germany. “Puccini’s granddaughter, his only living relative, accepted an invitation to attend. That put Northern Virginia Opera Company on the map and set the way for other companies to perform that opera. Domingo heard the recording of ‘Edgar’ that I made 25 years later in France and recorded it also”
Now 48, the Redskins fan and international star still calls Arlington home. Following summer apprenticeships with Santa Fe Opera in 1992 and 1993, Tanner set forth on the career he had dreamed about. By 2004, Virginia’s native son had made his Washington National Opera debut as Samson in Saint-Saens’ “Samson et Dalila” and was a regular on European, American and Japanese stages. None of the 40 roles in his repertoire is in more demand than his signature role, Dick Johnson in “La Fanciulla del West,” which he performed for his Metropolitan Opera debut in January to a standing ovation at curtain call. Appropriately, the romantic bandit hero of the role that fits him like a glove embodies the daring Tanner exhibited as a bounty hunter.
“Some of the other highlights of my career have been my La Scala debut in ‘Carmen’ and the role of Canio the clown in the New York City Opera Production of ‘Pagliacci.’ I went there directly from Aurora to be their main tenor for seven or eight years and am saddened to learn that they are having trouble. I’m doing this benefit to let people know that small companies like Aurora are vital because they introduce young talent who can forge great careers.”
