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William Stone, baritone, lends his warm and powerful baritone to the creation of elegant and stylish interpretations of repertoire ranging from Mozart to Berg, with a special emphasis on the Bel Canto masterworks. His performances in concert and opera are equally acclaimed throughout the world. OTMFL is pleased to welcome Mr. Stone back for his second season with us in 2007.
An American artist, Mr. Stone’s engagements at the major opera houses in North America are impressive. Having joined the Metropolitan Opera roster for the title role of Wozzeck, Mr. Stone returned to the company for his stage debut as Capulet in Roméo et Juliette, and performances in Die Fledermaus (Falke), and in the new production of Moses und Aron conducted by James Levine and directed by Graham Vick. He performed Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor (conducted by Edoardo Müller) and Sharpless in Madama Butterfly (conducted by Julius Rudel) in the popular Met in the Parks series, as well. In season 2000-2001 he was responsible for the role of Germont in La Traviata at the Metropolitan Opera and in season 2001-2002 he performed John Plake in the new Metropolitan Opera production of Sly with Placido Domingo.
His long association with the Lyric Opera of Chicago began with his creation of the role of Adam in the world premiere of Penderecki’s Paradise Lost and continued with the title role in a new production of Il barbiere di Siviglia, as Schaunard in La bohème, and most recently as Sharpless in Madama Butterfly. He joined the Canadian Opera Company for the first time as Iago in Otello, directed by Shakespeare expert Robin Phillips and conducted by General Director, Richard Bradshaw. His appearances at the New York City Opera reflect most of the leading roles in his repertoire (Germont in La traviata, the Count in a televised performance of Le nozze di Figaro, the title role in Il barbiere di Siviglia and Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor) and include particularly memorable performances in the title role of a new production of Hindemith’s Mathis der Maler, which followed a new production of Busoni’s Doktor Faust, both conducted by Christopher Keene. The baritone’s Washington Opera debut was as John Sorel in Menotti’s The Consul, directed by the composer, and his Seattle Opera debut was as the Marquis de Posa in Don Carlos. In addition, Mr. Stone has appeared with the opera companies of Atlanta, Austin, the Berkshires, Chautauqua, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Mobile, Omaha, Orlando, Philadelphia, Portland, San Francisco and Santa Fe. He also performed at the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto in Charleston (SC). With the Washington Concert Opera, he performed as the Duke of Nottingham in Roberto Devereaux, and as Stankar in Verdi's Stiffelio, conducted by Antony Walker. The Washington Times reviewed his performance as a “sensation…A singer of impressive range and expression, Mr. Stone gave a beautifully balanced, thrilling reading of Verdi’s demanding arias.” He participated in Alessandro Siciliani’s farewell concert performance of Turandot at the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and performed Germont in a concert-version of La traviata with the Greater Bridgeport Symphony under Music Director Gustav Meier.
William Stone is one of the only American baritones in recent years to have sung extensively in the major opera houses of Italy, having twice opened the May Festival in Florence, as Wozzeck and as Oreste in Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride, conducted by Riccardo Muti. He returned to Florence as Jack Rance in La fanciulla del West, in performances conducted Yoel Levi. At the Rome Opera he appeared as the title role in Eugene Onegin, Golaud in Pelléas et Mélisande and Malatesta in Don Pasquale. Other Italian opera engagements include Ezio opposite Samuel Ramey in Attila at La Fenice (telecast throughout Europe), and leading roles at La Scala, the Teatro Giuseppe Verdi in Trieste, and the San Carlo in Naples. For three summers he also performed at the Spoleto Festival in Italy, where he was seen in the world premiere of Napoli Milionaria, directed by Eduardo de Filippo. He has appeared at Genoa’s Teatro Carlo Felice as David in Mascagni’s L’Amico Fritz, and returned to Genoa as Sharpless in a production of Madama Butterfly which was directed by Renata Scotto and conducted by Bruno Bartoletti. In spring 2006 he will perform the role of the Doctor in Barber’s Vanessa at the E.A. Teatro Massimo in Palermo.
Frequently engaged in Belgium, the baritone made his stage debut as Germont in the highly acclaimed Karl Hermann production of La traviata at the Théâtre Royale de la Monnaie in Brussels. He has since been re-engaged by the theater for the title role in Simon Boccanegra, Ford in Falstaff, Alfonso XI in La favorita, Chorebe in Les Troyens, and Renato in Un ballo in maschera. At the De Vlaamse Opera in Antwerp, he gave his first performances of Jack Rance in La fanciulla del West and Michele in Il tabarro as part of Robert Carsen’s Puccini celebration. Prior portrayals in Antwerp included Ezio in Attila, and Don Carlo di Vargas in La forza del destino.
Mr. Stone performed the Count in Le nozze di Figaro on a Chamber Orchestra of Europe tour conducted by Sir Georg Solti. In addition to these appearances with Maestro Solti in London, Paris and Cologne, Mr. Stone appeared as Sharpless in a Robert Wilson production of Madama Butterfly at the Opéra National de Paris (Opéra Bastille), Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia in Stuttgart, Germont in La traviata in Frankfurt and in Nantes, Ford in Falstaff (telecast from the Aix-en-Provence Festival) and as Rodrigo in Don Carlos at the Netherlands Opera in Amsterdam. He recently performed Jack Rance in La fanciulla del West in an Opera Zuid production that was directed by Christopher Alden and conducted by Ed Spanjaard and toured throughout The Netherlands. His Wexford Festival debut in Ireland was as Bois-Gilbert in Marschner’s rarely performed opera Der Templer und die Jüdin. Mr. Stone’s debut at Toulouse’s Théâtre du Capitole was as Sharpless in Madama Butterfly.
A distinguished concert artist, William Stone is sought after as baritone soloist by every major orchestra in North America. His relationship with the Atlanta Symphony and Robert Shaw resulted in acclaimed performances of the choral works of Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Handel, Hindemith, Mahler, Mendelssohn and Mozart, many of which were recorded by Telarc. He made his debut with the New York Philharmonic under Kurt Masur in performances of Carmina Burana, followed by performances of the Bach B-minor Mass and the St. Matthew Passion, also with Maestro Masur. Recently, he performed the Britten War Requiem with the San Francisco Symphony with Maestro Masur, returning to the orchestra later in the season for Handel’s Messiah conducted by Christopher Seaman. At the 1998 Lincoln Center Festival he appeared in the American premiere of Penderecki’s Seven Gates of Jerusalem, (conducted by Kurt Masur). His debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Seiji Ozawa in the North American premiere of Takemitsu’s My Way of Life led to his invitation to return to the orchestra the next season for the world premiere of Kirchner’s Of Things Exactly As They Are, also with Maestro Ozawa. Mr. Stone has also appeared with the American Symphony Orchestra (conducted by Leon Botstein), the Baltimore Symphony, Canton Symphony (conducted by Gerhardt Zimmerman), Cincinnati Symphony (conducted by James Conlon), Charlotte Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra (conducted by Christoph von Dohnányi), Columbus Symphony (conducted by Alessandro Siciliani), Dallas Symphony (conducted by Claus Peter Flor), Fargo-Moorhead Symphony (conducted by Joel Revzen), Florida Orchestra, Florida Philharmonic, Honolulu Symphony, Houston Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic (conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen), Milwaukee Symphony (conducted by Patrick Summers), Mostly Mozart Festival (conducted by Gerard Schwarz), Music of the Baroque, Napa Valley Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic (conducted by Christopher Seaman), San Antonio Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Seattle Symphony, and St. Luke’s Chamber Orchestra (conducted by Julius Rudel) and the Utah Symphony (conducted by Keith Lockhart). This season he will perform Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the University of North Carolina Symphony.
Prior European concert engagements included Britten’s War Requiem under Bruno Bartoletti at the Maggio Musicale in Florence. Mr. Stone performed with the RAI in Milan, the Accademia Santa Cecilia in Rome and gave a command performance for Pope John Paul II at the Vatican. He was also heard in Musorgsky’s Salammbô in a performance taped for broadcast on Dutch Radio.
In recent seasons Mr. Stone has appeared more frequently in recital. Particularly memorable performances include his New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in Wolf’s Italienische Liederbuch with soprano Benita Valente and pianist David Golub, the opening of the Tisch Center for the Arts Schubertiade in a program of Schubert songs, and his debut with The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in a program including the Brahms Serious Songs marking Brahms’s 100th anniversary year. He also opened the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences with a world premiere performance of Robert Ward’s Cherish Your Land. Mr. Stone was recently honored in his hometown of Goldsboro, North Carolina with a concert that provided a retrospective of his career to date. The William F. Stone Endowment Fund to promote music education and activities in the area was established as a result of the event. The A.J. Fletcher Foundation has also televised his masterclasses throughout North Carolina for the benefit of aspiring young vocalists. Recently, he gave a masterclass at The Juilliard School which was well-received. In fall 2005, while continuing to pursue his performance career, William Stone will join the faculty of Temple University as Professor of Voice.
In addition to the audio-visual taping of his portrayal of Ford in Falstaff from the Aix-en Provence Festival and Ezio in Attila from La Fenice (both telecast throughout Europe), he has been seen on opera telecasts throughout Poland and Mexico. His performance of the Count in Le nozze di Figaro was seen on a “Live From Lincoln Center.”
William Stone has recorded Musorgsky’s Salammbô for CBS with the RAI di Milano, Mozart’s C Minor Mass, Schubert’s Mass in G, Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast and Bach’s Magnificat with the Atlanta Symphony, and he can be heard on the 1988 Grammy Award Winning Telarc recording of Hindemith’s When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomed, also with the Atlanta Symphony and Robert Shaw. Mr. Stone also appears as soloist on the acclaimed Atlanta Symphony recording of the Mahler Eighth Symphony released by Telarc, and on a solo recording of Arias and Songs by Robert Ward available on the Bay Cities label.
Mr. Stone resides in his native North Carolina with his wife Bonnie.
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