Kyle Stegall, tenor

Kyle Stegall’s flexible and stylish artistry has been a powerful presence on concert and opera stages around the world.  Celebrated for the astonishing diversity of his repertoire, he lends the same penetratingly emotive artistry to music spanning Bach evangelists, leading tenor roles in the works of Mozart and the masters of the Bel Canto Era, and operatic world-premieres.  

 

Acclaimed for bringing new music to life, Mr. Stegall’s forthcoming album of song sets by living composers for Centaur Records will include Harry Sdraulig’s Visions of Judgement, Adolphus Hailstork’s Four Romantic Love Songs, Anne Cawrse’s Songs of Sorrow, Rosephanye Powell’s Miss Wheatley’s Garden, and B.E. Boykin’s Desert Songs. Kyle was lauded for “delivering the entire role with tonal sweetness and expressive urgency” (San Francisco Chronicle) when he created the role of ‘Tomasso’ in Laura Schwendinger’s Artemisia, in a production supported by the national endowment for the arts.  

 

On the concert stage, Mr. Stegall has performed as guest soloist with ensembles across the world under celebrated conductors such as William Christie (Les Arts Florissants), Manfred Honeck (Pittsburgh Symphony), Masaaki Suzuki (Bach Collegium Japan), Matilda Hofman (Left Coast Chamber Ensemble), Stephen Stubbs (Boston Early Music Festival), Mark Dupere (Philharmonie Austin), Matthew Dirst (Ars Lyrica), Nic McGegan (Philharmonia Baroque), Dana Marsh (Washington Bach Consort), and Kathleen Allan (Amadeus Choir), among many others. 

 

Known especially for his portrayals of the Bach Evangelists, Mr. Stegall studied under legendary evangelist singer James Taylor at the Institute for Sacred Music, Yale University. There, he was a member of the highly-selective Artist Diploma program, a program which admits and graduates no more than two artists per year.  He was given Yale’s Margot Fassler Performer’s Award following his debut at Lincoln Center-Manhattan singing evangelist in Bach’s St. John Passion. Performances of Bach’s Weihnachts-Oratorium, Matthaeus-Passion, and Johannes-Passion pepper every season, along with performances of cantatas with the American Cantata Collective project, which aims over its seasons to perform the complete cantata cycles of J.S. Bach in an historically-informed consort arrangement.  

 

In the opera theater, Mr. Stegall’s repertoire is distinguished for its breadth and his stagework for its depth.  Whether performing repertoire 0f the early Baroque, the leading tenors of Mozart and Bel Canto masterpieces,  or character tenors in the works of Wagner, Kyle is a popular choice for his ability as a singer-actor to “absorb viewers into the action so that they became characters in the drama themselves, something which is rarely achieved in opera” (San Francisco Classical Voice).

His staged performances  have been hailed for their clear and affecting character and sonority:

 “An appealing hero, his voice arcing beautifully in the top register and his acting full of youthful ardor” (OperaWire).

“Tenor Kyle Stegall’s voice rang out clearly, even though the venue doesn’t have ideal acoustics.” (The Opera Tattler)

“Kyle Stegall, a tall tenor with a clear and appealing voice, sang gracefully and with meaning.” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch). 

 

Mr. Stegall’s flexible singing makes him a popular artist for stagings of Baroque gems.  His most recent recording with Boston Early Music Festival of Henri Desmaret’s “Circé” was recorded for Radio Bremen Studios, and then premiered with stage direction by Gilbert Blin at the Cutler Theatre. Artistically and vocally secure in the haute-contre repertoire of the French Baroque, Mr. Stegall was written up by Opera News when he was engaged as a guest artist with the Juilliard School to sing the title role in their production of Rameau’s Hippolyte et Aricie, for the “clarity and urgency” brought to to the role as “a handsome, dashing Hippolyte” while Musical America called Kyle “a first-rate, genuine haute-contre.”

 

A committed recitalist, Mr. Stegall was twice invited to be a performance fellow with the Britten-Pears Programme at the Aldeburgh Music Festival. There, he studied Schubert song with Christoph Prégardien, and Britten song with Ian Bostridge.  He has since performed all works by Britten written for tenor and piano, as well as the Horn Serenade, notably under the direction of Maestro Kathleen Allan. Mr. Stegall and Fortepianist, Eric Zivian hold a long-standing relationship with the Valley of the Moon Music Festival, where they have performed a wide-range of underrepresented Romantic chamber repertoire.  Their album Myrtle and Rose drew international attention, launching the duo’s reputation as distinctive interpreters of song, Gramophone calling Kyle “a passionate and engaged communicator.”

 

Fortunate to have been mentored by such artists as Caroline Helton, Martin Katz, Ann Harrell, and Ted Taylor, Mr. Stegall commits himself to the development of young artists through Masterclasses and vocal coaching.  He is a proud alumnus of the Universities of Yale, Michigan, and Missouri.