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The American baritone, Constantine Novotny, obtained his Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, where he received Performance Aerts Award (2009-2013); his Master of Music degree in Opera Perfrmance from Wichita State University, where he also was Samuel Ramey Opera Fellowship recipient (2013-2015); and his Master of Sacred Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Notre Dame (2017-2019). His voice has been commended for its “clarity, expressiveness, and warm timbre” by San Francisco Classical Voice.
Constantine Novotny has performed with a variety of ensembles including the Apollo's Fire Singers (Director: Jeannette Sorrell), American Bach Soloists (Director: Jeffrey Thomas), American Classical Orchestra, Spire Chamber Ensemble, Musica Sacra, Audivi, Sounding Light, the Michigan Opera Theatre Chorus, the Bach Cantata Academy Ensemble, and the Carnegie Hall Chamber Chorale alongside The Tallis Scholars (2016). With the American Bach Soloists, he has performed J.S. Bach's St. Matthew Passion (BWV 244) one-on-a-part as the Choir II Bass (2019) and also been featured in a concert at San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral singing selections from Mondonville’s Cantate Domino (2019). He has performed as a featured soloist in Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers and J.S. Bach's B minor Mass (BWV 232) with Audivi, J.S. Bach's Sei Lob und Ehr BWV 117 and W.A. Mozart's Missa Brevis in F with the Monadnock Chorus, Haydn’s Paukenmesse with the UMS Choral Union, and various other ensembles across the USA.
Constantine Novotny has been frequently heard as a chorister and soloist at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Detroit, Michigan (since 2015), from 2018-2019 was the cantor at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Elkhart, Indiana. While living in New York City, he was a staff singer at the Church of St. Luke in the Fields (2021-2022), a nine-voice ensemble specializing in Renaissance and contemporary repertoire. The church also produced a concert series of which he was a featured soloist. These concerts included Membra Jesu Nostri by Dietrich Buxtehude and the Marian Vespers of Chiara Margarita Cozzolani. Other choral experiences include a previous staff appointment (Compostela Choir) at St. James Church of Manhattan (2019-2021), frequent substitutions with the Choir of Men & Boys at St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, and the School Cantorum of St. Vincent-Ferrer, a production of W.A. Mozart's Requiem with Musica Sacra, George Frideric Handel's Messiah with The Apollo's Fire Singers and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, J.S. Bach's Easter Oratorio (BWV 249) & Jesu meine Freude (BWV 227) with the American Classical Orchestra, and Talbot’s Path of Miracles with Audivi.
Operatic highlights include the title role in W.A. Mozart's Don Giovanni (2017, with characters and sets based on Rocky Horror Picture Show) and Sid in Benjamin Britten's Albert Herring (2016) with Opera MODO, Dottore Grenvil in La Traviata with Arbor Opera Theater, Gueusselin in Michigan Opera Theatre’s production of Kevin Puts’ Silent Night (2016). He regularly performed operatic roles during his academic studies, especially at Wichita State University, where he performed and coached the title role of W.A. Mozart's Don Giovanni alongside renowned bass-baritone Samuel Ramey as the Samuel Ramey Fellowship Award recipient. With Opera Notre Dame, he performed Aeneas in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas (2018) and as the Pirate King in Pirates of Penzance (2019); and with South Bend Lyric Opera as Peter in Engelbert Humperdinck's Hansel und Gretel.
Constantine Novotny is also the principal songwriter, lead singer, pianist, and guitarist of the indie-rock band The Sundots. They have performed in venues all over New York City and the Metro-Detroit area and have currently released two LP's and one EP available on all streaming platforms. He also composes choral works and keyboard pieces. He currently lives in New York City, New York. |
