|
The Australian counter-tenor, Graham Pushee, studied voice with the tenor David Parker in Sydney. He made his stage debut in 1973 as Operon in Midsummer night's dream. At the 1977 Churchill Fellowship Award he was awarded the Special prize and went to London to study with Paul Esswood. After that he went to study at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis with Kurt Widmer and René Jacobs from 1978 to 1983.
Graham Pushee is regularly on stage as opera performer throughout Europe, USA, Australia. He has appeared at Sydney Opera House, Paris Opera, Berlin Staatsoper and Komische Oper, Le Monnaie Brussels, La Scala Milan, Grand Théâtre de Geneve, Los Angeles Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Teatro Regio Turin, Frankfurt Opera, Bavarian State Opera Munich, Cologne Opera, Opera de Lyon, Opera Montpellier, Théâtre de Champs Elysées, Opera North, and Opera Queensland. He has also particpated in renowned music festivals, such as Vienna Festwochen, Salzburg Festival, Innsbruck Early Music Festival, Karlsruhe, Göttingen, Maryland and Halle Händel Festivals, and Holland Festival.
Graham Pushee's repertoire is huge, encompassing: from Georg Frideric Handel's operas (having starred as Ruggiero in Alcina, Arsamenes in Xerxes, title roles in Giulio Cesare and Rinaldo, Goffredo in Rinaldo, and in Orlando, Poro, Agrippina, Tamerlano, Admeto, Scipione...) to Baroque and comtemporary opera (Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Apollo in Death in Venice). He has been described : "powerful, slightly harsh tone; very, very agile; very confident and commanding in performance; opera seria actor. Also capable of very moving tone in quiet ballads that shut up the coughers in the audience...Truly magical singing and theatre...". He received a MO Award, 1995, for "Operatic performer of the Year" and Green Room Award.
Recordings/Videos: Georg Philipp Telemann's Cantatas; G.F. Handel's Te Deum and Birthday Ode; G.F. Handel Arias; Antonio Vivaldi's Sacred Works; Cavalli's La Calisto; Reinhard Keiser's Croesus; Rossi's St Alessio; Giulio Cesare (AO); Vincent Lübeck's Cantatas; Colonna's Psalms; Bach and Pachelbel Motets; G.F. Handel's Tamerlano. |
