Singing

Imaginative, adventurous, and occasionally downright terrifying, audiences have found in Baritone, Daniel Klein an exciting example of versatility. As he evolves as an artist, so have the roles for which he has been called upon to interpret. He captured the psychological terror of Tosca’s villian Scarpia at Taconic Opera and then portrayed a complex Zurga struggling for nobility in their Les pecheurs de perles, he brought swagger and comic timing to Fresno Grand Opera’s Pirate King in Pirates of Penzance and a lascivious sleeziness as Rambaldo in Opera Company of Middlebury’s La Rondine. He will return to Taconic Opera this season as the title role in Nabucco, and Dr. Malatesta in Don Pasquale, as well as his premier with St. Petersburgh Opera as Count in Le nozze di Figaro in June.

Among his other roles are Shamrayeff in Pasatieri’s The Seagull with Dicapo Opera Theatre and the Armel Festival in Szged Hungary, John Proctor in IVAI Tel Aviv’s The Crucible, Basilio in Barber of Seville with Skylight Opera, Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor and the title role of Don Giovanni with Dell’Arte Opera, and Plunket in Flowtow’s Martha with the Liederkranz Opera Theater, and Verdi’s villains, Jago (Otello) and Count di Luna (Il Trovatore) at Taconic Opera,  Dick Deadeye (HMS Pinafore) with Lyric Opera of San Diego, Germont in La Traviata with Long Island Opera, Tonio in Pagliacci with the North Shore Music Festival.  He originated the role of Manfred Guyer in the stage premier of American Opera Project’s Lost Childhood and of Morris and Murray in Michael Sahls’ Dinner and Delusions at New York City Opera’s VOX Festival. With the New York City Drama Center, Mr. Klein premiered Thomas Toscano’s Il Peccato di Donna Santa. His voice can be heard in soundtracks by Emmy Award winning film composer James Michael Dooley.

In 2008, Mr. Klein was invited to join the Evelyn Lear and Tom Stewart Emerging Singers Program of the Wagner Society of Washington D.C. and appeared in their annual concert at the German Consulate in Washington D.C..  Also in 2008, Mr. Klein was given The Arthur & Mae Orvis Award at the Liederkranz Foundation Opera Competition, was finalist in the Violetta DuPont Opera at Florham Competition, semifinalist in the Hans Gabor International Singing Competition in Vienna Austria and a recipient of a Hagedorn Foundation grant.

In 2006, as part of Angels Vocal Arts Center he worked intensely in televised masterclasses with legendary tenor Carlo Bergonzi who upon hearing him said “This is truly a Verdian voice, absolutely.”  This culminated in a concert at the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center, Los Angeles which was broadcast throughout California on KSCI 18. Also in 2006, he attended the International Vocal Arts Institute in Tel Aviv, working with Sherril Milnes, Mignon Dunn, and Joan Dornemann.

Mr. Klein holds a Bachelors Degree in Vocal Performance from Carnegie Mellon University, and in 2002, he graduated from University of Southern California’s Flora L Thornton School of Music with a Masters in Vocal Arts, where he was elected by the faculty as the “Outstanding Graduate” of that year.  At USC he performed Dandini (La Cenerentola), Guglielmo (Cosi fan tutte), and Frank (Die Fledermaus). In 2003, he attended La Universita per Stranieri di Perugia, Italy and in 2004, attended Die Neue Schule, Berlin, Germany.

Mr. Klein is one of the founders and currently serves as the executive director of the North Shore Music Festival.  He is also an avid and award winning homebrewer and his beer will be competing in the finals of the Knight’s of Brooklyn Home Brew Sentry Competition this December.