Rabbi Richard Allen

I have a wide range of interests, including Philosophy, Religion, Travel, Biography, History and Languages but singing was the basis of my initial career. I hold a B.A. in Pre-Law Business Administration/Modern Foreign Languages/Voice. My M.A. is in the Humanities (French and Voice). My Ph.D. is in French Literature, from the Sorbonne (Paris).

A desire to serve humanity compelled me to give up my 22-year operatic career as a leading baritone and return to the pulpit as a cantor. I was ordained a rabbi in 1997 and specialize in pre-marital counseling, pastoral counseling, drug-and-alcohol counseling, and chaplaincy. I officiate at Jewish, Interfaith, Civil and nondenominational weddings. Should you wish to contact me, I can be reached by email at: Allen@RabbiAllen.com.

As a singer, my vocal studies have been with Richard Miller, William Vennard, Josephine Lott, Herbert Janssen, Berton Coffin, and Armen Boyajian. During my twenty-two year international operatic career, I sang some twenty-eight leading baritone operatic roles. I competed in and won the following competitions:

	1965: National Association of Teachers of Singing - Singer of the Year
	1965: Concert Artists Guild Competition - Young Recitalist of the Year (Town Hall Debut)
	1962: Paris International Competition - Premier Prix d'Excellence
	1962: Queen Elizabeth International Competition, Brussels - Prix de Bruxelles

I am a member, in good standing, International Federation of Rabbis, the Modern Language Association, the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) U.S., the Voice Foundation and the American Conference of Cantors.

Education

1998 to Present:	Continuing to serve as both Rabbi and Cantor, by invitation, in the United States, Canada, France and Germany.
February 1997:	Ordained Rabbi by the Rabbinic Seminary International
1984 - 1996:	Rabbinic Study
1976:	Invited to become Cantor of Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel of Elkins Park, PA. Named Cantor Emeritus in 1998.
1973:	Cantor of Temple B’rith Kodesh of Rochester, NY
1963:	Appointed Cantor of Sinai Temple of Mt Vernon, NY
1961-62:	Fulbright Fellow, University of Paris, (Sorbonne)

Post-Graduate Study:

September 1961 - June 1962: Doctorate in French Literature, University of Paris (Sorbonne); Thesis: Le Diable chez Balzac; Ecole Normale Supérieure de Musique Study with Pierre Bernac in the interpretation of Opera and Lieder

Graduate Study:

September 1960 - June 1961: Master of Arts - Humanities; Cross-disciplines: French Literature and Music - Voice

Undergraduate:

September 1957 - June 1960: Bachelor of Arts, University of Buffalo; Majors: Pre-Law-Business Administration, Modern Foreign Languages, Voice

Professional Experience

History in Professional Musical Settings:

1973 to Present:	As a recitalist, I have sung in eight languages. A member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, I have been asked to adjudicate at the NATS national conventions in 1986 and 2000. I am active in giving Master Classes. I have taught private studio voice, specializing in both vocal technique and coaching. Languages, sung and coached: French, German, Italian, Spanish, Czech, Yiddish, Hebrew and Ladino. In addition, since 1985, after studying with Morton Cooper, Ph.D., Speech Pathologist, I have been receiving referrals from him to work with voice rehabilitation patients.
1982 -1990:	Professor of Professor Language Diction, Philadelphia Community College;
1982 -1984:	Adjunct Professor of Voice, Temple University;
1968 -1969:	Affiliate Artist, Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minnesota

Awards of Special Interest:

	1965: First Prize, Concert Artists' Guild National Competition; Town Hall Recital
	1965: NATS Singer of the Year, National Association of Teachers of Singing
	1962: Prix De Bruxelles, Brussels International Competition for Singers
	1962: Premier Prix D'Excellence, Paris International Competition for Singers
	1961-62: Fulbright Fellow, Paris

Grants - in - Aid Study:

	Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund for Music (four grants, 1963 - 1969)
	William Matheus Sullivan Foundation, 1968
	International Institute of Education, 1968
	Levick Foundation, 1961

Opera and Concert

Professional Performance Repertoire:

Operatic Leading Roles

	La Bohème: Marcello
	The Merry Wives of Windsor: Mr. Ford
	The Ballad of Baby Doe: Horace Tabor
	Tosca: Baron Scarpia
	La Forza del Destino: Don Carlo
	Madama Butterfly: Sharpless
	Aida: Amonasro
	Hérodiade: Hérode
	Faust: Valentin
	Faust: Méphistophélès
	Pagliacci: Tonio
	Pagliacci: Silvio
	Le Nozze di Figaro: Count Almaviva
	Deidamia (Handel): Phoenix

	Twelfth Night (World Premiere): Malvolio
	Rigoletto: Rigoletto
	Don Pasquale: Malatesta
	Ariadne auf Naxos: Der Musiklehrer
	Parsifal: Klingsor
	The Rape of Lucretia: Junius
	Fidelio: Don Fernando
	The Makropulos Case: Baron Prus
	Jenufa (Ger. & Czech): Altgesell
	Turandot (Busoni): Barak
	Amahl: King Melchior
	Tiefland: Sebastiano
	Die Soldaten: Eisenhardt
	Don Pasquale: Don Pasquale

Musical Comedy

	A Fiddler on the Roof: Tevye
	The Most Happy Fella: Tony Esposito

Oratorio and Concert Repertoire

	Adler: The Binding, Stars in the Dust
	Bach: Cantata #82
	Bloch: Sacred Service
	Beethoven: Ninth Symphony
	Caldara: Stabat Mater
	Fromm: Ma-ariv
	Janowski: Sacred Service
	Mendelssohn: Elijah
	Rachmaninoff: The Bells
	Schalit: Sacred Service
	Steinberg: Shomeir Yisrael (CD)
	Stravinsky: Les Noces
	Vaughn-Williams: Serenade to Music

	Adler: The Vision of Isaiah
	Bach: Magnificat
	Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem
	Britten: War Requiem
	Faure: Requiem
	Handel: Messiah
	Janowski: Collected Works
	Orff: Carmina Burana
	Salamone da Rossi: Sacred Service
	Schubert: Mass in G
	Steinberg: Sacred Service (Cass.)
	Stravinsky: Mass - 1948
	Walton: Belshazzar's Feast

American Premieres

	Jenufa (Czech) - Lincoln Center
	The Makropulos Case (Czech) - Lincoln Center
	Turandot (Busoni, German) - Lincoln Center
	Tiefland (German) - Carnegie Hall

Opera Companies

	Deutsche Oper, Berlin
	Nationaltheater (Staatsoper), Munich
	Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Düsseldorf
	Kölinische Buehnen, Cologne
	Staatsoper, Hannover
	Holland National Opera
	Edinburgh Festival
	Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Florence
	Warsaw Spring Festival
	Holland Festival, The Hague
	The Opera Orchestra of New York (Carnegie Hall)
	American Opera Society (Carnegie Hall)
	Little Orchestra Society (Lincoln Center - Avery Fisher Hall)
	Lake George Opera Festival (1963-1968)
	Goldovsky Grand Opera Theater (2 Seasons)
	New Haven Opera
	Opera Theater of Rochester (3 Seasons)
	Opera Under the Stars of Rochester (3 Seasons)
	Bridgeport Opera (2 Seasons)
	Stadtsoper, Hannover

Soloist in Concert with:

	Atlanta Symphony
	Long Beach Symphony (CA)
	New Haven Symphony
	Berlin Philharmoniker
	Boston College Orchestra
	Orchestre de la Monnaie, Brussels
	L'Orchestre Lamoureux, Paris
	Bridgeport Symphony
	Buffalo Philharmonic
	Philadelphia Oratorio Choir
	Phoenix Symphony
	Duisburger Philharmoniker
	Düsseldorfer Philharmoniker
	Rochester Philharmonic
	Rhode Island Symphony
	Indianapolis Symphony
	Amherst (NY) Symphony
	Corning Symphony
	New York Oratorio Society
	Rochester Oratorio Society
	Boston Fine Arts Orchestra
	Honolulu Symphony
	Pacific Symphony
	Symphonie du Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux


	Purchase CDs

Live Recordings by Richard Allen, Baritone

Full Operas:

	Rigoletto: (Rigoletto)
	Tosca: (Baron Scarpia)
	La Bohème: (Marcello)
	La Traviata: (Giorgio Germont)
	Ariadne auf Naxos: (The Music Master)
	The Merry Wives of Windsor: (Mr. Ford)
	The Ballad of Baby Doe: (Horace Tabor)
	La Forza del Destino: (Don Carlo) [in German]
	Madama Butterfly: (Sharpless) [in Italian]
	Madama Butterfly: (Sharpless) [in German]
	Aida: (Amonasro)
	Faust: (Valentin)
	Pagliacci: (Tonio)
	Deidamia (Handel): (Phoenix)
	Twelfth Night (World Premiere): ( Malvolio)
	Purchase CDs

Musical Comedy:

	A Fiddler on the Roof: (Tevye) [Double CD Set]
	Purchase CDs

Concert and Liturgical Music:

	Ernest Bloch: Sacred Service
	Ben Steinberg: Shomeir Yisrael
	Heinrich Schalit: Sacred Service
	Samuel Adler: Sacred Service
	A Max Janowski Concert
	The Best of Max Janowski and Ben Steinberg
	Salamone da Rossi, Ebreo (17th Century Music)
	Davidson Sephardic Service
	J. S. Bach: Cantata #82 “Ich habe genug”
	Beethoven: Ninth Symphony
	Rigoletto: Concert Performance
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Recitals:

	A Remembrance of Kristallnacht and Anne Frank (Loerrach, Germany)
	Keneseth Israel: A Varied Concert for the Congregation
	Concert at Westminster Choir College (Dichterliebe, Sephardic, English)
	John Duke Duet Recital with Karen Smith
	Lecture - Recital of French Music at Gustavus Adolphus University
	Broadway Tunes and Golden Oldies
	Culture In the Courtyard (1, 2, 3)
	Lieder Concert – French, Italian and German
	Purchase CDs

Richard Allen in Concert and Opera – Excerpts:

	Volume 1: Arias and Duets
	Volume 2: Arias, Duets and Scenes
	Volume 3: Scenes from La Traviata and Rigoletto
	Volume 4: Scenes and Ensembles
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Critical Reviews of Singing Performances
Last modified June 2000

"Few singers today can project the four languages heard last night with anything like Allen's excellent nuance and clarity, resonance and enunciation. He offers much satisfaction."
- Paul Hume, Washington (D.C.) Post

"His ample and lustrous baritone is seamless and silky. Richard Allen has intelligent, suave and comprehensible diction, with a high class and necessary choice of repertoire."
- Ned Rorem, leading American composer

"Richard Allen is the possessor of a beautiful voice which has a beautiful timbre and is even throughout the vocal line. He sings with authority, intelligence and an actor's temperament."
- Le Soir, Brussels

".....he has a voice which is naturally and extremely expressive. In addition, he has a striking actor's personality."
- La Presse, Brussels

"The highlight of the evening came with the stunning performance of Richard Allen. He possesses a powerful voice and an overpowering stage presence."
- Honolulu Star-Bulletin

Rigoletto:
"By far the strongest component was Richard Allen's human Rigoletto. Without overdoing the pathos, Allen expresses both vocally and dramatically the contrasts between buffoon versus father, groveling parasite versus rebel. His Cortigiani! aria merited the evening's most enthusiastic applause."
- Glasow, Opera News

The Marriage of Figaro:
"As Almaviva, his formidable baritone easily conquered Mozart's vocal requirements. I regret not having seen his Scarpia, Tabor and Germont with the company."
- Vincent, High Fidelity/Musical America

Tosca:
"Allen's Scarpia was a study in restrained evil. A portrayal painted in human overtones and inhuman undertones. With his powerful voice and understanding of dramatic nuance, Scarpia's second act cantilena, 'Già mia struggea' was one of the finest moments I've heard from the operatic stage."
- Price, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle

The ballad of Baby Doe:
"As Horace Tabor, Richard Allen proved a real find. His bass-baritone is velvety and voluminous, his presence was forceful."
- Lingg, Opera News

Fiddler on the Roof:
"The cast was lead by the splendid singing and acting of Richard Allen. He made the evocation of life in the shtetl at once endearing and sad. Mr. Allen was Tevye in every sense.
- Green, Musical Heritage Society

Opera Gallery - Some of my 26 Leading Roles