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| Photo By Philip Groshong |
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Soulful Italian: Mark Panuccio
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In the cutthroat, rarified world of opera performance, tenor Mark Panuccio's career is on the upswing. Barely five years out of CCM, Panuccio has racked up performances with major companies throughout the U.S. and garnered solid reviews, including mention in national publications.
Leading roles await him in the coming year, but his next appearance is a solo recital sponsored by Cincinnati Opera Friday at Memorial Hall, an occasion that many singers consider more challenging than any operatic role, and with good reason. There are no ensembles, no orchestra, no offstage time.
"It's just you out there, along with your accompanist, for the entire recital," says Panuccio.
A recital is a major career marker for a performing artist: Superstar soprano Anna Netrebko cancelled a Carnegie Hall appearance because she felt she "wasn't ready." But Panuccio can't wait.
"The audience is there for you, so what could be better?" he says.
Panuccio has been in Cincinnati since 1999 when he arrived from Pennsylvania to study with Tom Barasel at CCM. "He heard me sing and immediately said, 'You're an Italian tenor, and that's what you'll work on.' "
After receiving a master's degree and an artist's diploma from CCM, Panuccio got small parts and worked his way up to leading roles, and his local fan base continues to grow.
Cincinnati Opera Artistic Director Evans Mirageas teamed up with Panuccio to program music that showcases his stylistic range. The original idea to do an entire evening of Neapolitan favorites was scrapped in favor of "doing a wonderful first half." The program includes songs by Richard Strauss, Franz Liszt, Benjamin Britten and American composer Virgil Thompson.
A recital is planned with the care and strategy of a compelling theater piece.
"I start out singing in German, then move to English and end the first half with a Liszt setting of a Petrarch sonnet that's sung in Italian," Panuccio says. "You need to be able to figure out what songs key into the next set and what songs work the best overall. The first half concludes with a setting of a sonnet by Petrarch and the Italian is the teaser for the second half."
That's when the Neapolitan songs take over in a program that includes an Italian tenor's signature, "Torna a Surriento," or as many Americans know it, "Return to Sorrento."
"I hope the audience will recognize every song in this set," he says.
Perhaps the only things missing will be a bottle of chianti and a red-checkered tablecloth.
One thing the audience might not recognize is Mark Panuccio himself. In less than a year, he lost more than 100 pounds and buffed up in the gym. A cancelled dinner date began the transformation -- and not because Panuccio lost his appetite.
"I was in Cincinnati and asked a friend to join me for dinner," he says. "She said she couldn't because she had to go to a Weight Watchers meeting. I went with her and joined. Forty-two weeks later, I've lost 40 percent of my body weight and I feel better than I've ever felt."
It doesn't hurt his career, either. Look at the roster of the hot opera singers, and many have the looks to match their voices. In an age where tenors Juan Diego Florez and Rolando Villazon are glamour gods, a superlative voice might not be enough for a tubby tenor.
"You go to see a leading tenor as well as hear one," Panuccio acknowledges.
Audiences will see a lot of Panuccio in the coming opera season: This summer he sings the role of Mao Tse-Tung in Cincinnati Opera's production of John Adams' Nixon in China, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor for Arizona Opera and leading roles for the Opera Company of Philadelphia.
Although his range covers the late Baroque through contemporary American works, Panuccio's great love is Italian versimo, a term for operas whose music reflects the more "realistic" emotions and situations.
"My soul speaks Italian, and this music is where my voice does best," he says. "This isn't work; this is my passion. This is what I love."
MARK PANUCCIO performs 8 p.m. Friday at Memorial Hall.
