VISI Faculty: Alan Corbishley
BC’s
own Alan Corbishley is becoming internationally known for his exciting
stage presence and brilliant vocal timbre. This season, Mr. Corbishley
was in England performing Marcello in Puccini’s La Bohème,
Mozart’s Mass in C minor, and Bach’s St. Mathew’s
Passion, in Vancouver singing Guglielmo in Mozart’s Cosi
fan tutte, and in France singing Parmenione in Rossini’s opera L’occassione
fa il Ladro. In the summer of 2004 he made his London debut as Dr. Falke
in Tom Hawkes’ production of Die Fledermaus with Opera Holland
Park and in the summer of 2005 he collaborated once again with Mr. Hawkes
as Papageno in Castleward Opera’s production of The Magic Flute in Belfast. In 2003 he sang Schaunard with Vancouver Opera in their production
of La Boheme and then repeated the role with Opera Theátre Besançon
in France. He returned to Besançon and Dijon in 2005 to sing in
Peter Eötvös’ contemporary opera Le Balcon. He has sung
concerts throughout France at such theatres as Opera d’Avignon,
Opera de Marseille, and Opera de Toulon.
Mr. Corbishley was invited for two summers to study as a vocal fellow at Boston Symphony’s prestigious Tanglewood Music Center where he performed in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi with Robert Spano conducting, and in his second year he sang the role of Ramiro in Ravel’s L’Heure Espagnole under the baton of world-famous Seiji Ozawa. It was through this association that Mr. Corbishley was invited to make his Boston Symphony debut as Horns Wild Thing in Where Wild Things Are, which was conducted by the acclaimed composer himself, Oliver Knussen. Mr. Corbishley also studied for two summers at The Music Academy of the West which is headed by famed mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne. There, he sang the role of Harlekin in Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos, and also Sid in Britten’s Albert Herring which was directed by Lotfi Mansouri. For this role Opera News wrote, “As Albert’s worldly pal Sid, baritone Alan Corbishley sang with warm, unforced yet ardent tone and showed considerable acting skills, giving us a charismatic village rake with a heart of gold.”
Perfect for Mozart roles, he made his European stage debut as Papageno at the Silesian State Theatre with the UBC Opera Ensemble in the Czech Republic and in later years repeated the role in Belfast as mentioned and in Marseille while completing a one year apprenticeship with Le CNIPAL located in the south of France. For this Young Artists program, Mr. Corbishley was one of 12 singers chosen from around the globe to be invited and take part in this unique opportunity.
An ability to sing a wide range of repertoire from Bach to Henze, he has also sung with the Connecticut Grand Opera in Kurt Weil’s Threepenny Opera, the Calgary Opera in the world premiere of Turtle Wakes, and the Modern Baroque Opera Company in Paisiello’s Music Master and his two Students.
Mr. Corbishley won the Kamloops Symphony Soloist Prize and went on to be focused with the KSO in concert. Also he sang the role of the Pirate King in their production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance in 1998. This past February, Mr. Corbishley mounted a self-produced concert creation in which he fused classical chamber music with multi-media and theatrical staging to overwhelming success.
He received his Master of Music Degree from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston where he graduated with a mark of distinction granted to him from the vocal department, and his undergraduate degree (Bachelor of Music) from the University of British Columbia. Within these programs his roles included Father in Hansel und Gretel, Junius in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, numorous supporting roles in various operas and Nardo in Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera.
Mr. Corbishley was recently honoured with the Distinguished Alumni Award for 2006 from Thompson Rivers University for his accomplishments in Arts and Culture. He studied at TRU within the Theatre department for three years before pursuing his musical studies. While at TRU, Mr. Corbishley was seen in Lion in the Streets and headed the cast of Up the Ivory Tower. It was also at TRU that Mr. Corbishley developed his interest in photography – a hobby he continues today.
Through his career as a singer, Mr. Corbishley has been invited to sing and study in many parts of the United States, Canada and Europe. For the past four years Europe has been his home living in France for one year, Germany for another, and England two years.
Future prospects for Alan Corbishley include a large focus in producing and stage directing, while maintaining his performance appearances.