Branch Fields:
CLASS OF 1987
Bruton High SchoolClass of 1987
Williamsburg, VA
Branch's Story
Branch is from Williamsburg, Virginia. Branch's schools include Bruton High School.
Music Branch likes includes Joyce DiDonato, Anything Inspiring, Elizabeth Caballero.
More about Branch:"I'm just a normal guy, married for 17 years, 3 kids, love anything having to do with swimming, love to cook, I'm a big NFL fan, but a fan of my kids most of all. Life is full to the brim these days, and I hope it stays that way!
OFFICIAL BIOGRAPHY STARTS HERE:
Branch Fields, whom Opera America describes as "a bass of resonant richness," and The New York Times declared to be "a gifted young bass," has sung with Santa Fe Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Carolina, Michigan Opera Theatre, Utah Symphony/ Utah Opera, Opera San Jose, and many other regional companies throughout the U.S. He made his debut at New York City Opera in 2005 as the 5th servant in CAPRICCIO, remaining on their roster for the next 5 seasons. As a house bass there, he sang Zuniga in CARMEN, Angelotti in TOSCA, Major Domo in VANESSA, and Gravedigger in ESTHER. Branch covered roles in productions of IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA, LA BOHÃME, TURANDOT, MADAME BUTTERFLY, CAPRICCIO, ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA and LYSISTRATA. In concert, Branch has performed with the Munich Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, Santa Fe Symphony, Colorado Springs Philharmonic, and most recently with the American Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.
â[As] the fugitive Angelotti...Branch Fields vividly conveyed the desperation of the fleeing convict.â (Vivien Schweitzer, NYTimes 3/24/2008)
In 2008, Branch joined the cast of SOUTH PACIFIC on Broadway, understudying the role of Emile de Becque in this Lincoln Center Theater production, which won 7 Tony Awards. It marked Mr. Fieldsâ Broadway debut, sharing the stage with Matthew Morrison, Kelli OâHara and Skipp Sudduth. Branch recently reprised Emile for Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theater.
Mr. Fields was busy in 2011, performing Pistola in FALSTAFF with Utah Symphony/ Utah Opera, Varlaam in BORIS GODUNOV with UFOMT, Don Basilio in IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA with Opera on the James, and Colline in LA BOHÃME with DiCapo Opera Theater. Mr. Fields has portrayed Auguste Colline in 10 productions of LA BOHÃME throughout his career. Other recent performances include Raimondo in LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR, Alidoro in CENERENTOLA, Marco in A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE, Simone in GIANNI SCHICCHI, Commendatore in DON GIOVANNI, Samuel in PIRATES OF PENZANCE, and Hosie âRoachâ McClendon in COLD SASSY TREE. He has performed Un Moine in DON CARLO, The Foreman in Tod Machover's R...Expand for more
ESURRECTION, and Gremin in EVGENY ONEGIN.
âFields sang with such warmth, passion and tenderness, that it was perfectly clear how Pocahontas could have fallen in love with him; every woman in the packed house was swooning.â (M.D. Ridge, Portfolio Weekly 5/30/07)
A former nationally ranked swimmer, with an athletic physique and leading man looks, several contemporary composers have written bass romantic lead roles for Mr. Fields. He workshopped and performed Joe Coogan in the jazzy opera THE LIFE AND LOVE OF JOE COOGAN, composed by Paul Salerni, based on the episode of Carl Reinertâs 1950âs television series, The Dick Van Dyke Show. Mr. Fields was the jealous husband Frederick Goldentrill in a new version of Mozartâs THE IMPRESARIO by playwright David Richmond and Wendy Taucher at YardArts! on Marthaâs Vineyard. The role of the love struck romantic parrot Sam in ANIMAL TALES, workshopped and performed
through Family Opera Initiative in several venues, was written to showcase Branchâs lower range. And he recently toured in Minnesota with Duluth Festival Opera, reprising another role written for him, John Rolfe, in the new musical drama POCAHONTAS, which premiered in 2007 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown.
Mr. Fields is a Virginian, from Williamsburg, whose aspirations for a singing career were born at Virginia Tech while doing undergraduate work in chemistry. While there, he made his debut at Opera Roanoke, where he sang in the chorus, and later performed principal roles while earning a Master of Music degree at Indiana University. At Indiana, Branch was an honored recipient of the Cole and Kate Porter Memorial Scholarship, studying voice with the great Metropolitan Opera bass, Giorgio Tozzi. He was a member of The Singing Hoosiers, through which he garnered the attention of the late Maestro Erich Kunzel during their concerts and recordings with the Cincinnati Pops. He can be heard on the Cincinnati Popâs album Puttinâ On the Ritz (TELARC). Branch was later granted a coveted spot at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, a full scholarship institution, where he studied with Met baritone Louis Quilico, and participated in summer opera programs in Chiari, Lucca, and Rome, Italy. In New York City, he was placed in the studio of bass specialist Armen Boyajian, voice teacher of Samuel Ramey and Paul Plishka, during which time Branch won 1st prize in the Saritelli-DiPanni Bel Canto Competition, 2nd in the NJAPA Vocal Competition, and was a prize winner in the Liederkranz Foundation Competition.".
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