D A N   K.   K U R L A N D

Dan K. Kurland joined Oper Halle as Studienleiter und Solorepetitor mit Dirigierverpflichtung (Head of Music) in 2021.  Tasked with elevating and upholding the highest musical standards across repertory ranging from Händel to Eotvös and leading singers in their role preparation from its earliest stages, his current position is a natural progression in a career which encompasses nearly every facet of theater.  

 

Beginning as a member of the ensemble at Theater Hagen in 2017, he served as Solorepetitor for productions of Tristan und Isolde, Tosca, Aida, Simon Boccanegra, Tosca, Il turco in Italia, Evererst, Dido and Aeneas, Les contes d’Hoffmann, Der Graf von Luxemburg, Frau Luna as well as assistant conductor for performances of Vaughan Williams’s Dona Nobis Pacem and Schumann’s Das Paradies und die Peri.  His first appearance as both Musikalische Leitung and on-stage Pianist at Theater Hagen was for the acclaimed world premiere of Molly Bloom (after James Joyce's Ulysses).  Coinciding with his promotion to the newly created position of Stellvertretende Studienleiter, his involvement also expanded in a variety of capacities through numerous new productions and performances including Schubert's Winterreise (Co-Concept with Francis Hüsers; Musikalische Leitung/Pianist), Shakespeare's play Ein Sommernachstraum (Squenz/Musikalische Leitung/Pianist), and Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’amore (on-stage recitative cembalist).  

 

This breadth of experience informs his coaching, often preparing prominent singers on rosters the likes of The Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Santa Fe Opera, and Deutsche Oper Berlin.  His partners on the concert stage have included soprano Julia Bullock, mezzo-soprano Amanda Lynn Bottoms, tenors Miles Mykkanen and Spencer Lang, baritone Randall Scarlata, violinists Francisco García Fullana, Eric Silberger and Charles Yang, cellist Julian Schwarz, the string quintet SYBARITE5, and actors Shalita Grant, Ernestine Jackson, Michael Kostroff.  As a pianist active in almost all facets of vocal, instrumental, and orchestral repertoires, he has appeared in concert throughout New York (Steinway Hall, The DiMenna Center, The Guggenheim Museum, Caramoor, Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall and David Rubinstein Atrium) the United States (Aspen Music Festival and School, Chicago, Texas), Germany (Staatskapelle Halle, Dortmunder Philharmoniker, Philharmonische Orchester Hagen), Austria (AlpenKammerMusik), France (extensive concert tours throughout Nouvelle-Aquitaine), and England (Finalist Prize, 2015 Wigmore Hall/Kohn Foundation International Song Competition).  

 

At the invitation of director Stephen Wadsworth and Manhattan Theatre Company he joined the 2010 Broadway production of Master Class (Manny Weinstock, u/s) with Tyne Daly staring as Maria Callas.  This first collaboration with Ms Daly fostered future performances together with the renowned EMMY and TONY Award-Winning actress including a special performance for the opening of FOCUS on The Arts.  He is also a published writer whose articles have appeared in Opera News (2021), Singing: The Timeless Muse (2018), PLAYBILL Lincoln Center's program notes (2014) and numerous pieces in The Juilliard Journal and The Chicago Tribune.  

 
He has also been a guest coach and clinician at Chicago Summer Opera, a member of the faculty at AlpenKammerMusik (Austria), The Martina Arroyo Foundation’s Prelude to Performance program (New York City), and the Franco-American Vocal Academy (Périgueux, France) and given master classes at Juilliard in Aiken (South Carolina) and Columbia University’s Opera Untapped.

 

Previous engagements have included Wolf Trap Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival, and Music Academy of the West.  He studied collaborative piano at The Juilliard School (Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) and Master of Music (MM)) with Margo Garrett, Jonathan Feldman, Diane Richardson, and JJ Penna, and at The University of Texas at Austin (Bachelor of Music (BM), with honors) where he studied piano with Anton Nel and voice with Darlene Wiley.  Born in Chicago, his first teachers included Svetlana Budilovsky and Kay Kim. In his leisure time, Mr. Kurland enjoys hosting dinner parties inspired by Ina Garten, running, and surveying gin and French wines.

We need your consent to load the translations

We use a third-party service to translate the website content that may collect data about your activity. Please review the details and accept the service to view the translations.