Baritone Steven Condy, who has built his reputation on his portrayals of the great ‘buffo’ roles, is admired not only for his robust and nuanced voice, but also for his natural acting ability. The Washington Times enthused that he has “the comic timing of John Candy and a voice that remains flexible, rich and true through every intricacy,” and Anthony Tomassini of the New York Times offered that he would “vote the prize for the most naturally clear diction of the cast to the hardy baritone Steven Condy.”
During the current season, Mr. Condy sings Magnifico in La Cenerentola with the Portland Opera, Utah Opera and Memphis Opera, Dr. Bartolo, one of his signature roles, in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Opera Birmingham, Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana with the Toledo Opera, and Belshazzar's Feast in concert with the New Mexico Symphony. In upcoming seasons he returns to the Virginia Opera as Dr. Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia, among many other performances.
In the 2006 – 2007 season Mr. Condy sang Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore with the Chautauqua Opera and with Opera Pacific, a performance which led the Los Angeles Times to proclaim that he “made an entrance to be envied driving a chopped-down '56 Ford Fairlane, reveled in the vocal and dramatic possibilities of the quack doctor Dulcamara. His buffo barcarole with Adina, 'Io son ricco, et tu sei bella' (I'm rich, and you're beautiful) was just one of his delightful moments. He's another singer to watch.” In addition, he sang the title role of Falstaff with the Indianapolis Opera, the Father in L’Enfant prodigue and Melchior in Amahl and the Night Visitors both with the Naples Opera, and the title role of The Mikado with the Intermountain Opera. On the concert stage he returned to Carnegie Hall for Handel’s Messiah with the Masterworks Chorus, performed in scenes from Gordon Getty’s Plump Jack with the Albuquerque Symphony, and took part in a Gala performance in Montreal.
During the previous two seasons, Mr. Condy appeared with the Washington National Opera as Baron Zeta in The Merry Widow as part of a program entitled “Trilogy: Domingo and Guests in Three Acts,” and as Dr. Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore, a role he also sang with The Berkshire Opera. For his debut with Opera Pacific he portrayed Taddeo in L’italiana in Algeri, and for his debut with Opera Theater of St. Louis he was seen as Monterone in Rigoletto and Sir Robert Cecil in Gloriana. He appeared in the title roles in Verdi’s Falstaff and Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi with New Jersey Opera Theater, sang Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte with the Arizona Opera, Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola with the Florentine Opera and Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and the title role in Gianni Schicchi with both Opera Delaware and the OK Mozart International Festival in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. The baritone marked his 50th career performance in the role of Dr. Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia with the Utah Symphony and Opera.
Other recent engagements have included Dulcamara in L’Elisir d’amore with Arizona Opera, Fargo-Moorhead Opera and the Pine Mountain Music Festival, Dr. Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia with San Francisco Opera, Portland Opera, Madison Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, Indianapolis Opera and Opera Memphis, and the title role in Falstaff with Madison Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Kentucky Opera, and as an understudy with the San Francisco Opera. He has sung the title role in Don Pasquale with Connecticut Grand Opera, Calgary Opera and Edmonton Opera, Sulpice in Le fille du régiment with Opera Lyra Ottawa and San Francisco Opera, and Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte with Arizona Opera and Hawaii Opera Theater. Other
engagements included his performance as Leporello in Don Giovanni with Indianapolis Opera, Scarpia in Tosca with Chautauqua Opera, and Benoit and Alcindoro in La bohème with the Dallas Opera and the Opera Company of Philadelphia.
Highlights of concert appearances include Handel’s Messiah and Robert Kapilow’s Elijah’s Angel with the Columbus Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra, and performances in the role of Antonio in Le nozze di Figaro with the Minnesota Orchestra, conducted by Jeffrey Tate. He made his European debut with the Orquesta del Principado de Asturias in Oviedo, Spain in Handel’s Messiah and made his Carnegie Hall debut with the Masterworks Chorus.
Steven Condy was the 1992 winner of the Fourth Luciano Pavarotti International Voice competition, and a recipient of a grant from the Sullivan Foundation. He received a Career Grant in the 1994 Richard Tucker Music Foundation competition, and first prize in the 1994 Pope Foundation competition. In 1993, he won third prize in the MacAllister Award competition, and was a finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions. Other honors include a 1991 Robert M. Jacobson Study Grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation, and third prize in the 1991 Mario Lanza Institute Scholarship competition.
Mr. Condy received his Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from the University of Hartford and attended the Yale University School of Music for voice and opera performance, where he earned his Master of Music degree in 1990.
