Ryan Opera Center From Home: Christopher Kenney

Baritone Christopher Kenney just finished his second and final year as a member of the Ryan Opera Center Ensemble. In the summer of 2018, he performed The Old Maid and the Thief with the Grant Park Music Festival, and then appeared at Lyric Opera as Master of Ceremonies in Cendrillon (pictured above) and the Marquis d'Obigny in La traviata. For the 2019/20 season, Chris sang Fiorello in The Barber of Seville, Motorcycle Cop in Dead Man Walking and the Registrar in Madama Butterfly. He was a 2017 apprentice artist at The Santa Fe Opera, is a three-time winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council District Auditions, and is an alumnus of Concordia College, the University of Kentucky, and Philadelphia's Academy of Vocal Arts.

Keep reading to see how Chris has continued to work from home during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

These are indeed interesting times we live in!

As I'm grappling with delays and cancellations of future engagements, I've been adapting my current operatic study as well as day-to-day living. I'm grateful for the structure provided by the Ryan Opera Center's online lessons, coachings, and meetings in the final few weeks of our 2019/20 season. The ability to work remotely has been very helpful, plus I really appreciated the opportunity to sing.

Singing at home has been a bit of an adventure.

I've had a few neighbors stop by and inquire about what's happening. I also do some work at an airport hangar where I've been sequestering myself as time allows. Among the new guidelines for our daily living, social distancing has been the hardest for me--I'm quite social and can't wait to be able to go out with friends.

In the time I'm not singing, I'm pursuing another passion of mine: flying. I've started studying to be a flight instructor, and I pilot professionally as a secondary source of income. This will provide me greater stability in the coming months as I continue forging my operatic career path.

-Christopher Kenney

Header image: Todd Rosenberg