Davóne Tines, bass-baritone, and John Bitoy, piano

Bass-baritone Davóne Tines, Musical America’s 2022 Vocalist of the Year, brings us an ambitious and brilliantly curated program entitled Recital No. 1: MASS. Tines invites listeners to recontextualize Bach arias, Caroline Shaw’s Mass, and religious ritual. Woven into this are arrangements of spirituals by Tyshawn Sorey, Moses Hogan, and Margaret Bonds, as well as Julius Eastman’s powerful a cappella work, Prelude to the Holy Presence of Joan d ’Arc. 

Tines has made his mark in opera and concert performances, from works by Handel, Beethoven, and Verdi to world premieres by Kaija Saariaho and John Adams. Tines has triumphed locally with his 2018 staging of Langston Hughes’ The Black Clown at the American Repertory Theater and Were You There for the American Modern Opera Company. In the latter work, he sings about illuminating past and recent tragedies and forming a spiritual communion to remember victims of police brutality. The New Yorker describes Tines’ work, saying “he is challenging the conventions of classical music, tackling themes of race and sexuality and expanding what it means to possess an operatic voice.” 

In the 2022/2023 season, Davóne Tines makes his anticipated Celebrity Series debut, adding to an impressive roster of appearances, which include the De Nationale Opera, Finnish National Opera, Opéra National de Paris, LA Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Opera, and Teatro Nacional de São Carlos.

The 2022/23 Debut Series is generously sponsored by Harriet & David Griesinger and the Longy School of Music of Bard College.

This performance is made possible in part by support from Celebrity Series' LIVE PERFORMANCE! Arts for All Innovation Funds.