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Anthony Kearns guest-stars
in Redlands Bowl Opener.
By Holly La Pat
Special to The Press-Enterprise
©
Anthony Kearns and The Press-Enterprise
Kearns, who may be best known for his work with The Irish Tenors vocal trio, comes to the Redlands Bowl less than a week after performing "Carmen" in Ireland. He has also appeared on PBS and, just last month, performed at two Memorial Day observances in Washington D.C.
Tonight [June 25] Kearns will sing music selected by conductor Frank Paul Fetta, who primarily chose songs associated with another great tenor, Mario Lanza.
"It is a little unusual having an Irish tenor do Mario Lanza," Fetta acknowledged. But he feels pieces like "Ave Maria" and "Serenade" (from "The Student Prince") are well suited to Kearns.
The songs will display the singer's range, from operetta pieces to Neapolitan songs to popular American standards. Kearns enjoys maintaining a variety of musical styles as a solo artist, in addition to the traditional Irish music he sings with The Irish Tenors.
"It's good to keep a lot of irons in the fire," Kearns said in a recent phone interview. "I don't like to be known as one kind of singer. It's good to take on challenges in life, not to become complacent."
Kearns first began taking formal voice lessons in his early 20s, working his way from Italian and Neapolitan songs to operatic arias.
"I got to like the music, and my voice is suited to it," he said. "When people hear 'arias,' they think it's heavy duty, but actually the word just means 'song.'"
He describes the Neapolitan songs, such as "Return to Sorrento," as cousins of Irish music. "They're the working man's songs," Kearns said.
Meanwhile, standards like "Younger than Springtime" (from "South Pacific") are the type of songs Kearns likes to call "evergreens."
Kearns looks forward to delivering them all in the open air on a summer night.
"It's a great occasion to get out with family and friends and enjoy the orchestra and, hopefully, some good singing," Kearns said. "There's something for everyone."
In the symphony's instrumental part of the concert, Fetta will lead the orchestra in selections featured in films, from "An American in Paris" to "Star Wars."
Fetta takes pride in being able to bring Kearns to the Redlands Bowl series. "We've always attempted in our opening concert to do something a little unusual or special in some way," Fetta said. "The series, of course, is very, very special."
The Redlands Bowl Summer Music Festival is the oldest continuous music festival in the United States to charge no admission fee. It was founded in 1923 to make live music available to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay.
"It's always a rather amazing thing that all these concerts can be put into two months in a city the size of Redlands," Fetta said.
The Redlands Bowl opens its 87th Summer Music Festival series June 25 with a show from acclaimed tenor Anthony Kearns and the San Bernardino Symphony.
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