WILLIAM COTTEN
Tenor
New England 3rd Place Winner, 1986

William Cotten, tenor, specialized in character operatic roles, performing Monostatos in The Magic Flute with Banchetto Musicale in Boston, Gastone in La Traviata in Augusta, and Erice in L'Ormindo (Cavalli) and Francis Flute in A Midsummer Night's Dream at Wolf Trap Opera. Other operatic portrayals included Albert Herring, Alfredo in Die Fledermaus, and Peter Quint in The Turn of the Screw.

He created the role of The Miller in the world premiere of Phillip Glass and Robert Moran's The Juniper Tree at the American Repertory Theater. He sang the Sailor in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas with the Mark Morris Dance Group, as well as being a soloist with Emmanuel Music, conducted by Craig Smith, in performances of music by Bach and Schütz in Brussels. He was Don Curzio in The Marriage of Figaro, directed by Peter Sellars. This production was created for the PepsiCo Summerfare at SUNY/Purchase, then filmed for television in Vienna at ORF. It was later aired on PBS's "Great Performances", released on videotape, and performed live in Paris and at the Gran Teatro del Liceu in Barcelona.

He was the tenor soloist in Honegger's King David at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., and has also been a soloist in Beethoven's Mass in C and Choral Fantasy, Mozart's Requiem, Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass, Elgar's Coronation Ode and Dream of Gerontius, Dvorak's Mass in D, Bach's Magnificat, and Handel's Messiah.

Mr. Cotten won third place in the Metropolitan Opera New England Regional Auditions, and was awarded a Fellowship to the Tanglewood Music Center. He sang with Opera to Go of Young Audiences of Massachusetts, winners of the National General Electric/Young Audiences Artists Award.

He has since retired from singing and is presently on the faculties of the New England Conservatory and The Boston Conservatory, teaching both Vocal Performance as well as Musical Theater majors.

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