UNCG alumnus Sidney Outlaw ’04 will take the stage in the title role of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” Oct. 24-27.
What’s unique about this production and this role, we asked him during a break in rehearsals? It’s a return to not only his home state – but to reconnect with figures from his alma mater. And with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
“Mozart’s music fits my voice beautifully,” Outlaw says. He first encountered and learned to love Mozart’s works as a Spartan undergrad. “Here at UNCG, I was studying Mozart art songs under Ms. Levone Tobin-Scott.” His senior year at UNCG – before going on to earn his master’s at Juilliard – he performed in Mozart’s comic opera “Cosi Fan Tutte.”
He grew up in North Carolina’s High Country. (His family there weathered the recent hurricane okay; his parents’ power was restored after about 9 days.) He auditioned for UNCG’s School of Music as he neared graduation from his Brevard high school. The day of his audition for the program, he asked Professor of Voice Levone Tobin-Scott if she would teach him if he were, in fact, accepted. She said she would.
He learned so much at UNCG in his four years, he says, particularly from “Ms. Scott.” He regularly has received instruction and tips from him over the years since graduating.
His four most influential mentors have included the celebrated vocalists Marilyn Horne and Monserrat Caballé as well as pianist and teacher Warren Jones. “Between these two ladies, Warren Jones, and Levone Tobin-Scott, I have walked amongst giants my whole career, and I’m so blessed and grateful.”
His most influential UNCG professor – now professor emerita – remains a mentor. “I talked with Ms. Scott this week,” he says. “My pupils know Ms. Scott.” He tells them about her and her words of wisdom.
His pupils? He currently is professor of voice at the Manhattan School of Music, as he works on his PhD in music education at Teachers’ College, Columbia University. He’s taught at other universities and conservatories as well, including Juilliard. What he has learned from his mentors is passed on to them, as musicians often say, like a golden thread.
What are some things “Ms. Scott” taught him? For one, the wisdom of patience. “You’ll get there,” she counseled him.
What else? “She taught me how to practice.” He compares it to athletes practicing and honing their skills. And another key lesson: “Be true to yourself and have a plan for yourself.”
In addition to his teaching, that plan currently revolves around recitals, concerts, and operas – those are his professional life “I like performing,” he says. I” like working at a high level.”
He has appeared on the nation’s most iconic stages, including Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, NYC Opera, and Avery Fischer Hall. This season, he is singing Marcello in “La Bohème” with Chattanooga Symphony and Opera, Mercutio in “Roméo et Juliette” with Toledo Opera, and the title role in “Don Giovanni” with Boston Baroque, his bio notes. He is appearing in concert with Opera Memphis, American Composers Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, Jacksonville Symphony, the Oratorio Society of New York, and the Nashville Symphony.
Outlaw’s developing career was the cover story of the Fall 2012 UNCG Magazine (view here, pp. 18-23). The article, “Born to Sing,” traced his story to the moment, as his burgeoning career was catching fire.
He especially enjoys performing and spending time with friends and alumni of his alma maters – UNCG and Juilliard.
He’s sharing the stage with several Spartans this month. Additional principal performers in Greensboro Opera’s “Don Giovanni” are alumna Melinda Whittington ’08 MM, doctoral student Samantha Anselmo, alumna Amber Rose ‘20 MM, alumna Christian Blackburn ‘19 MM, and Donald Hartmann, professor emeritus.
David Holley, who is director of opera in the UNCG School of Music, is general and artistic director for Greensboro Opera. He will direct this production.
Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” – Oct. 24, 25, and 27 – Greensboro Opera – See details.
By Mike Harris ’93 MA
Photograph of Sidney Outlaw by Kia Caldwell. Styling by Corrin Chishimba (Beauty Box Style).