“The orchestra...began tentatively, then found their footing and smoked as bass Kirk Eichelberger entered with burnished-black notes and a cutting delivery. It was the sound of doom; Eichelberger was a scary delight all night.”
— Richard Scheinin, San Jose Mercury News
“Operatic devils should all speak French, wear snappy clothes and sound like Kirk Eichelberger. The bass’s thundering, cunning voice was the devil’s food cake of Opera San José’s Faust – dark, chewy and delicious. ... He makes being the devil look like a helluva lot of fun.”
— Michael J. Vaughan, Metroactive Stage
“Bass Kirk Eichelberger was the very embodiment of Elijah, by turns pleading, scolding, reassuring, triumphing, despairing. He is a gifted actor — sensitive both to large emotions and to details of language — and a gifted singer, varying the colors in his voice for maximum effect.”
— Anna Karen Dudley, San Francisco Classical Voice
Mr. Eichelberger was recently seen as Alaska Wolf Joe in Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny with Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, SC. Later on this summer, he will sing the role of Grandpa Moss in the Trinity Lyric Opera's production of Aaron Copland's The Tender Land. Following that he will perform the role of Dr. Gibbs in Festival Opera's production of Ned Rorem's new opera Our Town.
Mr. Eichelberger has performed numerous roles with Opera San Jose including Frere Laurent in Romeo and Juliette, Leporello in Don Giovanni, Rev John Hale in The Crucible, Daland in The Flying Dutchman, Méphistophélès in Faust, Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte and Colline in La bohéme.
This past summer Mr. Eichelberger sang the role of Leporello in Festival Opera of Walnut Creek’s modern setting of Don Giovanni. He also sang the role of Nick Shadow in West Bay Opera’s The Rake’s Progress and John Bunyan In Trinity Lyric Opera’s production of Vaughan Williams’ The Pilgrim’s Progress.
Other opera highlights have included Sparafucile in Rigoletto with Festival Opera, the title role in Le Nozze di Figaro for Opera Memphis, Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte with Virginia Opera, Alidoro in La Cenerentola for Sacramento Opera and the title role in West Bay Opera’s production of Don Giovanni.
On the concert stage, Mr. Eichelberger has performed the title role in Mendelssohn’s Elijah with Oakland East Bay Symphony and San Francisco Choral Society and has performed as a principal soloist in presentations of Verdi's Requiem, Mozart’s Requiem, Beethoven's 9th Symphony, Handel’s Messiah, Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem, Bach’s B-minor Mass, Haydn’s Creation, Pärt’s Litany, Kodály’s Budavári Te Deum and Einhorn’s Voices of Light.
Mr. Eichelberger was a national finalist in the 1999 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the 1999 MacAllister Awards for Opera Singers. He holds a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he received the Italo Tajo and Norman Treigle opera scholarships. He also holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois.
Management
Zemsky/Green Artists Management, 104 W. 73rd St., Suite 1, New York, NY 10023; Phone: (212) 579-6700; E-mail: agreen@zemskygreen.com or bzemsky@zemskygreen.com
Contact
Kirk Eichelberger, bass
408-772-8444
kirk@kirkeichelberger.com
