Teppei Kono
Teppei Kono, Bass
A rich, sonorous vocal quality and trenchant involvement are trademarks of the performances of bass Teppei Kono. Mr. Kono’s career took an international leap when he made his debut at Singapore Lyric Opera in the title role of Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro”. Other Mozart roles include, the title role in “Don Giovanni”, Guglielmo and Don Alfonso in “Cosi fan tutte”, and Papageno in “Die Zauberflöte”. Out side of Mozart, Mr. Kono has performed as Angelotti in “Tosca”, Bonze and Yamadori in “Madama Butterfly”, Escamillo and Morales in Carmen, Malatesta in “Don Pasquale”, Belcore in “L’Elisir d’amore”. Apprenticeships with the San Francisco Opera Center’s Merola Program, Chicago Opera Theater’s Young Artist Program, and Lyric Opera Cleveland’s Apprentice Program, have provided opportunities to cover important major roles including Conte d’Almaviva in “Le Nozze di Figaro”, Leporello in “Don Giovanni”, and Chou En-Lai in John Adam’s “Nixon in China”
Mr. Kono made his symphonic debut with the Erie Philharmonic in Dvorak’s “Te Deum”. He has also made his debut with the Master Chorale of South Florida as a Bass soloist in Mozart’s “Requiem”. Other concert work also includes soloist of Fauré “Requiem” and Vaughan-Williams’ “Five Mystical Songs”. He was also one of the ten teams to perform at The Art Song Festival of Cleveland, OH. Mr. Kono is equally at home in recitals, he has performed not only in Chicago and Cleveland but also in Tokyo, Japan and Jakarta, Indonesia, where he also gave a public Master Class to the students of Renata Lim, an acclaimed Soprano and a voice instructor in Jakarta.
Mr. Kono won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in both Cleveland and Northern Illinois Districts, and was a finalist in both the Great Lakes and Central Regions. He was awarded the Encouragement Award from Gerda Lissner Foundation.
He received his Bachelor of Music and Professional Studies in Vocal Performance from Cleveland Institute of Music. He also received his Performance Diploma in Opera from Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University.