Madison Tenor Stars In The Swan Knight

Renowned tenor Marc Deaton has experienced some dark moments in his life. And, overall, he's had a good life. The musical mono-drama, The Swan Knight, which will be performed Sunday afternoon in New Haven, is drawn from his experiences.

"The libretto actually come from my journals," Deaton said Tuesday, in between an afternoon production meeting and an evening rehearsal. "It is a bit autobiographical. I say that with a pause, because it is rather dark. It is, in an abstract way, a journey of a little boy who has some real troubles. Maybe they are troubles he shouldn't have had, but there it is. It is also about a journey into adulthood and a good life."

Deaton's life includes a childhood growing up in southern California, and several years spent at Southern Utah University studying theatre and music. While trying to decide what he wanted to do with his life, he saw Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and knew his destiny was to become an opera singer. As it turns out, he has been a successful one.

A brilliant mind behind the voice

A review on MusicWeb of Deaton's recent recording of Tristan in Richard Wagner's Tristan und Isolde says there is a "brilliant mind behind [Deaton's] voice. Here is a singer who has thought himself into the part he is creating. He has a fine legato, he can produce the thinnest of pianissimos without crooning and he has lots of power." The Nation said of Deaton as Calaf in Turandot: " … Headstrong but innocent, Calaf was masterfully fleshed out by golden-voiced tenor Marc Deaton, who displayed a wonderfully flexible vibrato while effortlessly scaling the requisite top notes in such showstoppers as Nessun dorma!"

Deaton's opera career started when he won some small parts in the New Orleans Opera company. He later became an apprentice artist at the Santa Fe Opera, and went on to starring roles in locations that included Vienna, Bangkok, Taiwan, Japan, and Hong Kong.

But it wasn't until Deaton moved to Madison that he finally found himself in a nurturing environment that allowed him to fully exercise his creativity.

"This is where I want to be"

"We had an apartment in New York and we wanted a weekend place," Deaton said. " I thought it was going to be just a weekend place. But when I'm at home and not working, this is where I want to be. People are so amazingly warm and we were able to develop a lot of friendships."

Deaton said he found himself among a group of like-minded artists on the shoreline who wanted to expand their creative horizons. That led to the establishment recently of Madison Lyric Stage, a new performing arts collective that will focus on theatre, opera, chamber music and other arts.

"Madison has been a renaissance for me," Deaton said. "I'm so used to the commercial opera world and I do a lot of concerts. But when I moved to the shoreline, I met people who had similar ideas about the arts and performances. It was a great breeding ground for expression. It's so nice to be in this environment and to be not always so worried about how much money we're going to have to make. And there are so many talented people."

Working with what you have, and maintaining that professional edge

Some of those talented people will be featured in the film that will accompany Deaton's performance Sunday in The Swan Knight, Madison Lyric Stage's first event. The composer is Glen Cortese, who also worked with Deaton on his Tristan and Isolde recording. Susan Marie Pierson of Branford, who sang the part of Isolde to Deaton's Tristan in their recent recording, will be featured Sunday afternoon, along with Noah Sonenstein of Madison and Barbara Hentschel of Madison.

"Noah Sonenstein is a wonderful little boy and he does a great job. And Barbara Hentschel went to the Actors Studio, and the New School, and she was a working actress. And then she moved to Madison to raise her children," Deaton said. "We've become close friends. We have this idea of community theatre and working with what you have. Still, it's done with a professional edge. We are lucky enough to have those professional people in this area."

The promotional poster for The Swan Knight warns "due to the mature subject matter this performance is not suitable for young children." Deaton says that is true not only of The Swan Knight, but also of Tennessee Williams' one-act play Talk To Me Like the Rain and Let Me Listen ... , which will also be featured Sunday afternoon in New Haven. In addition to Hentschel, this production will feature John Johmann, who also has a home in Madison. He recently played the title role in Shakespeare's Macbeth in a production staged by the 13th Street Repertory Company in New York.

Really ... this isn't suitable for young children

Deaton recommended parents heed the warning about not bringing young children.

"It’s very true. There will be a lot of adult situations. And a little bit of nudity [in the Tennessee Williams' play]. Not radical nudity, but it is nudity," he said. "Little Noah doesn't even get to come see it. We'll make a special reel for him that is more suitable for him and his classmates."

Deaton says the dark moments in the performances will come with context.

Lucky is some areas, not so lucky in others

"What we were really hoping for when we wrote it, is to put it out there. So often people who have careers as a performers want to make it seem like it was all so very easy," he said. "Well, some of us have been lucky in some areas and not so lucky in others. This shows that you can come back from that and go on from that. That is what I try to show in the piece."

Deaton said he is looking forward to seeing how The Swan Knight fares.

"I hope our work translates into people in seats," he said.

In the meantime, he and his like-minded colleagues are contemplating their next offering. Several options are being considered.

"We have so many talented people here locally"

"We're still pondering it. We're trying to keep an open mind and we want to see how this event goes," he said. "We might want to do this event in another venue. There are some New York companies interested. Some of my European orchestras are interested. We might want to put together a season of plays."

Deaton says he also has a big barn at his Madison home. Options there might include cooking classes, and catering and growing an herb garden.

"We have so many talented people here locally. We are thinking of maybe doing a farm/barn dinner," he said. "People don't often get a chance to hear me sing locally because I generally don't. But maybe we could do something like an Italian/French countryside meal. Maybe a concert of opera arias and duets. Food. Entertainment."

Madison Lyric Stage will present the World Premiere of The Swan Knight and Tennesee Williams' Talk To Me Like the Rain And Let Me Listen ... Sunday, March 11, 2012 at 4 p.m. at the Off Broadway Theater on the Yale Campus at 41 Broadway, New Haven, CT. Tickets are $25 or $20 for students. For more information, call 203-779-5258.

From Marc Deaton on Facebook: If you wish to reserve in advance buying paying with a credit card, please go to contributions made using a credit card by visiting http://www.indiegogo.com/The-Swan-Knight.
If you just wish to reserve tickets email info@lianastable.com. Or you can purchase tickets cash/check at the door, but this theater only seats 200 and tickets are selling!!!