Alan Dornak - Countertenor, et al.

Born and raised in the incredibly well-known town of Clute, Texas, Alan was placed in choir at a very young age, because his mother found him to be too shy, and probably terribly annoying and needed a break.  Alan sang ALL THE TIME!  There wasn’t a ball hit, thrown or kicked in PE, or an otherwise quiet hallway that wasn’t terrorized by the sound of his melodic bellowing.  Alas, when his dream of studying micro biology at an elite science-oriented institute of higher education fell through because of cost, he was forced to enroll last-minute at a state school in Texas in order to begin the process of defining his future. As a freshman, Alan was cast in the terribly serious part of Papageno in an obscure opera called The Magic Flute.  This role is, of course, notoriously no fun to play and never gets the well-deserved applause.  Nevertheless, Alan took the task upon himself and made the best of such a dire situation. Through sheer willpower and true genius he uncovered the well-hidden quips of the  mediocre score, illuminating the haphazard tidbits of charm of each blasé musical gesture in the otherwise uninspiring noise of the lesser-known  and long-forgotten composer Mozart.  The applause was deafening!  Because of this resounding success, Alan decided to make it his life’s goal to rescue obscure works from being forgotten or worse relegated to elevator music faintly heard whimpering at the back of every K-mart throughout the land. This genius and strength led to the critically acclaimed career he coasts on even to this day… 

Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as “an impressive new countertenor on the scene” for his performance of Athamas in Handel’s Semele with the Long Beach Opera, Alan has enjoyed an extensive career spanning several decades, genres and voice types. Originally establishing his professional career as a tenor directly out of college, Alan joined the Houston Grand Opera chorus and performed roles with various other opera companies in the area, notably performing Tonio in La Fille de Régiment with the Houston Opera Theater. After two years of performing with Houston Grand Opera, other regional opera companies, Houston’s Christ Church Cathedral, teaching voice lessons at four area high schools and, most importantly, acting as “classical manager” for the CD department of downtown Houston Borders Books and Music, Alan had finally saved up enough money for a two-week audition trip to Germany. After a long two weeks became a short three months, Alan finally landed his dream job as an operatic tenor with the Brandenburg State Theater in Cottbus, Germany with double contract as chorister and soloist. Alan did it ALL!  Coming up on two years of performing in Cottbus, a city he lovingly called the Clute, Texas of Germany, Alan began to feel the itch of bigger and better.  Landing a similar position at the Frankfurt Opera House, Alan found bigger…He began to dream of the places he could visit using the glorious Frankfurt airport.  Alas, this dream would not come true. While still under contract with the Brandenburg State Theater, he was cast as the Seaman in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas and asked if he would mind also taking on the role of the Spirit.  Agreeing to the task, Alan showed up to the first musical rehearsal not knowing that the Spirit part was to be sung up the octave. With his belt tightened and all his prowess as a high bel canto tenor in tow, Alan showed that octave who’s boss!  It was at the first performance that Alan realized that this higher octave role would get the larger applause. Alan likes applause…

The press and Frankfurt were put on hold. With one eyebrow cocked and a gleam in his eye, Alan began to explore this strange new world of countertenor.  Who better to talk to than a world-renowned countertenor, THE Michael Chance.  After singing for, and working with Michael, he was given a resounding endorsement and was encouraged to counter the tenor himself!  It was then, only after the absolute honor of being awarded a grant by the Horst and Gretl Will Foundation, that Alan could begin his studies as a countertenor at the Hochschule für Musik in Dresden where he received two advanced degrees in vocal performance. Immediately after making the transition to countertenor, even before beginning his studies, Alan found himself in demand as a concert soloist throughout Germany in regional and international music festivals with renowned early music ensembles such as the Dresdner Kreuzchor, Berliner Lautten Compagney, Dresdner Kammerchor, Sächsiches Vocalensemble, Weimarer Barockensemble, Ensemble Alte Musik Dresden, and the Telemannisches Collegium Michaelstein.  Fear not, Alan’s dramatic flare was not put on hold amongst all the concerts, he enjoyed enormous success on the opera stage as well.  

Alan made his countertenor stage debut with the Berliner Kammeroper as Valerius in Kaiser’s Der Tempel des Janus. His success continued with notable engagements with the Berliner Lautten Compagney including roles in two Pallavicino operas, singing Hermia/Aristo in a touring production of L’Antiope and Ubaldo in La Gerusalemme liberata at the Dresden Music Festival. Also at the Dresden Music Festival, he was praised for his “powerful voice” (Dresdner Neueste Nachrichten) for his performances of Odoardo/Lelio in Hasse’s La Sorella amante. He performed the role of Cleone in Graun’s Orfeo with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin (conducted by Ralf Popken) at the Music Festival Potsdam-Sanssouci, and the roles of Eris and Sophimene in numerous touring performances of Meder’s Die beständige Argenia. These performances were featured in a German television documentary, Behind the Scenes with a Countertenor.  Alan has also triumphed in performances of standard operatic countertenor repertoire such as Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (directed by Axel Koehler) performed in Munich and Regensburg and the title role of Giulio Cesare multiple times in Dresden and New York. Classics Today praised Mr. Dornak for “using his big countertenor voice with authority and accuracy” when he sang the role of Tauride in Handel’s Arianna in Creta with New York’s Gotham Chamber Opera. Alan’s engagements in Europe, the US and South America, have established him as an artist of international critical acclaim.

After moving back to the US and putting down roots in New York City, Alan, funnily enough, sang more Bach than he ever did in Germany as the principal alto soloist of the Bach Vespers Choir of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Manhattan, a professional performance ensemble which uses period instruments. He joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera in 2006-07, understudying the role of Ptolomeo in the last Zeffirelli production of Giulio Cesare. The following year Alan performed the role of Halimacus in Croesus with Minnesota Opera, a co-production with Opera North of Leeds. Other highlights include the title role in Giulio Cesare with the Hudson Opera Theatre, alto soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Greater Pensacola Symphony Orchestra, works by Bach including his Magnificat in D with the Bach Choir, Messiah with the Maryhouse Chorus and Chamber Orchestra, Hartke’s Tituli at the Church of the Transfiguration (NY), and Joad in Handel’s Athalia with the Queens Chamber Band, and Ode on the Death of Henry Purcell at Carnegie Hall (Weill Hall) also with The Queen’s Chamber Band. Other highlights of his extensive oratorio experience include performances of Handel’s Joshua, Bach’s St. John Passion and Christmas Oratorio, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, and Orff’s Carmina Burana. Among the plethora of Händel’s Messiah, Alan has performed as bass chorister, bass soloist, tenor chorister, tenor soloist, and now alto soloist. He has two favorite productions, one with the absolutely stunning Boston Baroque, and the other in The Netherlands in which, aside from the 800 tickets sold, 700 more were granted entry as standing room (mostly sitting on the floor).  AMAZING! 

Alan has enjoyed performing recitals in many countries, but his hands-down favorite was as a guest of Brazil’s Ministry of Culture in which he toured Brazil with the Ensemble Il Dolcimelo, performing in the capitol, Brazilia, Nova Friburgo, and at Petropolis Imperial Palace.  Alan LOVES a palace! And to be honest, other recitals that are at the top of the list include recent performances with good friends like Mezzo-Soprano Hayden DeWitt, premiering new Lieder compositions of another good friend, pianist and composerDerek Henderson. Truly wonderful settings of English and German language poetry. Find his songs!  Sing his songs!

Among his various recordings, Alan has gained critical acclaim and earned special recognition from Klassik Heute for his “beautiful voice” and “exemplary” performance in the 2004 recording of J.K. Kerll’s Missa Nigra released by Oehmsclassic. Recordings of Mr. Dornak’s performances have been broadcast regularly throughout Europe.

ALAN DORNAK - Countertenor

Born and raised in Clute, Texas, Alan’s passion for music and theater began at a young age and, after High School, led him to study at Sam Houston State University where, as a freshman, he was cast as Papageno in Mozart’s The Magic Flute. His success in the role encouraged him to pursue a career in opera. Entering college as a baritone and graduating as a tenor, Alan began to establish himself immediately after graduation and, since then, has enjoyed an extensive career spanning several decades, genres and voice types. 

During a successful audition trip to Germany, Alan landed his dream job as a tenor with the Brandenburg State Theater in Cottbus under double contract as chorister and soloist. While in Cottbus, he was cast as the Seaman in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas and asked if he would also take on the role of the Spirit (normally sung by a countertenor).  It was this fortuitous casting - met with resounding accolades - which eventually led him to consider making the Fach switch from tenor to countertenor. Then, after working with Michael Chance, the world-renowned countertenor, Alan was given the “seal of approval” leading him to definitively make the switch.  

Alan was awarded a grant by the Horst and Gretl Will Foundation and began studying as a countertenor at the Hochschule für Musik in Dresden, receiving two advanced degrees in vocal performance. Even before beginning his studies, Alan found himself in demand as a concert soloist throughout Germany with renowned early music ensembles such as the Dresdner Kreuzchor, Berliner Lautten Compagney, Dresdner Kammerchor, Sächsiches Vocalensemble, Weimarer Barockensemble, Ensemble Alte Musik Dresden, and the Telemannisches Collegium Michaelstein.  

Alan made his countertenor debut on the operatic stage with the Berliner Kammeroper as Valerius in Der Tempel des Janus by Reinhard Kaiser. His success continued with notable engagements with the Berliner Lautten Compagney including roles in two Pallavicino operas, singing Hermia/Aristo in a touring production of L’Antiope and Ubaldo in La Gerusalemme Liberata at the Dresden Music Festival. Also at the Dresden Music Festival, Alan performed the role of Odoardo/Lelio in Hasse’s La Sorella amante. He performed Cleone in Graun’s Orfeo with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin (conducted by Ralf Popken) at the Music Festival Potsdam-Sanssouci.  His performance of the two roles of Eris and Sophimene in Meder’s Die beständige Argenia were featured in a German television documentary, Behind the Scenes with a Countertenor.  

Alan has also triumphed in performances of more standard operatic countertenor repertoire such as Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (directed by Axel Koehler) and the title role of Giulio Cesare in multiple international productions. Classics Today praised him for “using his big countertenor voice with authority and accuracy” when he sang the role of Tauride in Handel’s Arianna in Creta with New York’s Gotham Chamber Opera. 

Highlights since putting down roots in New York City include: the role of Athamas in Long Beach Opera’s Semele, for which he was hailed as “an impressive new countertenor on the scene” by the Los Angeles Times, joining the roster of the Metropolitan Opera to understudy the role of Ptolomeo in the last Zeffirelli production of Giulio Cesare, performing the role of Halimacus in Croesus by Reinhard Kaiser with Minnesota Opera, a co-production with Opera North of Leeds, the title role in Giulio Cesare with the Hudson Opera Theatre, alto soloist in multiple performances of Handel’s Messiah with Boston Baroque, Greater Pensacola Symphony Orchestra, and the Maryhouse Chorus and Chamber Orchestra, works by Bach including numerous Cantatas and the Magnificat in D as the principal alto soloist of the Bach Vespers Choir of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Manhattan, Hartke’s Tituli and Joad in Handel’s Athalia with the Queens Chamber Band at the Church of the Transfiguration (NYC), and Ode on the Death of Henry Purcell at Carnegie Hall (Weill Hall) also with The Queen’s Chamber Band. 

Alan was honored to accept an invitation by Brazil’s Ministry of Culture to give recitals throughout the country accompanied by the Ensemble Il Dolcimelo. He continues to give frequent recitals in his second home of Dresden, Germany, premiering new Lieder compositions by pianist and composer Derek Henderson. 

Among his various recordings, Alan has gained critical acclaim and earned special recognition from Klassik Heute for his “beautiful voice” and “exemplary” performance in the 2004 recording of J.K. Kerll’s Missa Nigra released by Oehmsclassic. Recordings of Alan’s performances have been broadcast regularly throughout Europe.