Steve has been a longtime friend. I first met him at the Greater Miami Opera in 1984, when he joined the inaugural year of the young artists program there. He had a great sense of humor, a rough and ready American baritone, and a wonderful generosity. He was very opinionated, and not afraid to tell you what he thought, which can be a problem for singers, who generally are supposed to be very docile, especially early in their careers. He had a good run, including a Philip Glass premiere in Europe, several New York City Opera tours, and lots of regional work, particularly as a Pappageno.
On a trip to New York to hold auditions, I ran into Steve covered in white dust. Turns out he was doing under-the-table contracting work for big bucks in between singing jobs. I tucked this information away and when Opera Memphis was starting to get serious about creating a new rehearsal-office facility, I approached him about becoming the General Manager and General Director. As the facility was being built, he was instrumental in keeping the architects and contractors on task and on time, something I never would have been able to do. Steve's warmth was great with our donors, and he was a particular favorite with one, Barbara Marshall, who was exceedingly generous and also demanding.
Steve went on to Nashville Opera and has just finished up seventeen years at Shreveport Opera, which was rechristened "Steveport" by the entire opera field. Keeping a small opera company afloat is one of the hardest jobs in opera. You have hardly any staff and very little money. Steve did it in style, staying in the black, and even doing an occasional adventurous show like DEAD MAN WALKING.
Steve produced SPEED DATING TONIGHT! several times. I always knew about his witty and silly lyric writing--he wrote several school shows that have played at Shreveport and other companies--and he eventually wrote lyrics to several numbers in SpDT!, including "My Priest," "I live in a singlewide," "Wildlife Rehabilitator," and "Kleptomaniac." For the 2025 version of SPEED DATING TONIGHT!, his last production, he wrote lyrics to "Blood Donors," and "My Darling Pet Snake."
Here's "Blood Donors"--Steve is a multigallon donor himself and even put together several blood drives at Opera Memphis.
