BY KAREN BOSSICK
Hadleigh Adams has played plenty of larger-than-life roles, ranging from Agrippa in “Antony & Cleopatra” to Mercutio in “Romeo et Juliette” to Jesus.
But he slips into character for his next role so quickly that he sometimes forgets the character he just left behind.
“It’s a funny thing to say “Oh yeah, I forgot I played Jesus,’ ” but the career is a lot of involving yourself in the interior world of a character you’re playing, then a day later forgetting it all and moving on to the next,” said Adams. “That said some characters are harder to say goodbye to than others. Stanley Kowalski from ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ was amazing to play. But, being from New Zealand, the Southern accent took a lot of work!”
The bass-baritone will assume a variety of characters for his performance with the Sun Valley Opera at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17, at The Argyros in Ketchum. The program, which kicks off with wine and hors d’oeuvres at 5:30 p.m., is titled “Stories from the Stage: A Life Well Lived in Musical Theater and Opera.”
It will include what Adams calls “a relaxed mix” of traditional music theatre, Andrew Lloyd Weber, Stephen Sondheim, songs from The Great American Songbook and a few beautiful pieces from the world of opera. Among them, Weber’s “Music of the Night” and “Toreador Song” from “Carmen.”
“Essentially, I chose pieces that I would like to hear in a concert in the middle of winter. Big music theatre ballads, soaring melodies and some lighthearted fun,” he said.
Born in Palmerston North, New Zealand, Adams was about to graduate from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London when he decided to apply on the spur of the moment for San Francisco’s Merola Opera Program. He had been mesmerized by a DVD of the San Francisco Opera’s “A Streetcar Named Desire” and decided he wanted to be part of a company that could produce a show like that.
He flew to New York for a five-minute audition and was soon forging his career on yet another continent.
At 37, he has the tall, dark, handsome looks of a leading man on the big screen. But he has chosen to perform on stages of opera and musical theater in places like San Francisco, New York, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Sydney, Australia, praised by such reviewers as Paul Selar of operachser.com for his “deeply cavernous and adrenaline-rich baritone.”
He also has been acclaimed for his comic touch. and he says he loves performing comedic roles, despite the immense demands of getting the timing down as precisely as Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes dropping a touchdown pass into Travis Kelce’s arms.
“Holding a laugh line a second too long can ruin the punchline. But, at the same time, a lot of it is out of your control,” he said. “You can deliver a punch line that one audience will laugh riotously at, and the next performance that same laugh line falls flat on its face. The stage and the audience create the environment together, and every show really is different.”
Adams says opera is not a passive experience and for that reason he loves the Sun Valley audience.
“I had a blast the last time I performed in Sun Valley in 2018. Audiences there are so warm, appreciative, and generous. I’m delighted to be back,” he said.
Sun Valley Opera Co-Founder and President Frank Meyer said the feeling is mutual—Sun Valley Opera patrons can’t wait to see him in concert again.
"It is no surprise that six years ago when we had two performances with this New Zealand baritone, the patrons asked: When is he coming back?” he said. “We finally got him back and music lovers are looking forward to not only his voice but also his humor and fun personality. In fact, the New Yorker calls him ‘a comic tour de force.’ ”
Adams says it doesn’t hurt that he’s being accompanied by Sean Rogers, a Boise pianist who accompanies all of Sun Valley Opera’s guest stars.
“He’s one of the greatest pianists I’ve had the pleasure to work alongside,” Adams said. “It’s worth coming just to hear how good he can make me sound!”
IF YOU GO….Tickets are available at https://theargyros.org/calendar/sun-valley-opera-the-met-broadway-and-more-2/.