KELLY KUO RETURN TO
HOME PAGE KELLY KUO www.kellykuo.com Biography 2010-2011
An accomplished young conductor and pianist, Kelly Kuo has had tremendous success working with both singers and instrumentalists in the United States and abroad in an astonishingly broad spectrum of repertoire including nearly 50 operas spanning the 17th through 21st centuries.. He was granted the 2009 Solti Foundation/U.S. Career Assistance Award for young conductors and his most recent engagements, La traviata for Kentucky Opera starring Elizabeth Futral garnered critical acclaim: “Conductor Kelly Kuo led the Louisville Orchestra Friday with considerable verve, and no shortage of idiomatic delicacy,” followed by Porgy and Bess in Las Palmas and Hansel and Gretel for Lyric Opera San Diego. Upcoming engagements include Rhapsody in Blue the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and cover conductor for Les Contes d’Hoffmann at Santa Fe Opera.
Reviews La Traviata – Kentucky Opera “Conductor Kelly
Kuo led the Louisville Orchestra Friday with considerable verve, and no
shortage of idiomatic delicacy. Occupying the newly expanded Brown pit,
members of the brass and woodwind sections had to sit in the rear on a
lower level than the strings, following Kuo via television monitors when
they couldn't actually see him. It could not have been an easy adjustment,
but they played like the professionals they are, and from my seat just
about dead center downstairs, the sound was balanced and quite full.” Hansel and Gretel – Lyric Opera San Diego
“Kelly Kuo
conducted the LOSD Orchestra, keeping the show moving at a good pace while
also managing not to drown out his singers on the stage”AC “Humperdinck’s orchestration is lush. He
was a colleague of Richard Wagner’s and it shows throughout the opera, and
in certain places one hears echoes of Wagner’s Dutchman, Fafner and the
Wood Sprite. Under the baton of Kelly Kuo, the well-rehearsed 29-member
orchestra handles the music quite well.” “Wagner fans with
motif memory hear allusions to Faffner and the Flying Dutchman and take
pleasure in Humperdinck’s lush orchestrations, remarkably played by the
Lyric Opera orchestra under the baton of Kelly Kuo.” Coś fan tutte – Madison Opera Conducting the
score…from the harpsichord, another Madison newcomer, Kelly Kuo, ran a
tight ship. And I loved his clever keyboard noodlings into which he
slipped at least two quotations from other Mozart scores -- the "Rondo
alla turca" and the Don Giovanni Serenade. “Madison Opera’s
decadent production of Mozart’s “Cosi Fan Tutte” lights up the Capitol
Theater this weekend with a talented ensemble cast and fine orchestra
conducted by Kelly Kuo. Kuo’s flowing; smooth conducting style fits the
piece well.” Rumpelstiltskin/Trial by Jury – Lyric Opera San Diego “Kelly Kuo does
yeoman's duty in the orchestra pit.” Madama Butterfly – Eugene Opera Friday evening,
Eugene Opera proved that when presented with ravishing singing and
luminous orchestral playing, “Butterfly” remains powerful, even
irresistible, theater…The conductor Kelly Kuo drew lush and expressive
playing from this group. Rarely have I heard this orchestra in such good
form. Iolanthe – Lyric Opera San Diego
“Conductor Kelly Kuo also deserves raves. He doesn’t try to make Iolanthe
into another Pinafore; instead, he savors the score’s unusual, almost
Mozartean delicacy and the contrapuntal effects between the two choruses
which Sullivan wrote into his score.” “The
top-notch orchestra is expertly led by conductor Kelly Kuo.” “The solos, duets
and ensemble numbers were persuasively presented Sunday and received able
support from the 30-member pit orchestra, led by guest conductor Kelly Kuo
in his first company engagement. Particularly effective was the overture's
sprightly interplay of winds and strings, which recalled Mendelssohn's
music.” “The
show also marked the Lyric Opera debut of Opera Pacific’s Kelly Kuo, who
led the orchestra in a wholly satisfying, if not quite rousing
performance.” El amor brujo – Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra CCO assistant
conductor Kelly Kuo led a finely-tuned performance of “El amor brujo,”
rich in drama and emotion, with pealing trumpets, colorful winds and
lovely solo work by principal cellist Patrick Binford and assistant
concertmaster Sujean Kim. Opera Under the Stars – Opera Pacific “Assistant
conductor Kelly Kuo took over for the ‘Carmen’ selections and showed a
firm hand and rhythmic liveliness.”
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