One year after operatic tenor Greg Kunde received an honorary Doctor
of Arts degree from Illinois State University, the ISU alumnus will return
on Monday, Feb. 26, for an 8 p.m. recital in the Center for the Performing
Arts Concert Hall.
A Kankakee native who came to Illinois State in 1974 to become a choral conductor, Kunde switched gears in his senior year and successfully auditioned for the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s prestigious Young Artists program. Since then, he has found great operatic success throughout the U.S. and at the world’s most notable opera venues. He is regarded by many as the most elegant and accomplished bel canto singers on the opera stage today.
In 2005 he appeared in operas productions in Amsterdam, Sydney and in the Canary Islands as well as several U.S. cities. When he came to Normal for last year’s Founders Day, he was in the middle of a series of performances at the Cagliari Opera House on the island of Sardinia. Last April he performed in Paris, in October in Switzerland and earlier this month he performed in Bellini’s “I Puritani” at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City.
Admission to Kunde’s recital is $6 for the general public, $5 for faculty-staff and $4 for students and senior citizens. Tickets can be purchased at the CPA box office, by calling (309) 438-2535 or on line through Ticketmaster.
