In a life story scripted as any good opera, it was twists of fate that brought Kevin Patterson to Austin and to the position of General Director of the Austin Lyric Opera. Although Patterson did not come from a musical family, he grew up in the Lutheran church where music is bedrock. At a very early age he began singing in the church choir and his interest in music led to participating in choir, band, orchestra and jazz band. As fate would have it, Patterson saw his first opera, Don Giovanni, on a field trip to Indiana University during his junior year in high school. “I was completely blown away. I fell in love with opera and to this day I look back and can remember the power of that performance.” In a natural progression, Patterson, a native of Indianapolis, found himself at Indiana University enrolled at the prestigious Indiana School of Music on a voice scholarship. “I always knew that I wanted to do something with music, but I didn’t know what I would do. I was headed to another university on a bassoon scholarship, when I decided to audition for I.U. Seven hundred and fifty men auditioned and I got in.” Although Patterson began as a voice student, a wise mentor, Professor Bob Stoll suggested a little known program—a B.S. degree with an emphasis on opera production and Patterson found his niche. “While I was at Indiana I had no idea of the huge impact it would have on my life. Now we jokingly call the people from that program the Opera Mafia because in any opera production or company in the nation you will always find someone from I.U. When I graduated I had produced 60 operas. There is no other school like that in the nation.”

During his undergraduate tenure at Indiana, Patterson got the opportunity to stage manage a production for the Nashville Opera and he jumped at the chance. His professor, Jim Lucas, retired from the Metropolitan Opera, received a call that the stage manager of the company had passed away and they needed someone in Nashville as soon as possible. Patterson accompanied Lucas to stage the show and along the way met a young conductor, Richard Buckley. As fate would have it, Buckley is now Patterson’s principal conductor for the Austin Lyric Opera. “We always stayed in touch and through the years we worked together in Chicago and Pittsburgh. When the job came open in Austin, Richard contacted me. From him I first learned about the great reputation of ALO and got an idea of the support it has in this city. When I was offered the interview Dana and I talked and I knew that we would be moving to Austin. I was meant to be here.”

Also at Indiana University, as Patterson’s life libretto would unfold, a pretty pianist entered his story. Serving as the accompanist for his voice lessons with baritone Walter Cassel of Metropolitan Opera fame, Dana would provide a distraction for Patterson. “I was so busy looking at her that I never really learned how to sing. We dated all through school and were actually engaged. She was a farm girl from Indiana and didn’t see herself living the life I was planning, moving about pursuing a career in opera so she dumped me.” Patterson’s woebegone heart never forgot the talented pianist and ten years later when he returned to Indianapolis to work on his M.B.A., the pair reconnected and have been happily married since 2001. With daughter Janelle rounding out the family, Kevin and Dana have made their home in north Austin. Dana teaches music at Double File Trail Elementary in the Round Rock System where she incorporates the music and stories of opera into her classes. While a love of all things musical serves as a common bond for Kevin and Dana, “Dana has an opportunity to do something she loves and feels good about. We both believe that music and the arts should be an integral and important part of the curriculum. Yes, science and math are important, but you have to educate the whole child.”

A passion for the art form of opera and the opportunity to educate the community about opera was the deciding factor in Patterson’s decision to make Austin his home. “Dana and I loved Pittsburgh. There I ran both the production and the artistic side. She was teaching and very happy. If this were just another opera company I would have stayed in Pittsburgh. The Austin Lyric Opera allows me to integrate the opera into the community in a way that I am not sure can be done anywhere else in the United States. It is the fabric of this city that makes Austin and the opera company unique.”

I was not interested in becoming the General Director of an opera company where I would go out and raise a ton of money and put on three traditional operas. When I got to Austin I realized that this was an opportunity to integrate the art form into a community whose theme was ‘Keep Austin Weird’ and the people were serious about maintaining that out of the box identity. Beyond the fact that Joe McClain had a reputation for producing varied seasons-adding American operas, original operas and non-traditional staging of the classics, the ALO had also reached into the community through its music school embedded into the company’s mission and the diverse community groups—La Noche de Opera, the Bravo Club, Triangle on Stage. What was interesting to me was the idea that opera should be accessible to anyone regardless of their race, their gender or orientation, their age, their talent level. This opera company is a true reflection of the entire community. Here in Austin I had the opportunity to build a season that was balanced and had something for everyone. The Austin Lyric Opera allows me to integrate the opera into the community in a way that I am not sure can be done anywhere else in the United States. It is the fabric of this city that makes Austin and the opera company unique.”

Patterson has embraced the ‘unique’ character of Austin. In programming this season, he opened with a non-traditional take on Cinderella, setting the familiar story in Hollywood of the 1930’s. Opening on January 31st, father-daughter issues will take center stage in the classic version of Rigoletto followed by The Dialogues of the Carmelites in April. “Mainly opera companies are seen as an elitist art form for well-heeled people. I want everyone to be exposed to this wonderful art form. Rigoletto will appeal to traditional opera fans and I am bringing a wonderful young Russian singer, Lyubov Petrova, to Austin in the role of Gilda. She stole the show last year at the Houston Grand Opera and on January 12th, in conjunction with the Austin Film Society we are screening Kenneth Branagh’s The Magic Flute at the Alamo Draft House South. Lyubov stars as the Queen of the night in the $20 million dollar production and she will attend the screening. The film premiered at the Toronto Film festival in 2006, but has not been distributed in the U.S. Lyubov will attend and speak at the screening. It will be a real treat for Austin audiences.”

Although Austin Audiences are not familiar with the Dialogues of the Carmelites, Patterson believes the opera is particularly relevant for today. “In essence among the gorgeous melodies and beautiful story, the opera asks the question of the audience, ‘What do you believe…do you hold those beliefs so close that you would be willing to die for them?’ It will give the community something to think about and may begin a community dialogue of its own.”

Patterson also participates in KMFA’s Inside the Opera Studio, a radio program with Diane Donavan as host which invites students and opera patrons into a discussion with artists about life as an opera singer. “It is another way to make ALO accessible to Austin. The show airs on the Monday night between the Sunday and Wednesday opera performances. It’s a James Lipton type take on the industry.”

Lest you think Patterson is all work and no play, both Kevin and Dana love to travel and are looking forward to exploring Austin and Texas. Of Austin, Dana said, “I immediately felt welcome here. Everyone is so friendly and nice. They are really helpful and will strike up a conversation. We want to learn everything about Austin and Texas and see what makes Austin so unique even in Texas.” Patterson’s other passions include baseball and running. Having faced a health issue and lost 40 pounds, Patterson runs 20 to 25 miles a week and is training for the half-marathon. He has encouraged the opera staff to join him and most recently his daughter, Janelle joined her dad for her first run in the Keep Austin Weird tradition at the annual Turkey Trot. Patterson is also wild about baseball, looking forward to the Express’ season. “I love baseball. I will watch it anytime and anywhere. To me baseball is America. I took Janelle to see her first opera at 6 months old, but when she was only 3 months old I propped her up on my lap and we watched baseball. She loves to watch with me.”

Baseball may have served as a reference for the Lyric Opera’s twist on this year’s fundraising efforts, The Curveball Campaign, which replaces the traditional ALO Gala (see page 38 in Lifestyle). Keeping with Patterson’s goal of being accessible and responsive to the community he said, “This is a tough economic climate currently. As such we felt strongly that asking our patrons to support a lavish ball at this time was both a poor financial decision and sent the wrong message about what ALO stands for with respect to our mission. Every dollar should be focused on the mission to produce opera of the highest artistic caliber and to provide music education to the Austin community. We are the community’s opera company and we have a responsibility to be good stewards of the money that we receive.”

For an art form noted for twists of fate, resilient and creative characters from all walks of life, Kevin Patterson seems perfectly positioned to lead the Austin Lyric Opera to a new level of accessibility and community participation. Lucky for Austin and for the Austin Lyric Opera in particular, a young man turned down a scholarship to study bassoon and was introduced to the two loves of his life: opera and a young pianist that continues to make his heart sing while supporting his passion. In making Austin their home the couple has embraced all things that make Austin unique. Patterson has approached his new home with the eye and heart of a stage manager, mindful of the twists and turns that provide the quirky setting for the first-class productions he intends to become his signature pieces…a life libretto with a happy ending.
Written by Deborah Hamilton-Lynne
Photos by Andrew Sterling