Taylor Hooper Photography
Kannan Vasudevan,
tenor, has performed in opera and oratorio from the Baroque to contemporary music. Highlights of his stage experience include the title role in The Play of Daniel, Ariadne auf Naxos (Dance Master), The Magic Flute (Monostatos), and Purcell’s The Indian Queen (Fame).
Kannan was praised as “lively” (Opera News) for his portrayal of Tonik in Smetana’s Two Widows and “sang sweetly” (Opera Magazine) for his performance as Pronin in Inessa Zaretsky’s Man in a Black Coat. He plays multiple roles in Kamala Sankaram’s Thumbprint, which premiered at the 2014 Prototype Festival in New York and was remounted to wide acclaim at LA Opera in 2017.
An accomplished concert soloist, Kannan has sung the First Elder in Handel’s Susanna, the Evangelist in Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, Bach’s Magnificat & Mass in G Major, Handel’s Messiah, Charpentier’s Pastoral de Noël, Mozart’s Requiem, Saint-Saëns’ Christmas Oratorio, David Lang’s Battle Hymns, and numerous cantatas and motets by Britten, Bach, Schütz, and Charpentier. He appeared as Jesus in A Jazz Passion with its composers, noted jazz musicians Andy Tecson, Bobby Schiff, and Bobby Lewis.
His opera company appearances include Beth Morrison Projects, Little Opera Theatre of NY, American Chamber Opera Company, Bronx Opera, and Opera on Tap, and such concert groups as the Collegiate Chorale, Hudson Valley Singers, Long Island Choral Society, Choral Chameleon, Cantata Singers, St. Peter’s Bach Collegium, and Choeur Régional Provence.
Feast in Time of Plague - photo by Hank James
Man in a Black Coat - photo by Tina Buckman
Such Beautiful Things with Choral Chameleon - photo by Amanda Peskin
As a professional chorister, Kannan has performed with numerous ensembles in the New York City area, including the New York Virtuoso Singers, Bard Festival Chorale, New York Choral Artists, Bach Choir of Holy Trinity Lutheran, and St. Bartholomew’s Summer Festival Choir. Kannan has studied at the Aspen and Bowdoin Summer Music Festivals and was a winner of the Wesleyan University Concerto Competition.