Praised for his "commanding stage presence" and "rich, resonant bass, Kenneth was born and raised in Washington, D.C, music has been a part of his life since grade school. Nurtured in the public school system by amazing music teachers, began formal training at the Duke Ellington School of the Performing and Visual Arts as a Vocal and Visual Arts student.
Among his roles are staples of opera repertoire: The title role, in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, as well as Leporello and Il Commendatore, Mephistopheles in Gounod’s Faust, Don Alfonso in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte, Ramfis and Il Re in Verdi’s Aida, Colline in Puccini’s La Boheme, the title role of Handel’s Hercules, The King in Handel’s Ariodante, Osmin in Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Sarastro and the Speaker in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Sparafucile in Verdi’s Rigoletto, Fasolt in Wagner’s Das Rheingold. Jeanine Tesori and Tazewell Thompson's opera Blue was written for him. It was named the best new opera of 2020 by the Music Critics Association of North America.
Never afraid to step outside of the box of traditional repertoire, Mr. Kellogg has been involved with several new operas. He sang the role of Queequeg in the workshop of Jake Heggie’s acclaimed, Moby Dick at San Francisco Opera. He led the cast in the west coast premier of Terence Blanchard’s Champion: An Opera in Jazz, as the champion boxer, Young Emile Griffith, to rave reviews with Opera Parallele. He has been a guest at the Opera America’s New Works Forum in NY, where among other roles, he brought to life the character of Sam Bankhead in Dan Sonenberg’s Opera, The Summer King, about the life of Negro League great, Joshua Gibson. . He is a frequent collaborator with small companies pushing the boudaries of the Art of Opera and has lent his voice to several voice-over projects.
Mr. Kellogg has managed a very active performing schedule between the US and Europe. He has worked with many leaders in the field at houses including San Francisco Opera, LA Opera, Washington National Opera, Seattle Opera, Atlanta Opera, Washington Concert Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Opera Tampa, Opera Memphis, Opera North Carolina, Opera Parallele, and is set to make several role and house debuts. His European debut was in the role of Sarastro at Opera de Oviedo where he returned to sing the devil himself, Mephistopheles in Faust. He also sang the same 2 roles with Opera de Lausanne.
He in an Alumnus of the Adler Fellowship Program at San Francisco Opera and the Domingo-Caftriz Emerging Artist Program at Washington National Opera. He also trained at the Academy of Vocal Arts, Wolf Trap Opera and holds degrees from the University of Michigan and Ohio University. He is a frequent guest lecturer for organizations about music. He is an advocate for artist rights and uses his certification from Cornell University to consult with performing arts organizations on their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives.
Thanks to the Living Heritage Foundation for sponsoring the participation of bass soloist, Kenneth Kellogg.