By John Hayden
When Kyaunnee Richardson takes the stage, you feel her presence, are stunned by her poise, and taken in by her beauty. When she opens her mouth and starts to sing, her voice more than meets the moment. With challenging runs often in a foreign language, opera is a difficult discipline to master. To do it on stage under hot lights in elaborate costumes adds extra degrees of difficulty to the job. But it’s a lifelong passion for Richardson who exudes elegance on and off stage.
The South Florida native is coming home for some holiday season performances and took some time to chat with me about how she’s cultivated her talent and turned it into a successful career.
John Hayden: You’ve been around music all your life. Talk about your musical household growing up.
Kyaunnee Richardson: I have been singing since the age of two. Growing up, I was surrounded by music ranging from genres such as classical music to musical theater to classic Disney to Whitney Houston. Sometimes, driving to school, mom would play Whitney Houston’s cassette tape in the car and I’d sing along to “The Greatest Love of All” and “Count on Me” from Waiting to Exhale. As I briefly touched on, classical music was in my household. I would listen to Handel’s Messiah during Christmas time along with Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker.
My mom gave me a foundation at home and then she placed me in the elementary choir and was later placed in the children’s church choir. As I got older, I tried to get into another choir but I was too young. However, because of my level of experience, they made an exception for me. A few years later, I would enter into the adult church choir.
JH: I’ve watched a few of your performances on YouTube. And I’m struck by your stage presence. What’s your “show day” ritual and how do you pull it all together to give a performance?
KR: Majority of the time, “show days” are pretty chilled for me since I’ve already put in the hard work the time before the actual event. So, there’s no need to stress about it. I get up and exercise by walking, running, lifting weights and drinking lots of water throughout the day. Then I come home and shower and do a couple of things on my laptop before eating breakfast. I tend to either watch Netflix, Disney+, or some YouTube videos or take a nap before the performance in the evening. Eventually, I eat something light then head to the theater, put on my make-up and gown, warm up and do a quick little music review or play games on my phone until it is time to go on.
JH: LGBTQIA+ loves the arts and those with a good musical ear (or just a love of beautiful music) love opera. What is your relationship to the community?
KR: Towards the beginning of my career, I was given an opportunity to sing with the Gay Men’s Chorus of Miami in a Broadway concert. If I remember correctly, the money we raised for the concert was donated to the LGBTQIA+ community. It was a fun concert! I had a couple of friends in the chorus I was happy to see again after being away in Grad School. And I sang many concerts at the Sunshine Cathedral during my time with Opera Fusion. But it wasn’t until 2015/16 that I was involved in the new opera presented by Opera Fusion called Not in My Town written by Michael Ross. The opera is based on the true story of Matthew Shepard. I was pretty young when those events occurred. It wasn’t until this project that I learned more about Matthew and the LGBTQIA+ community. I was utterly moved to tears. In the Spring of 2019, I was asked to sing with the Gay Men’s Chorus of Fort Lauderdale. I’ve made friends from many of those performances. Many have come out to some of my performances to support me. The support from this community has been one of great love.
JH: Why is performing in South Florida special and when will we be able to see you here?
KR: It’s home for me. It’s a safe place where I can try out new things before going out into the world. It’s a place where I have made many memories that I cherish in my heart. It’s a place where I have grown and found the courage to challenge myself to go beyond my hometown. I have been able to explore many different cities in Florida through this gift and talent and am excited to see where I go from here.
I will be participating in a concert in Delray Beach on November 20, 2022, at the First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach. In January 2023, I’ll be heading to Melbourne, FL, to make my debut with the Brevard Symphony Orchestra. Immediately after that, I’ll head up to St. Augustine to debut with First Coast Opera in the role of Monica in Menotti’s opera The Medium.
