Music Professor Performs Wagner in Hong Kong

Charles Reid plays role of Froh

by Jenna Neil

Charles Reid, associate professor of voice and voice area coordinator at Andrews University, spent a week in January performing one of the four operas from Wagner’s “Ring Cycle” with the Hong Kong Philharmonic in China. 

The Hong Kong Philharmonic has committed to performing and recording Wagner’s “Ring Cycle” over the next four years. This collection of four operas written by the German composer Richard Wagner is compromised of, in sequence, Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung. The opera in which Reid participated was Das Rheingold and he performed the role of Froh. 

“Jobs come for various reasons,” he said. “I have two agents, one in Vienna and one in New York. As we establish our singing careers, we build reputations and many jobs develop because of ‘word of mouth’ references.”

The Ring Cycle is written in German and it was also performed in German.

“Second to English, German is the language I know best, thanks to living and working in Germany for approximately ten years,” says Reid. “In addition to training our voices, musicianship and acting abilities, opera singers must become proficient at singing in multiple languages.”

Reid regularly performs in French, English, German, Italian and Latin and has also performed several times in Czech and Russian.

One of the titles that Reid holds at Andrews is artist-in-residence, meaning he takes part in some singing events at Andrews.  Because of this title, he is also expected to continue pursuing a professional singing career along with his teaching career.

“I believe the singing career makes me a much better voice teacher,” he says.  “This concert and recording project was one of several performance events I have planned for this year.”

To see additional photos of Reid's experience in Hong Kong, click here.