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Our people: A life lived singing

Cutter Burnett cannot remember a time when he was not singing, but for five weeks beginning in June, he will be participating in Italy with other very promising young performers in an intensive workshop that includes rehearsing and performing a full opera.

Burnett, a Clovis native, has been chosen to sing one of the most important roles in the Mozart opera "Don Giovanni" during the workshop after he auditioned for placement in the program.

He is a master's degree student in music and vocal performance at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro in North Carolina, and he aspires to a career as a singer of classical music, including opera.

He got his start in Clovis, though, participating in school choirs from the time he was in elementary school until his graduation from Eastern New Mexico University in 2020 as a music student.

The News caught up with Cutter in Greensboro by telephone.

Here are our questions and his responses.

Q. Tell me about the workshop in Italy.

A. The organization is called La Musica Lirica. It's going to start in mid-June and run for five weeks. It will be held in Novafeltria, a town in Italy. I will be working with professionals from all over the world.

Q. What is La Musica Lirica?

A. It's a young artists' program. They audition all over the U.S. and Europe. I auditioned in North Carolina, but they conduct auditions all over the U.S. and Canada. They audition even in Poland and Iceland.

Q. And you've been chosen for a major role in "Don Giovanni." What is that role?

A. I'll be playing Don Ottavio. He's the love interest for Donna Anna, the daughter of a commandant who is murdered by Don Giovanni. Don Ottavio vows to avenge the commandant's death.

Q. Does he?

A. It all works out in the end.

Q. You studied music at ENMU?

A. Yes. ENMU set me up for success. They have a great program there.

Q. Who was your mentor at Eastern?

A. I'd say it was Gregory Gallagher, who teaches vocal music. You talk about somebody who has the chops as a performer. He's incredible.

Q. How did you get started in singing?

A. There was never a time when I didn't sing. I would sing all over the house and my parents were always telling me to shut up. I was in choirs in elementary school, and middle and high school in Clovis.

Q. When did you start singing seriously?

A. I started pursuing music super-seriously in 2016, when I started my bachelor's at ENMU.

Q. But you knew you wanted to pursue music all your life, right.

A. Yes. I was interviewed as a student of the month for Clovis News Journal in 2003 or 2004, and I said then that I hoped to get a doctorate in music.

Q. You are planning on pursuing a career in opera?

A. Very few are lucky enough to sing only opera. Singing classically is my career choice.

Q. Do you have other musical interests?

A. I'm interested in song and musicology.

Q. How do you define musicology?

A. It's music history, combined with humanism. What was going on in history that influenced music and what artistic trends had influence on music.

Q. What do you like best about musical performance?

A. The best part is going on stage, where three hours feels like 15 minutes. It's a different space – kind of a fourth dimension. You are so in the moment. You are 100% focused and thinking on your toes.

Q. What can you tell me about your family? Do they all live in the area?

A. My dad and mom are Roy and Dixi Burnett, who live in Clovis. I have a sister, Tayci Green who lies with her husband Cody in Lubbock. They have all been in choirs, but I'm the only one who has wanted to make a career of it.

Q. What do you like to do when you're not involved with music?

A. I don't often get a chance not to be in music, but I work for a local high school tutoring history and English. I love a good book. It's really beautiful in Greensboro, so I enjoy getting outdoors, even if it rains all the time.

Q. And you're looking forward to your visit to Italy?

A. I'm really excited about it. We don't always get the opportunity to do big things, like singing opera in Italian. I've worked hard to get here, and I'm grateful to have the support I've had.

Q. Have you done other operas?

A. At Eastern we did (French composer Georges) Bizet's "Le Docteur Miracle," and I participated in a production of Mozart's "Cosi fan Tutte."

Q. Would you consider a career in musical theater?

A. Yes, I would, as long as I'm singing.

 
 
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