A Classical Approach

Carroll Freeman

Georgia State's School of Music this fall welcomed an internationally known opera singer and stage director as its first-ever Valerie Adams Distinguished Professor of Opera.

Carroll Freeman, 58, has been involved in many facets of the classical music world - from singing professionally to directing and teaching. Most recently, Freeman was director of opera at the University of Tennessee School of Music and artistic director of the Knoxville Opera Studio.

He comes to GSU not only with experience but with a desire to take the School of Music's opera program to the next level.

"I believe that Georgia State can be a center in the Southeast for producing the best operatic talent," Freeman said. "It's going to take work, and it's going to take collaboration with arts companies. But I feel confident that we can do it."

At age 5, Freeman began performing professionally with the Columbus Boychoir School, now known as the American Boychoir School, and even soloed with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic.

Top Left: Carroll Freeman in concert dress for Columbus Boychoir School in 1963; Top Right: Freeman, pictured with Beverly Sills, wins National Opera Institute Award at the Kennedy Center in 1982; Bottom Left: Freeman and his wife, Kay Paschal Freeman, in "The Merry Widow" in 1983; Bottom Right: Freeman (right) as Don Ottavio in Peter Sellar's 1990 production of Mozart's "Don Giovanni," broadcast worldwide on PBS' Great Performances.

Freeman debuted with the New York City Opera as Alfredo in "La traviata." He met his wife, Kay Paschal, in the opera circuit and the two performed with opera houses all over the world before finally settling in Atlanta. The couple have a son, Adam, who is 12.

Directing also has been a passion for Freeman. He has served as artistic director of the Mississippi Opera and as co-director of the Des Moines Metro Opera Apprentice Program. He has done stage directing for the Nashville Opera, the Cleveland Institute of Music, the Lyric Opera of Dallas, and many others. In fact, Freeman was recently named "Stage Director of the Year 2010" by Classical Singer magazine.

Freeman will begin his tenure at Georgia State producing some scene performances this fall, but his big job will be to produce the opera "Madama Butterfly" in the spring.

"It's a stretch to do a production of this size with younger artists," Freeman said. "But that's my job - to stretch my students. We have to prepare them and coach them for the roles. The talent is here - I'm convinced of it."