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By age 4, William Davenport knew his professional journey would find him tackling either tunes as a singer or bodies as a football player. Opting for stages over strategies, the 29-year-old is crafting a commendable career as a courted tenor and will garner local kudos Sunday as the Alfonso Cavaliere Memorial Scholarship Fund recipient.
“I’m very grateful for the recognition and can’t wait to be among people so passionate about music,” the resident of the 2200 block of South Juniper Street said of his impending 4 p.m. appearance at Ss. Neumann-Goretti High School, 1736 S. 10th St. “I love that the day is going to have a neighborhood vibe to it, too, because I’m still relatively new to South Philly and want that interaction.”
The honoree learned of his accolade in August, with fellow Lower Moyamensing inhabitant and 2014 South Philly Review Difference Maker Giovanna Cavaliere placing the congratulatory call. Familiar with him through her support of The Academy of Vocal Arts, where he is a fourth-year resident artist, she chose Davenport to team up with the Bel Canto Lyric Opera Co. and Orchestra for a celebration of musical comedy, Neapolitan delights, operatic favorites and a tribute to South Philly’s own Mario Lanza.
“That aspect is particularly touching,” the performer said of sampling the legendary Bella Vista product’s catalogue. “Everything, though, promises to be fun.”
Davenport also deems the distinction as another means to gain traction, a task that he considers a must for young artists. As acquiring it can pose problems, he tabs himself fortunate to have established so many alliances, especially within a field where pacing oneself proves productive.
“There’s no need to rush to the finish line,” the measured interpreter of measures said of his progression. “I need to determine what’s healthy for my voice and continue to become engrossed with whatever projects I tackle because there are always so many questions to ask. Fortunately, this life never grows old for me.”
The youngest of four boys, the Maryland native fell for music, specifically musical theater, through his oldest sibling. Deeming singing far safer than playing football, he found himself yielding to its pull with no hesitation and, following a period of educational uncertainty, he enrolled in his home state’s Peabody Conservatory of Music.
“I had to catch up a bit, and I did that through watching YouTube, which was an incredible resource,” Davenport said. “When I got to Peabody, I learned the repertoire, and opera just became a full-on obsession.”
Having honed a love for musical theater, the newbie needed only to note thematic parallels among works to make a smooth transition to the operatic world, as he had already developed awareness of his pipes’ potential. Relying on an immense affinity for history, too, the Paris-born presence enjoys marrying his curiosity for different eras to his enthusiasm for languages.
“I think that’s how my personality comes out through the work,” Davenport said of understanding the sense of adventure within a score. “Plus, being on stage transports me into a whole other realm where I become so engrossed in the notes that I become a completely different person through the material. It’s very enriching.”
Declaring that he had reached the point where he knew opera made his brain “go crazy like nothing else,” the ambitious figure moved to Philadelphia for enrollment at AVA, with the Center City-situated institution further stimulating his desire to determine and decipher the meaning and beauty within each opus. Through his tenure at the location, which endowed him with first-place merit in its 2011 Giargiari Bel Canto Competition and for whom he will perform in February’s “La bohème” production, Davenport has also gained from the wisdom of his teacher Bill Schuman to continue to explore options in generating local and national buzz.
“It’s very important to do things in succession and to know who you are as a performer at any given period in your life,” the introspective entertainer, whose impressive profile includes turns with the Austin Symphony, the Baltimore Concert Opera, the Bel Cantanti Opera, the Bucks County Choral Society, the Chesapeake Chamber Opera, the Concert Artists of Baltimore, the Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra and the Tuscia Opera Festival, said. “I love uncovering the truths about who I am and what this art form can help me to comprehend.”
Along with his soon-to-be alma mater’s prize, Davenport claimed first place in this year’s Opera Orchestra of New York/Agnes Varis Vocal Competition; achieved national semifinalist distinction in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and sixth place in the Loren L. Zachary National Vocal Competition for Young Opera Singers, both accolades from last year; and scored third place in ’11’s Mario Lanza Scholarship. Regardless of the size of his resumé, he ensures that his ego will not become gigantic by preferring to stay grounded, an endeavor in which he receives ample assistance from his soprano wife, Jennifer, with whom he is rearing their 2-year-old daughter, Eleanor.
“I love being in Philadelphia because there’s so much life to it, and even more so in South Philly, which I fell in love with fast,” Davenport, who has resided in his present expanse for a year after a stint in Point Breeze, said. “I don’t know why more people don’t come here. I love coming down Broad Street and seeing the Mario Lanza mural [at Broad and Reed streets]. Plus, the Italian Market is so close. It’s a great atmosphere, and I love having a family to share that with.”
Come Sunday, audience members will become part of his clan, too, as he wants to put on a great show for them.
“I’m really excited for the opportunity,” Davenport said. “I like to think I will go on to play bigger houses and get my name out there on a bigger level in the near future. It’s great to think about that, but there’s nothing better than getting a chance to sing in your own turf.”
For tickets, call 215-334-0529 or 215-336-6978.
Contact Managing Editor Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124.
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