Davóne Tines’ instrument is giving him problems.
He has performed flawlessly on major international
stages, but on this warm September day in a studio
in lower Manhattan, the musician is having some
unusual difficulties. The culprit is Camembert.
Opera singers are told to avoid dairy products for
their alleged mucus- inducing properties, but a
cheese tray at a benefit Tines attended the night
before was too tempting.
After some world-class throat clearing, the
32-year-old reverts to form and dazzles the
assembled crowd with a voice that, at the Juilliard
School, puzzled his vocal teachers with its
extraordinary range—from a feel-it-in-the-pit-of-your-
stomach bass- baritone to a goose-bump- inducing
falsetto. Tines, who describes himself on his
Instagram account as “young, gifted and Black,”
is among the most compelling classically trained
singers working in America today. While steeped in
the canon, he is more interested in contemporary
work. He recently helped create and starred in the
sought-after New York City run of The Black Clown,
a 70-minute work of music and movement adapted
from the eponymous Langston Hughes poem.
The Black Clown was born out of Tines’
frustration with Sundays spent singing in a choir
after he graduated from Harvard in 2009 and
started work in Washington, D.C. He enjoyed the
“high-quality music-making” involved in singing
classical Christian repertoire, but “really wanted
to sing something that was soulful and whimsical.”
In 2011, he emailed composer Michael Schachter,
a friend from college, and they began a seven-year
collaboration on The Black Clown.
Performed in front of audiences that Tines
describes as largely “liberal white elites,” the piece
feels like a challenge. It begins with Tines gazing
directly at individual audience members while
repeating the poem’s opening line: “You laugh/
Because I’m poor and black and funny—/ Not the
same as you.” The tension is immediate, and from
that, “there’s a connection,” Tines says. “Once we
share an experience, we can perhaps look at each
other with a little more empathy.”
A charismatic and commanding artist who
carries his towering 6-ft. 2-in. body lightly, Tines
is poised for a packed year ahead— prestigious
bookings, a combination of classical and new
works, and a planned recital at Carnegie Hall.
Asked if he’s made peace with classical works,
Tines sighs. “I’m just doing what black people
have always done, which is to see the resources
around them, put them together and use them for
moving forward.”Davóne Tines
Not your average opera star
By Eben Shapiro
U.S.
Next Generation Leaders