Ragin, Derek Lee

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Ragin, Derek Lee

Ragin, Derek Lee , American countertenor; b. West Point, N.Y., June 17, 1958. He was a student at the Oberlin Coll.-Cons. of Music. In 1983 he made his operatic debut in Innsbruck in Cesti’s Tito, and in 1984 he made his London recital debut at Wigmore Hall. On Sept. 27, 1988, he made his Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Nirenus in Giulio Cesare. His first appearance in Salzburg took place in 1990 when he sang Gluck’s Orfeo. In 1992 he portrayed Britten’s Oberen in St. Louis. He appeared in Hasse’s Attilio regolo in Dresden in 1997. Among his other roles are Handel’s Flavio, Saul, and Tamerlano. His engagements as an oratorio singer and recitalist have taken him to many of the world’s leading music centers.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire