Quentin Oliver Lee
Born(1988-01-28)January 28, 1988
San Bernardino, California, U.S.
DiedDecember 1, 2022(2022-12-01) (aged 34)
EducationNorthern Arizona University
Occupations
Spouse
Angie Lee Graham
​
(m. 2015)​
Children1
AwardsGrammy Award

Quentin Oliver Lee (January 28, 1988 – December 1, 2022) was an American stage actor and operatic baritone. He was widely known for his portrayal of the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera. He was part of the team that won the 2021 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording in The Prince of Broadway and Gershwin's Porgy and Bess.

Early life and education

Lee was born in San Bernardino, California, and relocated to Arizona for university, later moving to New York City after he graduated from Northern Arizona University (NAU) in 2012 where he received a bachelor's degree in vocal performance.[2][3] While at NAU, Lee taught at the Flagstaff School of Music and was a member of the Cardinal Key Honor Society. He was also a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia and a soloist and choir member for the Shrine of the Ages choir and performed with them in South Africa, New York's Carnegie Hall, and at many ACDA conferences.[2]

Career

Early roles for the NAU Opera include the title role in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, Sid in Britten's Albert Herring, and Belcore in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore.[2][4][5]

After moving to New York, he performed in subway stations to make ends meet, often as part of The Opera Collective for Music Under New York.[3] It was there that a casting agent for Gershwin's Porgy and Bess spotted him singing and encouraged him to audition.[6][7] After a successful audition, he landed the role and went on to perform on Broadway.[6][7] He performed as Ben in Menotti's The Telephone at the New York Lyric Opera's Summer Festival in 2014.[1]

In 2017, Lee was featured in the Broadway production of Prince of Broadway and appeared in the short film Race, which was directed by Daniel Barnhill.[8][9] Other roles include Festival of The Lion King in Hong Kong, and Encores![6][7]

In 2018, he portrayed the title character in The Phantom of the Opera's national tour in 2018.[9] Regarding transitioning from performing in subways to Broadway, Lee said in an interview: "To go from (singing in the subway) to ... (five years later) standing ovations in the most iconic role in probably Broadway history is humbling… Anytime I think about it, I'm sort of taken aback."[10]

In opera, Lee portrayed Antonio in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro,[4] Pandolfe in Massenet's Cendrillon,[1] Giuseppe in The Gondoliers, Raimondo in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, Schaunard in Puccini's La bohème, and Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen[11] for the New York Lyric Opera Theater. He also appeared in I Am Harvey Milk at Avery Fisher Hall.[9]

In 2019, The New York Times called him "excellent" as Kilian, a big-shot townsman in Heartbeat Opera's production of Weber's Der Freischütz at the Baruch Performing Arts Center in Manhattan.[12]

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he portrayed Macbeth in Heartbeat Opera's Lady M, an online production based on Verdi's Macbeth alongside Felicia Moore in the title role.[11] Playbill noted that he was known for his "richly resonant baritone voice."[5]

As a concert soloist, Lee performed in Handel's Messiah, Sedona Opera Saloons, the Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, and at the Romanian Embassy in New York.[13] Additional credited stage works are Caroline, or Change (in 2021) and The Golden Apple.[14]

His final performance was Off-Broadway, in Heather Christian's Oratorio For Living Things in March 2022.[5][15]

Personal life

Lee was born and raised in San Bernardino, California. He met his future wife, Angie Lee Graham, when they were both living in New York City. They met at the Harlem young single adult ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which Lee had joined in 2010.[10][16] They married in August 2015.[10] They had a daughter. The family lived in Utah at the time of his death, where he pursued a second career in UX design.[3]

Death

Lee died of colon cancer on December 1, 2022.[17][18][19][20] He had been diagnosed with the disease six months before his death.[21][14] His wife said in a statement: "He was an incredible man, husband, father, son, brother, friend, singer, actor, and disciple of Christ with great faith in his Father in Heaven. To say 'he will be dearly missed' doesn't reflect the scope of the people and communities he has created and touched."[22]

The Phantom of the Opera production team released a statement on his passing, saying: "The Phantom family is saddened to hear of the passing of Quentin Oliver Lee. Quentin brilliantly lead [sic] our North American tour in 2018. Our hearts are with Quentin's family and friends."[22]

Awards and honors

Lee had made it to the final list of Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and had received the National Association of Teachers of Singers Artist Award.[13]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Summer Festival / The Telephone" (PDF). New York Lyric Opera. 2014. p. 6. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 Rabinowitz, Chloe. "Broadway Actor Quentin Oliver Lee Passes Away at 34". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 Ingram, Aleah (December 9, 2022). "Latter-day Saint Broadway Actor Quentin Oliver Lee Dies at 34 of Cancer". LDS Daily. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Quentin Oliver Lee". Opera Experience Southeast. December 9, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 Hall, Margaret (December 9, 2022). "Actor Quentin Oliver Lee Passes Away at 34". Playbill.
  6. 1 2 3 "Broadway and 'Phantom of the Opera' star on how he joined the Church + shares his faith". LDS Living. July 7, 2018. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 "Quentin Oliver Lee Real Cause of Death: 'Phantom of the Opera' Lead Dead at 34". Music Times.
  8. ↑ "Race" (2017), retrieved December 10, 2022
  9. 1 2 3 Evans, Greg (December 2, 2022). "Quentin Oliver Lee Dies: Broadway Actor, Opera Singer Was 34". Deadline. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  10. 1 2 3 "The Phantom didn't meet his Utah-native wife at the opera – he met her at church". Deseret News. July 8, 2018. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  11. 1 2 "Lady M" (PDF). empac.rpi.edu. 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  12. ↑ Tommasini, Anthony (December 5, 2019). "Review: An Eerie Shift Translates 'Der Freischütz' to Texas". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  13. 1 2 Hill, Rose; Knox, Susan (December 2, 2022). "Broadway star Quentin Oliver tragically dies aged 34 from colon cancer". Daily Mirror. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  14. 1 2 Thomas, Carly (December 3, 2022). "Quentin Oliver Lee, Broadway Actor, Dies at 34". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Quentin Oliver Lee". iobdb.com. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  16. ↑ "'Phantom of the Opera' star Quentin Oliver Lee has died at 34". Deseret News. December 6, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  17. ↑ Orellana Hernandez, Angie (December 2, 2022). "Broadway Actor Quentin Oliver Lee Dead at 34". E!. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  18. ↑ Beech, Samantha (December 3, 2022). "Broadway actor Quentin Oliver Lee dies of cancer at 34". CNN. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  19. ↑ Alsharif, Mirna (December 4, 2022). "Broadway actor Quentin Lee dies from colon cancer at 34". NBC News. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  20. ↑ "Phantom of the Opera star Quentin Oliver Lee dies aged 34". The Independent. December 5, 2022. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  21. ↑ "Quentin Oliver Lee, star in 'Phantom of the Opera' tour, dead at 34". Daily News. New York. December 3, 2022. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  22. 1 2 "'Phantom of the Opera' and Broadway star Quentin Oliver Lee dies at 34". TODAY.com. December 5, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
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