Since the time of his professional debut in 2001 at the Seattle Opera singing the role of Donald in Benjamin Britten's Billy Budd, baritone Morgan Smith has established himself as one of the most exciting young baritones in the Opera World today. He is known in particular for the musical versatility, athleticism and dramatic intensity that he brings to his performances. Mr. Smith was heralded for his creation of first mate Starbuck in the “triumphant” World Premiere of Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer’s Moby Dick at The Dallas Opera. Critics praised his portrayal of Starbuck as “superb,” “intelligent,” “handsomely portrayed,” a rendition “sung and acted with hypnotic power,” “sonorous gravity,” and “mellifluous lyricism”-a “standout performance.”

In the 2010-2011 season Mr. Smith will make his Opera Colorado debut as Marcello in La bohème and he will reprise the role of Manfred in Jake Heggie’s For a Look or a Touch, with the Seattle Men’s Chorus. He will also return to Oper Leipzig this season where he will sing the role of Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Marcello in La bohéme, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Ottokar in Der Freischütz, and Graf von Liebenau in Lortzing’s Der Waffenschmied. In 2012, he will make his Dallas Symphony Orchestra debut as Christus in Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion and he will reprise the role of Starbuck in Moby Dick at the San Diego Opera.

Mr. Smith made his European debut in the 2009-2010 season at the Berlin Staatsoper as Marcello in La bohème and Oper Leipzig singing Rossini’s Figaro, Papageno, Marcello and Leandre in Prokofiev's Love for Three Oranges. He created the role of Starbuck in the World Premiere of Jake Heggie’s Moby Dick with Dallas Opera in 2010. In the 2008-2009 season he was heard as Escamillo in Carmen in Ft. Worth, Morales and Zuniga at LA Opera, and Germont and Papageno in Spokane and Skagit. Engagements for Mr. Smith in the 2007-2008 season included Escamillo with Tacoma Opera and Dandini in La Cenerentola with the Portland Opera.

Mr. Smith has performed with numerous opera companies and symphonies across North America including a number of roles at the Seattle Opera, including the title role in Don Giovanni, Silvio in I Pagliacci, Riccardo in I puritani, and Peter Niles in Mourning Becomes Electra. He has also performed with the San Francisco Opera, Portland Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, Sarasota Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Florentine Opera, El Paso Opera, the Pine Mountain Music Festival, Sun Valley Center for the Performing Arts, and the Bellingham Music Festival in the roles of Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro,  Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, Marcello in La bohème,  Don  Alvaro in Il Viaggio a Reims, Slook in La Cambiale di Matrimonio,Top  in The Tenderland, Belcore in L'elisir d'amore,  Guglielmo in Così fan tutte and Don Giovanni.  Mr. Smith has had the opportunity to appear with the National Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Portland Symphony, Seattle Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Omaha Symphony, Yakima Symphony, Ottawa Symphony, and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra.

Smith is also gaining a reputation for his interpretation of modern chamber, orchestral and operatic repertoire. Most recent accomplishments include the World Premiere and recording (NAXOS records) of the groundbreaking dramatic chamber work, For a Look or a Touch, by American composer Jake Heggie. Smith premiered the work in May of 2007 with Music of Remembrance in Seattle, WA, and an encore performance followed at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica in December of 2008. He also recently created the role of Ted Steinert in the World Premiere of Frau Margot (recording available through Albany records) by Thomas Pasetieri and Frank Corsaro at the Fort Worth Opera. Credits also include the role of “Harry or Larry” in the New York premiere of Elliot Carter’s What Next? at The Miller Theater, covering Gerald Finley as Robert Oppenheimer, in the World Premiere production of John Adams' Dr. Atomic for the San Francisco Opera, the World Premiere of a work by Richard Cumming with the Hartford Symphony, entitled, Aspects of Hippolytus, and the title role in the Tony Kushner/Maurice Sendak adaptation of Hans Krasa's children's opera, Brundibar (recording available through NAXOS records), with Seattle's Music of Remembrance under the baton of Gerard Schwarz.

 

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INTERMEZZO ARTISTS MANAGEMENT For more information contact Filippo Anselmi at 212-531-1514, filippo@intermezzofoundation.org                                                  Mitchell Piper at 860-255-7618, mitchell@intermezzofoundation.org