Bio
Praised by Opera News as a “vocally charismatic” performer with a “golden tenor,” Martin Bakari‘s recent engagements include the title role in Charlie Parker’s Yardbird at Atlanta Opera, Arizona Opera, and Pittsburgh Opera; the tenor soloist in Carmina Burana with the Cecilia Chorus of New York – Carnegie Hall; Le nozze di Figaro (Don Basilio) at Seattle Opera and Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival; Madama Butterfly (Goro) at Dallas Opera; Mark Adamo’s Becoming Santa Claus (Prince Claus) at Chicago Opera Theater; The Barber of Seville (Count Almaviva) at Intermountain Opera Bozeman; The Cartography Project at Washington National Opera and the Kennedy Center; and a United Kingdom recital tour with Mirror Visions Ensemble. Internationally, he has also appeared at major venues in Munich, Hamburg, Dresden, Frankfurt, Cologne, Tel Aviv, and Bari. Mr. Bakari’s 2022-23 Season includes the tenor soloist in the world premiere of Paul Moravec’s A Nation of Others with the Oratorio Society of New York – Carnegie Hall; Yardbird (Charlie Parker) at New Orleans Opera and Dayton Opera; Pirates of Penzance (Frederic) at Virginia Opera; the tenor soloist in Messiah with Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra; A Thousand Splendid Suns (Jalil/Wakil/Guard at Seattle Opera; the tenor soloist in Carmina Burana with Symphony San Jose; a concert of arias and songs with the Harlem Chamber Players; and recitals of Paul Laurence Dunbar songs with Seattle Opera and German Lieder with Byron Schenkman at Seattle’s Benaroya Hall. In the 2023-24 Season, Mr. Bakari returns to Seattle Opera as in Das Rheingold (Mime) and joins Houston Grand Opera for three productions to be announced. A 2018 George London Competition award winner, Mr. Bakari’s recording of Grigory Smirnov’s Dowson Songs (Naxos) was featured by Opera News as a “Critic’s Choice” album. Mr. Bakari is an alumnus of the Juilliard School, Boston University, and Tanglewood Music Center.