Opera News review of Florida Grand Opera's Lucia di Lammermoor

info@markwaltersbaritone.com — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 10:08:28 -0500

04.21.10
"Mark Walters's Enrico was a force to be reckoned with, a Viking in kilts with voice to match."
- Opera News Robert Carreras, January, 23 2010

Opera News review - FGO Carmen

info@markwaltersbaritone.com — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 11:48:12 -0500

06.29.10
"As Escamillo, Mark Walters was every bit the toreador, from his red knee-high stockings to the black tight pants and vest to the slicked-back black hair. His song was heroic"
- Opera News Robert Carreras, April 24, 2010

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Review: La Traviata - Den Nye Opera

info@markwaltersbaritone.com — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 22:15:43 -0500

07.21.10
"Mark Walters, on the other hand, was distinct and effective as Giorgio Germont, both his voice and stage deportment were first class."
- Bergens Tidende Bergen, Norway June 25, 2010

Rappahannock County - Virginia Opera and Virginia Arts Festival

info@markwaltersbaritone.com — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 07:10:52 -0500

07.27.10
This week Mark is workshopping a new work by Ricky Ian Gordon - Rappahannock County - with Virginia Opera and the Virginia Arts Festival

A Civil War song cycle of 21 songs for 5 soloists and chamber orchestra.
Music by Ricky Ian Gordon
Libretto by Mark Campbell
Conductor: Rob FisherStage
Director: Kevin Newbury

This fictional song cycle is inspired by diaries, letters, and personal accounts from the 1860s.
Cast:
MARK WALTERS,MARGARET THOMPSON,DANIEL SNYDER,CHARLES JASON FREEMAN and AUNDI MARIE MOORE

Milnes - Rigoletto

info@markwaltersbaritone.com — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 09:29:24 -0500

08.18.10
After appearing as a guest artist last week at the Buck Hill Skytop Music Festival, Mark finishes final preparation this week for his upcoming Rigoletto with Sherrill Milnes in Tampa

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Rigoletto

info@markwaltersbaritone.com — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 18:18:11 -0500

08.27.10
Mark sings his first Rigoletto this weekend with Opera Ft. Collins. The cast also includes: Donata Cucinotta (Gilda), Brian Jauhiainen (Sparafucile), Joel Burcham (Duke), Marcia Ragonetti (Maddalena) and Bradley Thompson (Marullo). Opera Fort Collins Apprentice Artists include: Craig Blackard (Borsa), Stuart Dameron (Count Ceprano), Sarah Silva (Countess Ceprano) and Audrey Hurley (Giovanna). "Rigoletto" will be performed in Italian with English supertitles; music will be provided by the Fort Collins Symphony, conducted by OFC Music Director Wes Kenney.

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biography

info@markwaltersbaritone.com — Wed, 7 Jul 2010 20:58:37 -0500

Mark Walters - Baritone, hailed as an exceptional singing actor, has been seen in leading roles throughout the United States and is rapidly gaining international attention with a repertoire of over 50 roles for the lyric stage and 20 oratorio works. Recent reviews in Opera News described his portrayal of Enrico in Luica di Lammermoor as “a force to be reckoned with, a Viking in kilts with voice to match” and in Carmen “As Escamillo, Mark Walters was every bit the toreador, from his red knee-high stockings to the black tight pants and vest to the slicked-back black hair. His song was heroic.”

So far for the upcoming 2010/2011 season, Walters tackles a new Verdi role in his first Rigoletto with Opera Fort Collins. Other productions include; the role of Escamillo in Carmen for his debut with Opera Naples, Count di Luna in Il Trovatore with Piedmont Opera, an appearance as guest artist for ‘A Night of Stars’ with Opera Tampa with Placido Domingo as honored guest and Messiah with the Choral Society of Pensacola. This summer Walters has also been asked to workshop a new production by Ricky Ian Gordon, Rappahannock County, sponsored by Virginia Opera and will also be a guest artist at the Buck Hill Skytop Music Festival.

For the current the 2009/2010 season, Walters will make his European debut with Den Nye Opera in Bergen, Norway as Germont in La Traviata. He returns to Florida Grand Opera for his first appearance in the role of Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor and for one of his signature roles, Escamillo in Carmen. He adds another Verdi role to his growing repertoire when he debuts with Opera Fort Collins as Conte di Luna in Il Trovatore. He will make a company debut as Germont in La Traviata with Greensboro Opera, returns as Captain Corcoran in H.M.S. Pinafore with Nevada Opera and as Marcello in La Bohème with Fargo-Moorhead Opera, and will appear with Opera Santa Barbara in their A Night at the Paris Opera Benefit Event. Walters returns to the Handel Oratorio Society for performances of Messiah at Augustana College and a masterclass, he will also appear with the Choral Society of Pensacola for Hadyn’s The Seasons and will be seen a in guest artist recital at East Carolina University.

During the 2008/2009 season, Walters appeared in Japan in the title role of Don Giovanni with the Osaka Kammer Orchestra and was featured in concert at the Sakai Noh Theater. Here at home, he added two new Verdi roles to his repertoire when he made his debut as Germont in La Traviata with Florida Grand Opera and returned to Da Corneto Opera in the role of Amonasro in Aida. He debuted as the Count in Le nozze di Figaro with Piedmont Opera and returned to Opera Memphis as Valentin in Faust. He was also seen with Nevada Opera as Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia. In recital Walters appeared on the Bechstein Vocal Series in New York and conducted mastersclasses at the University of South Florida, William Carey University and North Carolina School of the Arts.

During the 2007/2008 season, Walters was heard as the Count in Le Nozze di Figaro with Opera Southwest and with Shreveport Opera. He returned as Captain Corcoran in H.M.S. Pinafore with Nashville Opera and as Dr. Malatesta in Don Pasquale with Anchorage Opera. Walters was also heard in a special fund raising gala with the Cumberland County Playhouse, he gave a solo recital and masterclass at McNeese State University and appeared as a guest artist in solo recital for the NATS Southern Regional Conference at the University of Mississippi.

During the 2006/2007 season, he made company debuts as Don Carlo in La forza del destino with Da Corneto Opera and as Escamillo in Carmen with Shreveport Opera. Walters will also be seen in return engagements as Escamillo in Carmen with Opera Memphis, as Guglielmo in Così fan tutte with Nevada Opera, as Joey in The Most Happy Fella with Utah Festival Opera and will be featured in Anchorage Opera’s Viva Verdi! concert. He will be heard in solo recital at Coastal Carolina Community College, in Mozart’s Requiem and Vesperae solennes de confessore with the Choral Society of Pensacola, and will make his international debut in Mozart’s Requiem with the Osaka Mozarteum, Japan. Walters will also reprise the role of William Clark in Corps of Discovery (Ching) with Fargo-Moorhead Opera, in which he sang the professional premiere with Memphis Opera in 2004 and make his debut with Greensboro Opera in their 25th Anniversary Gala concert.

For the 2005/2006 season, Walters was asked to portray the role of the Reverend Olin Blitch in a special 50th year anniversary production of Susannah at Florida State University, which was overseen personally by Carlisle Floyd. He debuted with Nevada Opera as the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance and with Fargo-Moorhead Opera as Nourabad in Les Pêcheurs de perles. He was also seen in return engagements with Sarasota Opera as Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus and with Utah Festival Opera as Marcello in La Bohème. In concert, Walters was heard in recital at Coastal Carolina Community College and returned to the Choral Society of Pensacola for The Creation by Haydn.

Highlights of his concert work include his recent debut at Carnegie Hall in Orff’s Carmina Burana and the Fauré Requiem conducted by John Rutter. In competition, Walters has been a District Winner of the Metropolitan Opera Competition, twice a finalist in the MacAllister Awards and he was also the first recipient of the Hannah J. Beaulieu Career Development Award through Florida State University.

Walters has also been involved in a number of world premieres including the leading role of William Clark in Opera Memphis’ recent production of Corps of Discovery by Michael Ching, which celebrated the 200 year anniversary of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Other premieres include Good Neighbors by Robert Taylor at the Cumberland Playhouse, Blake by Leslie Adams with the Cleveland Choral Society and The Children of the Keweenaw by Paul Seitz with the Pine Mountain Music Festival.

He is in demand as a recitalist and was featured in Sarasota Opera’s Up Close, In Person, On Stage concert series. Walters has also had the pleasure to premiere the song cycles Of Passion’s Tide by Jeffrey Ryan, 4 Poems of Rossetti by Marty Robinson and Love’s Cycle by Mark Henkin.