| Roland Burks |
| Bass-Baritone |
| |
|
|
|||
| |
| Roland Burks recently joined the Harwood Management roster.
Highlights of this season include Talpa in Il Tabarro at Mercury
Opera,as well as his company debut at El Paso Opera performing the
title role in Porgy and Bess, along with Lawyer Frazier in Porgy and
Bess at New Jersey State Opera. This December Roland sang with
Pittsburgh
Opera Theatre in Duke Ellington’s Beggar’s Holiday, which marks the
production’s first revival since 1943. Roland was most recently called upon by New York City Opera and composer Jonathan Dawe (Armide) to step in at the eleventh hour and perform in their highly acclaimed VOX Festival, at which he “rocked the VOX” in a role that required his skills in both French Baroque Operatic style, as well as his ability to RAP! Roland has performed extensively throughout the United States with such companies as New York City Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Anchorage Opera, Knoxville Opera, Connecticut Opera, Tri-Cities Opera, Tulsa Opera, Opera Theater of Philadelphia, Center City Opera, San Antonio Opera, Encompass New Opera, and the Center for Contemporary Opera New York, as well as Internationally with the Bregenz festival in Bregenz, Austria, Ernen Festival of Tomorrow in Ernen, Swizerland, International Opera Theater in Umbria, Italy, Mercury Opera in Edmonton, Canada, Teatro Real in Madrid, Spain, and Houston Grand Opera on tour to Cairo, Egypt. Hailing from America’s Midwest, Roland received his B.A. in Music Education from Southeastern Oklahoma State University where he garnered numerous scholarships and awards, including top honors in the Midwest region of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. He continued with graduate studies in Opera and Theater Arts at the University of North Texas, and the University of Houston under the tutelage of famed Greek Mezzo, Elena Nikolaidi. In addition to such powerful portrayals of operatic characters like Scarpia in Tosca, Tonio in Pagliacci, and the Four Villains in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Roland is equally at home in the world of Contemporary Opera and Musical Theater, with such roles as Sweeney in Sweeney Todd, Jim in Big River, and Mr. Hyde in Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde. 3/23/10 |