Patrick Blackwell
Bass-Baritone
Patrick Blackwell continues to expand his impressive repertoire in opera, oratorio and musical theater following successes with some of America’s foremost young artist programs. This season he will portray his first Porgy in Porgy and Bess with Union Avenue Opera of St. Louis where he will also sing Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte. He returns to Chamber Opera Chicago as well as Ars Viva of Chicago for his second season as Baltazar in Amahl and the Night Visitors, a role he has also preformed with Des Moines Metro Opera and Opera Illinois. In the 07/08 season he performed with Fresno Opera’s production of Porgy and Bess as undertaker and Jim. In the fall of 08 he performs with the New Jersey State Opera in their Concert Gala as the King in Aida and Melitone in La Forza del destino. In November he appears with the Toledo Opera as Count Ceprano in Rigoletto.
Mr. Blackwell made his Lyric Opera debut in 1997 as Burnah in the highly acclaimed world premiere of Anthony Davis’ Amistad. He has since returned to Lyric as Henry Davis in Street Scene, as Cal in Regina and the Duke of Verona in Roméo et Juliette. His New York City Opera debut included the roles of Dr. Grenvil in La Traviata and Colline in La Bohème. Among his other notable portrayals are Leporello in Don Giovanni, Zuniga and Morales in Carmen and Baron Duphol in La Traviata. He has performed with companies including the New Jersey State Opera, Florentine Opera, Augusta Opera, Western Opera Theatre and Fort Worth Opera.
Mr. Blackwell made his Carnegie Hall debut as the bass soloist in the world premiere of Earnestine Rogers Robinson’s Crucifixion. In addition to performing works by Mozart at the Arts Festival in North Korea, he has sung Faure’s Requiem with the Fresno Philharmonic and Osride in Rossini’s Mosé in Egitto with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra at the Lincoln Center. He also has credits in musical theater, cast as Joe in Showboat with Rockwell Productions and with LiveEnt in Vancouver, Canada, where he was an ensemble member and covered that role.
A classically trained musician with a wealth of sound, Mr. Blackwell studied with Enrico DiGuiseppe at the Juilliard School on full scholarship. He began his career as a young artist with the Santa Fe Opera, Houston Opera Studio, the Merola Opera Program, Opera Music Theatre International with Jerome Hines and the Aspen Opera Theatre Center.
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