MARK DIAMOND
BARITONE

MARK DIAMOND  |  BARITONE

Complimented for his "virile and buzzy baritone", Mark Diamond is highly sought after as a soloist in concert, opera, and recital repertoire. This season you can hear him on the stages of Seattle Opera, Utah Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic, Ars Lyrica Houston, and many more. A champion of new music, Mr. Diamond has had the fortune of collaborating on numerous works by today's leading composers, including world premieres by David Hanlon (After the Storm - Houston Grand Opera), Clint Borzoni (To Belong - Musica Marin), and Ricky Ian Gordon (A House Without a Christmas Tree - HGO). Other significant new works involvement includes John Adams' Wound Dresser (Knoxville Symphony)  and Nixon in China (HGO), Mason Bates' The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (Seattle Opera), and Benjamin C. S. Boyle's Spirits in Bondage (NATS National Convention). In addition to his passion for new music, Mr. Diamond is a frequent concert soloist and recitalist. The 2018-19 season includes performances of the title role in Mendelssohn's Elijah (Houston Masterworks), Jesus in Bach's St. Matthew Passion (Mercury Orchestra), Orff's Carmina Burana (Houston Masterworks), Schubert's Die Winterreise (Baylor University), Vaughan Williams' Songs of Travel (Cincinnati Song Initiative), and Handel's Ode to the Birthday of Queen Anne (ALH). Mr. Diamond is a 2013 graduate of the Houston Grand Opera Studio where notable main-stage performances included Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia and Marcello in La bohème. Other noteworthy role performances include John Proctor in The Crucible (University of Houston), Papageno in The Magic Flute (Aspen Opera Theater), Ulisse in Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria (Rice University), and Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro (Rice University), 

Mark Diamond is the recipient of a 2012 Sara Tucker Study Grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation and spent the summer of 2011 as a member of San Francisco Opera’s Merola Opera Program, where he first sang the title role of Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia; a role he would later revive on an international tour to the French opera theaters of Limoges, Caen, and Reims. He gained particular notice in the summer of 2010, when he sang the role of Top in Aaron Copland’s The Tender Land at the Glimmerglass Festival. As a member of the company’s Young American Artist Program, he was the recipient of a 2010 Richard F. Gold Career Grant from the Shoshana Foundation. Mr. Diamond is the 1st Prize Winner of the 2010 Eleanor McCollum Competition at Houston Grand Opera and the 2011 Sun Valley Opera Competition. Mr. Diamond was twice a Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and was awarded 2nd Prize in the Charles A. Lynam Competition.

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A native of Augusta, Georgia, Mark Diamond received a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Georgia Southern University, where he studied voice with Dr. Allen Henderson. He completed his Master’s degree at The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University while studying with Dr. Stephen King and his doctorate at The Moores School of Music at University of Houston where he studied with Joseph Evans.