Edward Parks
“The most compelling performance of the night was the Marcello of Edward Parks, whose warm, velvety baritone filled the house as he portrayed the frustrations of a passionate man.” – Opera News
A native of Indiana, Pennsylvania, Baritone Edward Parks received his Bachelor of Music degree from Oberlin Conservatory and his Master of Music degree from Yale University. A National Winner of the 2008 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Mr. Parks was named a first place winner at the 2010 Gerda Lissner Foundation International Vocal Competition and has received awards from the George London Foundation, the Marilyn Horne Foundation, the Fritz and Lavinia Jensen Foundation Competition, the Irma M. Cooper Opera Columbus International Vocal Competition, the Connecticut Opera, the Palm Beach Opera Competition, and the Music Academy of the West.
Mr. Parks has been hailed by Opera News for his “warm, velvety baritone” and the New York Times for providing “precision, sensitivity and nuance in abundance” and a “robust, earthy voice”. He was awarded third prize in Placido Domingo’s 2015 Operalia Competition and was presented in the organization’s “The Voices of 2015” concert in Hungary. Last season included debuts with Virginia Opera as Marcello in La bohème and Des Moines Metro Opera as Ford in Falstaff, a return to Atlanta Opera as Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette, a performance of the music of composer Ben Moore with The Cliburn, Escamillo in Carmenwith PortOpera, and his return to the Metropolitan Opera to cover Schaunard in La bohème. The 2016–2017 season sees his Mercutio with Opera de Monte Carlo on tour in Oman, the Count in Le nozze di Figaro with Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Marcello in La bohème with Minnesota Opera, Escamillo in Carmen with Nashville Opera, the cover of Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia with the Metropolitan Opera, and the title role in the world premiere of Steve Jobs with Santa Fe Opera.
Recent engagements include his return to the Metropolitan Opera for productions of La bohème, Die Zauberflöte, and Don Carlo, Laurent in Chicago Opera Theater and Long Beach Opera’s co-production of Tobias Picker’s Thérèse Raquin, performing in recital with Susan Graham for the Marilyn Horne Foundation, Orff’s Carmina burana with the Prague Proms International Music Festival and the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, debuts at the Atlanta Opera as Valentin in Faust and Central City Opera as the Count in Le nozze di Figaro, Marcello in La bohème at PORT Opera, Zurga in Les pêcheurs de perles at the Michigan Opera Theatre, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly at PORTopera, Ford in Falstaff and Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro with the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, and Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis.
