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MARK DELAVAN
BARITONE
BIOGRAPHY
Mark Delavan, a singer of “incisive vocal power and fierce theatrical acuity,” is sought after throughout the United States and Europe for the most demanding roles in the operatic repertoire. He regularly appears in the title roles of Der fliegende Holländer, Falstaff, and Rigoletto, and as Iago in Otello, Scarpia in Tosca, Jochanaan in Salome, Amonasro in Aida, and Wotan in Der Ring des Nibelungen. In addition, as a strong character actor on stages throughout the country, he has proved himself a crossover artist of immense skill, starring, to critical acclaim, as Phil Arkin in Milk and Honey with York Theatre Company.
Last season, Delavan sang the Four Villians in Les contes d’Hoffmann with Palm Beach Opera, Jack Rance in North Carolina Opera’s La fanciulla del West, and he took his legendary Wotan to Pacific Opera Victoria for their Die Walküre and to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for both Das Rheingold and Die Walküre under the baton of Maestro Fabio Luisi. He returns to the Dallas Symphony this season for a complete cycle of The Ring, with performances as Wotan/The Wanderer in Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, and Siegfried. He also joins Culturarte de Puerto Rico in San Juan for their El Concertone series.
Previously, Delavan returned to Maryland Lyric Opera to sing the title role in Falstaff and Iago in Otello, as well as the Dallas Opera to sing the Father in Hansel and Gretel. Delavan also sang the role of Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor with New York City Opera and Abraham/Moses/Jeremiah in Weill’s The Road of Promise with Orchestra Miami. He sang the lead roles of Malignac in Die Kathrin with the Folks Operetta in Chicago and the title role in Der fliegende Holländer with Opera Maine, Scarpia in Tosca with Opera Naples, Posa in Don Carlos for Maryland Lyric Opera, as well as concert performances of Ralph Vaughn Williams’ Five Mystical Songs and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 for the Charleston Symphony. Delavan performed the roles of Michele/Alfio in Il tabarro/Cavalleria rusticana with Maryland Lyric Opera, Amfortas in Parsifal with Indiana University Opera Theater, and Jochanaan in Salome with the Dallas Symphony. 2020 and 2021 engagements were to include a return to the Metropolitan Opera for Tosca, Aida, Hansel and Gretel, and Rusalka, as well as performances as Telramund in Lohengrin with the Dallas Opera and Tonio in Pagliacci with Michigan Opera Theater. In the summer of 2021, Delavan joined the Glimmerglass Festival as the title role in Der fliegende Holländer for their concert entitled “Gods and Mortals,” and he returned to the Metropolitan Opera for Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.
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CRITICAL ACCLAIM
"Mark Delavan [...] was in fine voice and moved commandingly" – Opera News
Der Fliegende Holländer – "Mark Delavan, in the title role, was in fine voice and moved commandingly, neither scary (except in his hair-raising final encounter with Senta) nor world-weary, but with an undercurrent of tragedy."
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"...the evening’s prize portrayal...” – The New York Times
Francesca da Rimini – “The baritone Mark Delavan’s Gianciotto — barbarous, yet seemingly genuine in his affection for Francesca — was the evening’s prize portrayal.”
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"...the company’s reigning baritone..." – Newsday
Sweeney Todd – “As Sweeney Todd, Mark Delavan, the company’s reigning baritone, is just about the best argument one could make for letting opera singers take on musicals. His commitment to the role is ferocious, and his robust if somewhat dry voice gives as much lyric potency to Todd as one could wish.”
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"...Delavan’s dark-hued timbre projected greater warmth..." – South Florida Classical Review
Salome – “Mark Delavan’s baritone was commanding. As he emerged from the darkness, he initially appeared blinded by the light but his vivid declamation quickly conveyed the prophet’s fire and brimstone as he denounced Salome and the depravity of the court. In the more gentle passages, Delavan’s dark-hued timbre projected greater warmth and he dominated the stage with his every move and utterance.”
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"...superbly open-throated phrasing..." – San Francisco Chronicle
Tosca – “The ferocity of Racette’s performance was well matched by that of baritone Mark Delavan as Scarpia, in an interpretation that went well beyond cartoon impressions of lechery to hint at the dark obsessiveness informing the character’s behavior. In his extended soliloquy at the start of Act 2, Delavan let loose with superbly open-throated phrasing, as though Scarpia’s very compulsions were forcing their way into the open.”
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"...half-divine, half-human voice..." – Wall Street Journal
Die Walküre – “The range of emotions Mr. Delavan can communicate with his half-divine, half-human voice appears limitless.”
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"He offers dark, bold sound with a suave exterior.” – Hyde Park Herald
Die Kathrin – “Baritone Mark Delavan plays the villain Malignac, who has bamboozled Kathrin to travel with him to Marseilles in what seems like a sex trafficking caper. He offers dark, bold sound with a suave exterior.”
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"...the comedic champion of the evening..." – Texas Classical Review
Hänsel und Gretel – "Baritone Mark Delavan was the comedic champion of the evening in the role of The Father - a lackadaisical drunkard with a lovable air of devotion to family. His was the only instrument that consistently pierced the wall of sound, bringing with it a clarity in diction and a warmth that was as stern as it was endearing."
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"...his rich basso conveying the god’s full authority..." – Texas Classical Review
Das Rheingold – Mark Delavan cut a majestic figure as Wotan, his rich basso conveying the god’s full authority. Štefan Margita’s smooth tenor provided a complementary foil as Loge. Delavan and Margita made a particularly effective pair throughout the opera, with Delavan’s conniving Wotan continually looking for gainful schemes from Margita’s equivocal Loge, whose knowing glances to the audience revealed his predilection for mayhem.