The Globe and Mail“Robinson’s bass is so deep and assured it’s as if a vibration goes through the audience every time he opens his mouth.”
San Francisco Chronicle“A shatteringly great performance by bass Morris Robinson … Singing with an extraordinary blend of power and fluidity, and projecting with effortless ease throughout the reaches of the house.”
New York Sun“Mr. Robinson intoned his phrases, as his rich, resonant depth surrounded those of us in the balcony like a warm blanket during a frigid night.”
musicomh.com“[Morris Robinson] stole the show with his sublime voice. It is at the same time round and sonorous and golden, yet very focused, and from his opening solo line on ‘Mors stupebit’ – delivered with sinister drama – the audience was aware that this was the man of the match.”
Morris Robinson is considered one the most interesting and sought after basses performing today.
Mr. Robinson regularly appears at the Metropolitan Opera where he debuted in a production of Fidelio and has since appeared as Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte (both in the original production and in the children’s English version), Ferrando in Il Trovatore, the King in Aida, and in roles in Nabucco, Tannhäuser, and the new productions of Les Troyens and Salome. He has also appeared at the San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Dallas Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Seattle Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Volksoper Wien, Opera Australia, and the Aix-en-Provence Festival. His many roles include the title role in Porgy and Bess, Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, Osmin in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Ramfis in Aida, Zaccaria in Nabucco, Sparafucile in Rigoletto, Commendatore in Don Giovanni, Grand Inquisitor in Don Carlos, Timur in Turandot, the Bonze in Madama Butterfly, Padre Guardiano in La Forza del Destino, Ferrando in Il Trovatore, Fasolt in Das Rheingold, Landgraf in Tannhäuser, Daland in Der fliegende Holländer, and King Marke in Tristan und Isolde. He also created the role of The Commander in the world premiere of Jeanine Tesori’s Grounded at the Washington National Opera
Also a prolific concert singer, Mr. Robinson’s many concert engagements have included appearances with the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (where he was the 2015-2016 Artist in Residence), San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony, L’Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal, Met Chamber Orchestra, Nashville Symphony Orchestra, São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, New England String Ensemble, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and at the BBC Proms and the Ravinia, Mostly Mozart, Tanglewood, Cincinnati May, Verbier, and Aspen Music Festivals. He also appeared in Carnegie Hall as part of Jessye Norman’s HONOR! Festival. In recital he has been presented by Spivey Hall in Atlanta, the Savannah Music Festival, the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Mr. Robinson’s solo album, Going Home, was released on the Decca label. He also appears as Joe in the DVD of the San Francisco Opera production of Show Boat, and in the DVDs of the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Salome and the Aix-en-Provence Festival’s production of Mozart’s Zaide.
This season, Mr. Robinson returns to the Metropolitan Opera for the new production of Aida, the Houston Grand Opera for Il Trovatore, the Atlanta Opera for Macbeth, and the Boston Lyric Opera for a concert version of Aida. He also appears in concert with the Washington Concert Opera in a performance of Luisa Miller, and with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Oakland Symphony Orchestra.
An Atlanta native, Mr. Robinson is a graduate of The Citadel and received his musical training from the Boston University Opera Institute and as a member of the prestigious Metropolitan Opera’ Lindemann Young Artist Program. He was also Artistic Advisor to the Cincinnati Opera from 2019-2021.
AUGUST 2024