Biography - Martin Bakari

Hailed by Opera News for his "golden tenor," Martin Bakari has established himself as a promising and versatile singing actor with engaging dramatic talent, remarkable musicality, and a voice of distinct beauty and clarity. The recipient of the Risë Stevens Scholarship, he is currently pursuing a master's degree at The Juilliard School where he studies with Marlena Malas. He is a recent graduate of the Boston University Opera Institute where he was named a Phyllis Curtin Artist and performed numerous roles including Ferrando in Così fan tutte, Tybalt in Roméo et Juliette, Katz in Stephen Paulus' The Postman Always Rings Twice, and the lead tenors in William Bolcom's Lucrezia and Paul Bowles' zarzuela The Wind Remains. With the BU Symphony Orchestra and Chorus he appeared last season as the tenor soloist in Mendelssohn's Elijah at Symphony Hall and Haydn's Paukenmesse at Boston's historic Old South Church. He recently performed with the Salem Philharmonic Orchestra as the featured soloist in a concert of arias. This summer, he will be a Resident Artist at Pine Mountain Music Festival where he will sing Ferrando in Così fan tutte and Henrik in Sondheim's A Little Night Music.

As a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center the past two summers, he sang Scaramuccio in Ariadne auf Naxos under the baton of Christoph von Dohnányi, the Second Attendant in John Harbison's Full Moon in March under Stefan Asbury, and the lead tenors in Milhaud's L'enlèvement d'Europe and L'abandon d'Ariane directed by Mark Morris, while also performing in several art song recitals at Seiji Ozawa Hall. Of his performance in Full Moon in March, the New York Times wrote, "Martin Bakari mastered completely" the "high tension and occasionally melodic vocal writing." For his musical achievements, professionalism, and exceptional service, Mr. Bakari was awarded the Grace B. Jackson Prize by the faculty and staff of the Tanglewood Music Center. During the summer of 2009, he was a studio artist at Opera North where he sang Remendado in Carmen.

Mr. Bakari was the winner of both the Audience Choice Award and the Bellini Award at the 2011 Orpheus National Vocal Competition. He was also the second prize winner in the junior division of the 2010 Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition where he was praised in review for his "velvety light tenor hues, superb control, and resounding high tones" (South Florida Classical Review). Mr. Bakari holds a bachelor's degree in music education from Boston University where he was a student of James Demler. A native of Yellow Springs, Ohio, he is an avid sports fan, jazz devotee, and food enthusiast.