Praised by the Washington Post as having a voice of “unearthly power,” The Houston
Press as being a “blow away singer,” and the San Jose Mercury News as a “natural
comic actor,” award winning bass-baritone, Nathan Stark, has performed on opera,
concert and recital stages throughout United States, Europe and China.
Hailing from Hughson, California, Mr. Stark has performed over 60 professional roles
with opera houses throughout North America, including the Metropolitan Opera,
Cincinnati Opera, Arizona Opera, Atlanta Opera, Detroit Virginia Opera and Opera
Santa Barbara, among many others. Some of his noted roles have included Mustafà in
L’Italiana in Algeri, both Don Basilio and Don Bartolo in il Barbiere di Siviglia, both
Leporello and il Commendatore in Don Giovanni, both Monterone and Sparafucile in
Rigoletto, Colline in La Boheme, Fernando in Il Trovatore, Banco in Macbeth and
Bottom in A Midsummer’s Night Dream. Equally comfortable on the concert stage, he
has performed as a soloist with leading ensembles including Boston Symphony
Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Philharmonic, the Atlanta
Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra,
Long Beach Symphony, San Diego Symphony Orchestra, and the Holland Symphony
Orchestra.
For the 2025/2026 season, Nathan makes company returns to Opera Modesto as
Dulcamara in L’Elisir d’Amore, Opera Orlando as The French General in Silent Night
and Opera Santa Barbara as Reverend Baines in Elmer Gantry. He makes company
debuts with Opera Steamboat as Actor #2 in All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914
and Seattle Opera as The Sargent of Police in Pirates of Penzance.
Mr. Stark has given recitals throughout the United States and Germany, concerts at The
Great Wall of China, the U.S. Colombian Embassy, U.S. French Embassy, the U.S.
Austrian Embassy and the Washington National Cathedral. In 2005 he was chosen to
be the featured soloist for the nationally televised opening ceremonies of the Air Force
One exhibit at the Ronald Reagan Library for former First Ladies, Laura Bush and
Nancy Reagan, members of the United States Senate and Congress, and then,
President of the United States, George W. Bush.
Mr. Stark has been a recipient of several vocal awards including the 2010 Fort Worth
Opera Marguerite McCammon Competition, the Opera Columbus Vocal Competition,
the Brentwood Artist of Tomorrow Competition, the Sun Valley Opera Competition,
Westwood Vocal Competition, Burbank Aria Competition, first place winner of Cincinnati
Conservatory of Music’s Corbett Scholarship Opera Competition, the Palm Springs
Opera Guild Vocal Competition, the Pasadena Opera Guild Competition, the Opera
Buffs Competition, first place winner of the Classical Singers Association Vocal
Competition in Los Angeles, and San Diego district winner of the Metropolitan Opera
Vocal Competition.
He holds degrees in vocal & opera performance from California State University, Long
Beach (B.M. & M.M.) and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
(A.D.) His voice teachers have included Dr. Lewis Woodward, Dr. Cherrie Llewellyn, Ms.
Shigemi Matsumoto, Ms. Marilyn Horne and Mr. Kenneth Shaw.
