Robert Cantrell

Bass-baritone Robert Cantrell has been described by Washington Post critic Joseph McLellan as having “a warm, supple voice that brought out the lyrical intention of the composers, making them treasured moments.” Mr. Cantrell is one of the most active bass-baritones in the Baltimore-Washington area.

Highlights of his 2006-2007 opera season included appearances in the Metropolitan Opera Chorus, the roles of the Imperial Commissioner in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and the Doctor in Verdi’s Macbeth with Washington National Opera, King Balthazar in Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors with Opera Vivente, and Porgy and Bess excerpts with the Prince George’s Philharmonic. Oratorio highlights during 2006-2007 included a successful Carnegie Hall debut as bass soloist in the Mozart Requiem with MidAmerica Productions, as well as the Duruflé Requiem at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore, Christmas concerts with the MidAtlantic Symphony Orchestra, a solo recital in the Music in the Great Hall Series in Baltimore, soloist with the Baltimore Masterworks Chorale, and soloist in the Mozart Requiem with the Baltimore Choral Arts Society, both locally and on tour in France. In May 2007 he was soloist in the Washington National Opera Gala at Strathmore Hall, conducted by Placido Domingo.

Other career highlights have included his Washington National Opera debut in the role of the Moorish Envoy in Massenet’s Le Cid, starring Placido Domingo, broadcast on PBS; a Japan tour with Washington National Opera; Porgy and Bess at the Festspielhaus Bregenz in Austria; and three consecutive annual appearances at the Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi in Italy.

Mr. Cantrell has also appeared with Baltimore Opera, Opera Delaware, Wolftrap Opera, Washington Summer Opera, Annapolis Opera, Sarasota Opera, and Opera Ebony. He is on the voice faculty at the Baltimore School for the Arts, and bass soloist at Grace United Methodist Church.

Artist biography from 2013.