Biography

Baritone Malcolm MacKenzie’s voice has been described as having a “rich vocal range full of inviting nuance.” He has been heard at leading opera houses throughout the U.S. and Europe, appearing at the Metropolitan Opera, the Bastille in Paris, Finland’s Savonlina Festival, The Washington Opera, Sacramento Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Dayton Opera, Madison Opera, Austin Lyric, Opera Pacific, Opera Santa Barbara, and Pittsburgh Opera, in roles including Iago, Tonio, Don Giovanni, Marcello, Germont, Valentin, Count Almaviva, and Rossini’s Figaro. A favorite at the Los Angeles Opera, he has performed over 20 roles with that company, appearing in 2006 as Sharpless in Madama Butterfly and as a special guest in the Placido Domingo and Friends 20^th Anniversary Gala. He made his New York City Opera debut as Escamillo, a performance he recently repeated for San Diego Opera, where the critics raved “No wonder Carmen falls for Malcolm MacKenzie's Escamillo. With every word, MacKenzie's voice caresses her.”

In 2008, Mr. MacKenzie’s joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera for the first time. Other appearances that season included Count Almaviva for Sacramento Opera's Le Nozze di Figaro, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly for San Diego Opera and Germont in La Traviata for Glimmerglass Opera.

Recent performances for Mr. MacKenzie include Iago in Otello for Sacramento Opera, Alfio and Tonio in Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci for Opera Santa Barbara, Zurga in Bizet's The Pearl Fishers for San Diego Opera and the baritone soloist for Horatio Parker's rarely performed Hora Novissima with the Pacific Master Chorale.

Mr. MacKenzie has also frequently performed as the baritone soloist for Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, most recently with Los Angeles’ New West Symphony, the Symphony Orchestra of the University of California, Davis and the Savannah Symphony. He has also appeared with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the Pacific Chorale, the Los Angeles Mozart Orchestra, and the Madison Symphony.

Mr. MacKenzie is a former finalist in the Placido Domingo Operalia World Opera Competition and a National Finalist of the Metropolitan Opera Competition.

Malcolm MacKenzie