BiographyWith a voice described as having a “rich vocal range full of inviting nuance,” Malcolm MacKenzie is quickly capturing attention in the dramatic baritone repertoire. Opera News recently raved that "his rich, warm, and dark tone was bolstered by a relentless legato line which amplified the sensuous sleaziness of his Scarpia" and praised him as a “confident, commanding Count di Luna… of robust tone, ardent address, arching phrases and genuine baritonal squillo."
Mr. MacKenzie has been heard at leading opera houses throughout the U.S. and Europe, appearing at the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Paris Opera (Bastille), Finland’s Savonlinna Festival, Washington National Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, San Diego Opera, Arizona Opera, Fort Worth Opera, and Pittsburgh Opera, in roles including Simon Boccanegra, Baron Scarpia, Rigoletto, Iago, Tonio, Don Giovanni, Count di Luna, Renato, Jack Rance, Marcello, Germont, and Count Almaviva. Most recently, MacKenzie reprised his performance of Mark Torrence in The Shining at The Atlanta Opera, sang Germont in La Traviata with both Eugene Opera and Knoxville Opera, was seen as Uncle John in Ricky Ian Gordon and Michael Korie’s The Grapes of Wrath with MasterVoices in his Carnegie Hall début, and covered Owen/Johnson in Omar and the father-in-law in Kaija Saariaho's Innocence at San Francisco Opera. Upcoming in the 24/25 season, he will return to the Metropolitan Opera stage to sing the role of Stubb in their production of Moby Dick, and he sings Sharpless in Madama Butterfly with both Austin Opera and Opera San Antonio. In 2022, Mr. MacKenzie created the role of Johnson/Owen in the World Premier of the Pulitzer Prize winning opera Omar, by Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels. Other recent engagements have included returns to North Carolina Opera as Baron Scarpia in Tosca, Colorado Opera as Germont in La traviata, and to Pittsburgh Opera as Stubb in Jake Heggie’s Moby-Dick; as well as role debuts in North Carolina Opera's Rigoletto in the title role, and as Baron Scarpia in Opera Omaha's Tosca; Tonio in Dayton Opera's I pagliacci; creating the role of Roger Chillingworth in Colorado Opera's world premiere of The Scarlet Letter by Lori Laitman; returning to LA Opera as Stubb in Jake Heggie's Moby-Dick; Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor with Eugene Opera; Giorgio Germont in La traviata with Virginia Opera; Schaunard in La bohème with San Diego Opera; a return to the Metropolitan Opera as Dancaïre in Carmen; the title role in Simon Boccanegra with Kentucky Opera; Belcore in L’Elisir d’amore with San Diego Opera; Iago in Otello with Nashville Opera; Count di Luna in Il trovatore with Arizona Opera; Alfio/Tonio in Cavalleria rusticana/I pagliacci with Arizona Opera; and Jack Rance in La fanciulla del West with Nashville Opera. On the concert stage, Mr. MacKenzie has performed frequently 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. The UC Davis performance is available on YouTube and has received over 17 million views. He has also appeared with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the Pacific Chorale, the Los Angeles Mozart Orchestra, and the Madison Symphony. |
As Belcore
As Count di Luna
As Jack Rance
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