About
Known for the strength and richness of voice and his commanding stage presence, bass-baritone Bradley Garvin is in high demand with opera companies throughout North America. He has appeared with The Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Arizona Opera, and Palm Beach Opera, among many others. He has performed a wide range of roles, both dramatically and vocally, including Holländer in Der fliegende Holländer, the title roles in both Le Nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni, Scarpia in Tosca, Escamillo in Carmen, the four villains in Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Mephistopheles in Faust, and the dual roles of the Athlete and Animal Trainer in Lulu.
During the 2011- 12 season the bass-baritone returned to the stage of The Metropolitan Opera as Prince Arjuna in Satyagraha and De Bretigny in Manon. During the previous season he sang the Four Villians in Les contes d'Hoffmann with Florida Grand Opera, Monterone in Rigoletto for his debut with Dallas Opera, and Scarpia in Boston Lyric Opera's Tosca, prompting The Boston Globe to write, "As Scarpia, baritone Bradley Garvin wore the uniform exceptionally well. With a gunmetal tone and taut, angular body language, Garvin delineated his villainy in sinuous lines, seductively callous." He also returned to The Metropolitan Opera in multiple roles.
The New York Times called Mr. Garvin "magnetic" for his performance as the Animal Trainer and Acrobat in The Metropolitan Opera's production of Lulu in the 2009 - 10 season. He also returned as the King in Aida at the Bregenzer Festpiele, and performed the title role in Der fliegende Holländer with the Madison Opera, where Opera News said, "Bass-baritone Bradley Garvin... was at once noble and pathetic, and delivered a splendid account of the great monologue. His timbre is intrinsically masculine and beautiful. This is a good role for him, and it will be interesting to watch his growth in it."
During the previous season, he performed with the Lyric Opera of Chicago in Lulu, joined Houston Grand Opera as Monterone in Rigoletto, and was Toledo Opera's Jochanaan in Salome. An advocate of contemporary opera, he portrayed Prince Arjuna in Philip Glass' highly acclaimed Satyagraha with The Metropolitan Opera, prompting Variety to call his performance "vocally impressive." He has performed the role of Sharpless in Madama Butterfly with Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and joined the roster of the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Jochanaan in Salome.
As an experienced oratorio singer, he has performed Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Baltimore Symphony, and Handel's Messiah with the International Music Foundation. He has also performed Verdi's Requiem, Bach's St. Matthew Passion, and Haydn's Creation.
A native of River Forest, Illinois, Mr. Garvin received his Bachelor of Arts from Olivet Nazarene University and a Master of Music in Voice from the Indiana University. He is the winner of numerous vocal competitions, including the Washington, D.C. International Vocal Competition, George London Vocal Competition, Placido Domingo International Vocal Competition, and the William Matheus Sullivan Award.