Calvin Griffin
Calvin Griffin, a native of Columbus, Ohio, is a recent alum of the Florida Grand Opera studio where he made his debut stepping in as a cover to sing Escamillo in Bizet’s Carmen. In addition, he sang Zaretsky and covered Gremin in Eugene Onegin, sang Victor in Before Night Falls, and Samuel in Un ballo in maschera with the company. Mr. Griffin recently finished a stint with the Arizona Opera Studio where he performed the roles of the Captain in Florencia en el Amazonas, Zuniga in Carmen, Pistola in Falstaff, Count Ceprano in Rigoletto, Zaretsky in Eugene Onegin, Speaker/2nd Armored Man in Die Zauberflöte, Hortensius in La fille du régiment, Colline in La bohème, and Dr. Grenville in La traviata.
Last season, he returned to the Richmond Symphony for Handel’s Messiah, Florida Grand Opera as the title character in Le nozze di Figaro, Minnesota Opera as Eddie in The Fix, and returned to Wolf Trap Opera as Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia and Gomez in L’heure espagnole. The 2019-2020 season includes the title role in Le nozze di Figaro with Florentine Opera and singing Brühlmann and covering Lesbo in Werther in his Metropolitan Opera debut.
In a busy 2017 -2018 season, Mr. Griffin made exciting debuts with Atlanta Opera as Mother in The Seven Deadly Sins, Opera Birmingham as Escamillo in Carmen, Opera on the James as Leporello in Don Giovanni, and Opera Orlando as Alidoro in La Cenerentola. Additionally, he returned to Arizona Opera to sing Dr. Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Atlanta Opera as Morales in Carmen, and debuted with Minnesota Opera as the Potter’s Assistant in Fellow Travelers. In concert, he sang Handel’s Messiah with the Richmond Symphony and Bach’s Mass in B minor with Gloria Musicae in Sarasota, Florida. In the summer of 2017, Mr. Griffin returned to the Glimmerglass Festival as Elviro in Xerxes and the Undertaker in Porgy and Bess. The previous season at Glimmerglass, he sang Fabrizio and covered Gottardo in La gazza ladra and covered the title role in Sweeney Todd. In 2015, Mr. Griffin returned as an Apprentice Artist to Santa Fe Opera where his assignments included Count Ceprano in Rigoletto and Hortensius in La fille du régiment. Mr. Griffin sang the title role in Gianni Schicchi at the Aspen Music Festival, and he covered the role of Leporello in Don Giovanni as an Apprentice Artist at Des Moines Metro Opera. He was a Studio Artist at The Wolf Trap Opera Company, as well as a participant at the Brevard Music Festival.
Mr. Griffin made his Richmond Symphony debut as the bass soloist in Handel’s Messiah and his Houston Symphony debut as First Apprentice in Wozzeck. He performed the baritone solos in Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem at Ohio State University and Worthington United Methodist Church and was the bass soloist in Mozart’s Requiem at Terra Community College and the bass soloist in Handel’s Messiah at Bluffton University.
Mr. Griffin was the 2015 winner of the Igor Gorin Memorial Award. He was awarded a Western Region Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Encouragement Award in 2014, 1st Place winner in the Tuesday Musical Club Competition in San Antonio in 2012, 1st Place winner in the Hal Leonard Vocal Competition in 2011, and a Central Region Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Encouragement Award in 2010. He was also a winner in the Cincinnati College-Conservatory’s Corbett Competition and was awarded the Linda Candler Award at the Brevard Music Center.
