Charles H. Eaton
AMERICAN BARITONE CHARLES H. EATON, a top-prize winner in the 2021 Lotte Lenya Competition, makes his recital debut with The Musicians of Ma’alwyck in the 2021–2022 season (featuring Finzi’s By footpath and stile performed with string quartet). He covers the role of Mr. Lindquist in A Little Night Music at Arizona Opera, and returns to Minnesota Opera to perform Moralès in their brand new production of Carmen directed by Denyce Graves. In the 2022–2023 season, he will join the Resident Artist Program at Minnesota Opera and make role debuts as Argante in Rinaldo, the Corporal in La fille du régiment, and Masetto in Don Giovanni. He will also cover the role of Bryce in the world premiere of Edward Tulane by Paola Prestini and Mark Campbell.
In the 2019–2020 season, Mr. Eaton made role and company debuts as Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia with New York City Opera in Bryant Park, William Dale in Silent Night with Minnesota Opera, and Vitellius in Hérodiade with New Amsterdam Opera. He returned to Madison Opera as Carl-Magnus in A Little Night Music, and to Minnesota Opera to create the roles of Arnold Rothstein and George Gorman in the world premiere of Joel Puckett’s The Fix. He also returned to The Glimmerglass Festival for the 2019 summer season to perform Steve / Max in Show Boat and cover Figaro in The Ghosts of Versailles.
In the 2018-2019 season, Mr. Eaton made multiple company debuts, including German Sentry/Soldier #3 in Silent Night with The Glimmerglass Festival as a member of the young artist program, Samuel in The Pirates of Penzance with Park Square Theater, and Moralès in Carmen with Madison Opera. He also made his concert debut with The Mankato Symphony Orchestra as Riff in West Side Story.
In May of 2017, Charles completed a second year as a resident artist with Opera Colorado, where he performed Figaro in the touring production of The Barber of Seville, Bello in La fanciulla del West, and Enrico in the student matinee production of Lucia di Lammermoor. In the previous season, he sang the Father in the touring production of Hansel and Gretel and Governor Bellingham in the student matinee of the world premiere of The Scarlet Letter. He returned to Des Moines Metro Opera in 2017 for a second summer as an apprentice, where he sang Mr. Lindquist and covered Carl-Magnus in A Little Night Music. In their 2016 season, he covered Lescaut in Massenet’s Manon and participated in the ensemble of Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice.
Charles is a graduate of the University of Connecticut (in his hometown of Storrs, CT) where he received his Bachelor of Music degree in 2013. He received his Master of Music degree from the University of Minnesota, and in his second year of studies was a participant of the ECCO Program, which facilitated hours of coaching and exchange between promising young artists in the School of Music and the music staff at Minnesota Opera.
Mr. Eaton was a finalist in the 2021 Opera Ithaca Edward M. Murray Vocal Competition, a semi-finalist in the 2020 Premiere Opera Foundation / NYIOP International Voice Competition, a semi-finalist in the 2019 Mildred Miller International Voice Competition, a second-place winner of the 2019 American Prize Competition, a district winner of the 2016 Metropolitan Opera National Council Competition, and the first-place winner of the 2015 Thursday Musical competition in Minneapolis, MN.
