| Biography | American baritone Carlton Ford, acclaimed by The New York Times as a robust baritone with a vibrant stage presence, is a graduate of both The Juilliard School and Rice University. Mr. Fords 2013/14 season, Carlton made debuts with the New York Philharmonics Alan Gilbert in HK Grubers Gloria - A Pigs Tale, role debuts as Athanaël in Thaïs and Harlekin in Francesca Zambellos production of Ariadne auf Naxos.
During his 2012/13 season Carlton made debuts with the New York Philharmonic, Crested Butte Music Festival as Kaiser Overall in Victor Ullmanns Der Kaiser von Atlantis, and Le Théâtre du Châtelet as Dewain in John Adams I Was Looking At The Ceiling And Then I Saw The Sky.
In the 2011/12 season, Carlton made his Houston Grand Opera debut as Fiorello in Il barbiere di Siviglia and sang John in the world premiere of Houston Grand Operas New Arrivals. Other highlights included his debut on PBS Great Performances series. The PBS broadcast marked his Carnegie Hall debut during the 2008 opening night gala, A Celebration of Leonard Bernstein, under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas, alongside Yo-Yo Ma, Dawn Upshaw and Thomas Hampson, which was filmed for PBS and released on DVD. Carlton can also be seen and heard on the Emmy nominated Live from Lincoln Centers broadcast of Carousel with the New York Philharmonic, and the Oscar nominated HBO series Masterclass with Plácido Domingo.
In previous seasons, he has sung Marcello in La bohème under George Manahan and Fiorello in Il barbiere di Siviglia under Josep Caballé-Domenech at the Aspen Music Festival. While studying at Rice University and The Juilliard School, Carlton sang Gugliemo in Così fan tutte, Demetrius in A Midsummer Nights Dream, Marcello in La bohème, and Ottone in Lincoronazione di Poppea. Other operatic credits include Voltore in Mustos Volpone as a guest artist at Rice University and Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette with the Southern Illinois Festival. During three seasons as a Gerdine Young Artist at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, he sang Cappadocian in Salome, Yakuside in Madama Butterfly and covered Schaunard in La bohème, Lisargo in Una cosa rara, Yashvin in Anna Karenina and Pish-Tush in The Mikado. As a member of the Chautauqua Voice Program he appeared as Dancaïro in Carmen and Hermann in Les contes dHoffmann at the Chautauqua Institute.
Carlton has also been heard as soloist in both the Brahms and Fauré Requiems as well as Dubois Seven Last Words of Christ and Handels Messiah. He has appeared in recital with Brian Zeger, Mikael Eliasen, and regularly performs with Steven Blier, Michael Barrett and the New York Festival of Song. Carlton has been a featured soloist with the Da Camera Ensemble and the Bach Society of Houston. Carlton sang with the Bach Society of Houston in Cantatas 234 and 20, recorded for National Public Radio Houston.
Carlton is a winner of the 2014 Opera Foundation Scholarship, he was a finalist in Houston Grand Operas 2012 Eleanor McCollum Competition, and a recipient of both First Place and Grand Prize in Chicagos 2011 Bel Canto Foundation Competition.
A native of Chicago, Illinois, Carlton will spend his 2014/15 season as resident artist with Deutsche Oper Berlin. |