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Biography
Jarrod Lee, bass baritone, hails from Sylacauga, Alabama and presently resides in Maryland. He has received rave reviews for his “effortless acting” and “vocally assured” performances from Broadway World, MD Theater, Opera News, Opera Today, and The Washington Post. This season Jarrod was a featured soloist in the ensemble of Porgy and Bess with the Metropolitan Opera and made a debut as the Undertaker in Porgy and Bess with Atlanta Opera. Past roles include: Giulio Cesare in an excerpt from Giulio Cesare with the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS) Festival Orchestra in Austria, Henry Davis in Street Scene with the Maryland Opera Studio, Angelotti / Jailer in Tosca, Marchese in Traviata with Annapolis Opera, Bailli in Werther with Opera Delaware and Baltimore Concert Opera, L’horloge comtoise / Le chat in L’enfant et les sortilèges, Benoit / Alcindoro in La bohème with the Aspen Music Festival and School, the Baron’s Father / Señor / Judge in Candide, Inmate #4 in Dead Man Walking, Paulus / Hlabeni in Lost in the Stars, and SNCC Man in Appomattox with the Washington National Opera. Jarrod is a winner of the Todd Duncan and William Watkins Memorial Awards from the Annapolis Opera Vocal Competition, a finalist in the Harlem Opera Theater Vocal Competition in New York, and a semi-finalist Meistersinger Vocal Competition in Austria. Jarrod also participated in Renée Fleming’s American Voices at the Kennedy Center, lead by Eric Owens. Jarrod has performed with the Air Force Strings, Baltimore Musicales, and In Series D.C. in concerts ranging from topics of race, religion, and politics. Jarrod was a featured soloist for visits by President Barack Obama and elected dignitaries to the historic Metropolitan A.M.E Church in D.C. As an advocate for new works, Jarrod premiered the roles Joe Louis in Shadowboxer: an opera based on the life of Joe Louis by composer Frank Proto and librettist John Chenault with the Maryland Opera Studio, and Levi in the Afro-futuristic opera ballet named Cloud Nebula by composer Scott Patterson, choreographer Preston Patterson, and associate artistic director Eric Sykes with Afro House Baltimore. Jarrod was featured in community outreach programs by playwright Tom Minter and commissioned by the Washington National Opera called Just out the Window and co-created In the Smoke of the Sting which included excerpts from Shadowboxer by Frank Proto, Champion by Terence Blanchard, and Approaching Ali by D.J. Sparr. In addition to performances of traditional operas, new operas, concerts, and cabaret, Jarrod serves as a contracted Project Manager for the Coalition for African Americans in the Performing Arts (CAAPA) and continues to tell stories as a librettist. Jarrod enjoys creating works that are rooted in the experience of being black, gay, and American; adding to the cannon of stories in opera written by Black Americans which are rarely seen on the operatic stage.
OPERA America/Opera.ca Grants Awarded
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| GRANT NAME | YEAR | Opera Grants for Women Composers: Commissioning Grants | 2022 |
Productions
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Artist Information
All information is derived from OPERA America's Season Schedule of Performances and titles databases which date back to 1991. OPERA America is constantly updating this data. If you feel that a work or an artist has been omitted or that information is incorrect, please use the linked forms below. Title Information Form Artist Information Form
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