Mark Oswald

Mark Oswald is regarded by the Metropolitan Opera as one of its leading voice teachers, with fourteen Met soloists under his tutelage, and has gained the consistent trust and mutual respect of the musical and vocal community at large.

Known for his technical prowess and musicality as a leading lyric baritone for 12 years at the Metropolitan Opera, he has sung frequently under James Levine and today’s leading conductors. Mr. Oswald has worked in many of the leading opera houses of the world, including the Vienna State Opera, Hamburg, San Francisco, St. Louis, San Diego, Miami, and the Dallas Opera, to name a few. He has sung alongside nearly every leading singer of the world today in these acclaimed theaters.

He gained a wide variety of experience at an early age as one of the youngest male singers in history to debut at the Metropolitan in a leading role, with nearly 500 performances, including extensive concert experience and an impressive discography. Among his recordings are Carmina Burana with the Montreal Symphony, the title role of Billy Budd on a live recording from Venice, and An American Requiem by Richard Danielpour. He also took part in a recent Virgil Thomson disc, and Holiday at Pops with Frederica von Stade and the Boston Pops, televised on PBS. Mr. Oswald is widely known for his Figaro in Il barbiere diSiviglia, his Silvio in I pagliacci, and his Papageno in Die Zauberfl^ He sang with Alfredo Kraus in the late tenor’s final L’elisir d’amore at the Metropolitan. He sang his first performance of the same opera with Luciano Pavarotti, Kathleen Battle, and Maestro Levine and was showcased as a singer on the James Levine Gala in the late ?0s.

Mr. Oswald’s vocal approach descends from a long line of voice teachers such as Sidney Dietsch (who taught Leonard Warren), dating back to the earlier part of the twentieth century. Nevertheless, he has his own positive and detailed approach, working with each singer in a style unique to the individual. Mr. Oswald is in demand as an adjudicator of competitions for the Metropolitan Opera and as a teacher of master classes on vocal technique. He has also been a frequent program participant at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, the New England Conservatory, San Diego State, Brevard Music Center, and the University of South Carolina. Voice faculty, Hartt School of Music, Manhattan School of Music (MSM)faculty since 2003.