Artists
Artists
Mark Steven Doss
Celebrated bass-baritone, opera star, and concert singer, Mark S. Doss has performed with the major orchestras of San Francisco, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Chicago, and Toronto, while also performing 100+ roles with more than 60 major opera companies, including Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Vienna State Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and The Canadian Opera Company, to name a few. In his 30+ year career, Mr. Doss has become renowned for his signature roles, notably, the Dutchman in Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman, Amonasro in Aida, Jochanaan in Salome, Scarpia in Tosca, The Four Villains in The Tales of Hoffmann, Méphistophélès in Faust and Escamillo in Carmen, performing these roles numerous times before large audiences and to critical acclaim.
His foray into the opera world saw Mr. Doss debut as Khan Konchak in Borodin’s Prince Igor at Indiana University, where he discovered his love, talent, and natural affinity for opera and earned his Master of Music degree. He performed five other major roles at the University, went on to serve as an apprentice with Santa Fe Opera, and then as an ensemble member of Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Center for American Artists (nka the Ryan Opera Center). From Chicago, he launched a successful career beginning with a cover assignment at the Metropolitan Opera. Included among his many professional accomplishments is a Grammy Award (Best Opera Recording) for his performance on the Deutsche Grammophon recording of Handel’s Semele; winning First Prize in the Verdi Competition in Busseto, Italy; and receiving the National Institute for Music Theatre’s George London Opera Prize, which was presented to him by Leontyne Price.
In addition to his over-100 opera roles, Mr. Doss has sung some 35 oratorios on five different continents and in ten different languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Latin, Russian, Czech, Hebrew, and Hungarian. Improvisation and straight acting have also been notable parts of Mr. Doss’s career.
Career highlights include his Carnegie Hall debut with Riccardo Muti conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra in Bruckner’s Te Deum, Verdi’s Messa da Requiem with elite members of the Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Robert Shaw, his Italian debut alongside Carlo Bergonzi in Busseto Opera Theater’s La Forza del Destino, Escamillo in Carmen for his La Scala debut and as his debut role at the Arena di Verona, and his Geffen Hall (Lincoln Center) debut in a program commemorating the 125th anniversary of Paul Robeson’s birth.
Mr. Doss enjoys mentoring and teaching young artists to help them reach their full potential, presenting Master Classes in Role Preparation at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and at the Dorset Opera Festival, while drawing from his past experiences as an Associate Professor of Voice at Michigan State University in East Lansing. These activities were part of the focus for his receiving the prestigious Entertainment Award from Planet Africa, recognizing his achievements as an artist and his reputation as a positive role model for youths, in both Canada and in the United States.
In his spare time, Mr. Doss enjoys playing table tennis, tennis and chess, working out, and donating his time and talents to help with fundraising through his participation in concerts for churches, orchestras, and opera companies. When he is not touring, Mr. Doss divides his time between his home in Toronto, Ontario and residences in Tampa, Florida and Erie, Pennsylvania.
