Richard Hobson
Baritone
Richard Hobson, Metropolitan Opera baritone, is acclaimed for "the strong dramatic persona" he brings to his performances. He made his debut with OperaCréole as Dr. Louis Charles Roudanez, in out production of Les Lions de la Reconstruction.
He is an affiliate artist at Southern University where he teaches voice and is the Director of Opera. He has sung professionally for over twenty years in Europe, Australia, the United States, Canada and in South America. The New York Sun wrote of his Rigoletto "... the staff was extremely lucky to draw baritone Richard Hobson as the jester. Here was a voice of deep power and burnished color. In addition to some of the best shading I have heard in some time, Mr. Hobson is an excellent actor who sent chills at the appropriate moments. His scene with the courtiers was really quite memorable. The character might have been stooped by his his infirmities, but his voice towered over his peers."
Mr. Hobson has sung on the roster of The Metropolitan Opera for ten consecutive seasons in operas including Madama Butterfly, Carmen, Rigoletto, Boris Goudanov, Les Troyens, Andrea Chenier, Le Rossignol, Was And Piece, Macbeth, Samson Et Dalila, Doktor Faust, Don Carlo, The Nose and Die Frau Ohne Schatten.
At New York City Opera, Mr. Hobson was heard in the title role of Porgy in "Porgy and Bess," as Zuniga in Carmen, Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro and Schaunard in La Bohème.
In 2001 Mr. Hobson made his Italian debut as Amonosro in a new production of Aida, which celebrated the centennial of Giuseppe Verdi's death. The production was directed by Franco Zeffirelli at Teatro Streheler (Piccolo Scala) in Milano, Italy.
In addition to opera, Mr. Hobson made his Broadway in Hal Princes' Showboat singing the role of Joe. He also sang in St. Louis Woman and Treemonisha. Upcoming engagements include Rigoletto with Lighthouse Opera in Bronx, NY, Aida with Gateway Classical Music Society in Bridgeport, CT and Alberich in Siegfried with Trilogy Opera in Newark, NJ.