David Lawrence Michael is gaining a reputation as one of today’s foremost interpreters of the bass operatic repertoire. His commanding stage presence and vocal versatility allow him to characterize kings, generals, and most notably, some of opera’s favorite villains.

Over the past couple seasons, Mr. Michael appeared with Cincinnati Opera as Doctor Grenville in La Traviata, José Tripaldi in Ainadamar, Hans Schwartz in Die Meistersinger, and the Friar and Filippo II cover in Don Carlo; with the Kentucky Opera as the Sergeant in Pirates of Penzance, performed 1st Soldier in Salome at the Arizona Opera, made his role debut as Ferrando in Il Trovatore with Orlando Opera, and sang in Handel’s Messiah with Pro Cantare in Columbia, MD. Next, he performs Zuniga in Carmen at Lyric Opera of Kansas City.

Additional recent engagements include Sparafucile in Rigoletto and Colline in La Bohème at the Madison Opera, his role debut as Banco in Macbeth and Old Hebrew in Samson et Dalilawith Dayton Opera, performances as Abimélech and the Old Hebrew in Samson et Dalila with Denyce Graves, his European debut as Porgy in Porgy and Bess with the StadtOper in Klugenfurt (Austria), and Schlemil in Les Contes d’Hoffmann at the Cincinnati Opera.

Mr. Michael has been a frequent guest of opera companies across the U.S. including numerous appearances with New York City Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Michigan Opera Theater, Cincinnati Opera, Opera Pacific, Lyric Opera Kansas City, Opera Carolina, Orlando Opera, Dayton Opera, Opera Memphis and many others. His many roles in the dramatic bass repertoire include Sparafucile in Rigoletto, Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Il Commendatore in Don Giovanni, Abimélech and Old Hebrew in Samson et Dalila, Nourabad in Les Pêcheurs des Perles, Timurin Turandot, Colline in La Bohème, Nilakantha in Lakme, Angelotti in Tosca, High Priestin Nabucco, Il Re and Ramphis in Aida, and Sarastro in The Magic Flute.

On the concert stage, Mr. Michael has performed operatic, oratorio and musical theater repertoire with several symphony and pops orchestras including the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Dayton Philharmonic, Beethoven’s 9th with the Austin Symphony, Bass soloist in Handel’s Messiah, gala soloist with Opera du Montreal, and the role of Joe in Showboat with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. He is also a celebrated interpreter of old Negro Spirituals and was chosen as the World Premier Artist and recipient of the Grady-Rayam prize for the Negro Spiritual Scholarship Foundation’s 1999 National Gala Awards.

A native of Cincinnati, OH, Mr. Michael is a graduate of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN and The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA. He has been a winner in several competitions including the Regional Finals of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the National Finals of the OPERA Columbus Vocal Competition, and a National Finalist in the Loren Zachary Competition.