Praised for his “fine tenor voice” (Winston-Salem Journal), David Blalock is known for his beautiful lyric tone and his varied repertoire. In the 2023-2024 season, he sang Valcour in The Anonymous Lover with Madison Opera, and joined MidAmerica Productions, Inc. as the tenor soloist in Schubert’s Mass in G and Forrest’s The Dawn From On High. In the 2024-2025 season, he makes his debut with Opera Grand Rapids as Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore, as well as returning to the Metropolitan Opera in their productions of Il barbiere di Siviglia and Salome.

 

Last season, Mr. Blalock returned to the Metropolitan Opera to cover Pong in Turandot.  Mr. Blalock made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Pong in the 2019-2020 season, and has since returned to sing Gastone in La traviata, cover Brighella in Ariadne auf Naxos, and cover Thierry and Chaplain in Dialogues des Carmélites. Mr. Blalock recently made a house debut with Bar Harbor Music Festival as Ferrando in Così fan tutte, a role he previously performed at Opera San Jose. Mozartian roles include Tamino in Die Zauberflöte with Pensacola Opera and the Northern Lights Music Festival, and Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni with Pensacola Opera, Opera Hong Kong, and North Carolina Opera. Other highlights include the Duke in Rigoletto (Opera Columbus), Alfredo in La traviata (Opera Columbus, Arizona Opera), the title role in Pelléas et Mélisande (West Edge Opera), Nemorino in L'elisir d'amore (Piedmont Opera), Rodolfo in La bohème (Greater Bridgeport Symphony, Glow Lyric Theatre), Second Jew in Salome (Madison Opera, Minnesota Orchestra), Pong in Turandot (Pacific Symphony), Roderigo in Otello (Minnesota Orchestra), Steuermann in The Flying Dutchman (Virginia Opera), and Jaquino in Fidelio (Madison Opera).  

 

A champion of contemporary works, he has appeared as Macduff in Working for the Macbeths at the American Lyric Theatre, Sam Kaplan in Street Scene and Lysander in A Midsummer Night's Dream with Virginia Opera, and Tobias in Sweeney Todd with Mill City Summer Opera and Virginia Opera and cover of Anthony in with Opera Tampa. For his performances as Young Thompson in Glory Denied with Atlanta Opera, role he has sung with Opera San Jose, Opera News writes: “Tenor David Blalock…gives an inflamed performance of Young Jim. We experience Jim's torment with him…but we're also comforted by the strength of Blalock's vocal delivery." In 2015, he made his house debut with Washington National Opera as the Ring Announcer in Champion. In Silent Night, he has sung both the roles of Nikolaus Sprink with Atlanta Opera and Jonathan Dale with Lyric Opera of Kansas City. He sang Ricky in the world premiere of Jeremy Howard Beck's The Long Walk with Opera Saratoga, as well as two new interpretations of the role of Count Almaviva with On Site Opera, in Paisiello’s Il barbiere di Siviglia (Paisiello) and in the North American premiere of Portugal's The Marriage of Figaro.

 

Mr. Blalock has sung as the tenor soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, the Pacific Symphony, Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra and Virginia Symphony, as well as Mendelssohn's Lobgesang with the Duluth Symphony, Beethoven's Choral Fantasy at UN Assembly Hall with the Shanghai Symphony and Jacques Brel is Alive and Well in Paris with Performance Santa Fe. He has performed a recital with Madison Opera, and been seen in concert with St. Croix Valley Opera, Firelands Symphony Orchestra, Madison Opera, San Francisco Symphony, the Richmond Symphony. 

 

As a Virginia Opera Emerging Artist, Mr. Blalock was seen as First Priest in The Magic Flute, Brighella in Ariadne auf Naxos and Le Remendado in Carmen. He also completed two summers as an apprentice with Santa Fe Opera where he sang Bertram in Rossini’s La donna del lago, Infirmary Patient in the world premiere of Theodore Morrison’s Oscar and covered Welko and Jankel in Strauss’ Arabella.

 

Mr. Blalock has received major awards from The Sullivan Foundation, the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the Charlotte Opera Guild Vocal Competition among others. He completed his undergraduate degree from University of North Carolina in Greensboro and was also a member of the Maryland Opera Studio at University of Maryland where he achieved his Master of Music degree.