American bass-baritone David Crawford has been hailed as a “standout” by The New York Times and celebrated for his “thunderous bass-baritone” by New York Classical Review. In the 2022-2023 season, he returned to Japan to perform with the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy as Schaunard in La bohème, joined The Metropolitan Opera for their production of Dialogues des Carmélites, covered the role of The Bonze in Madama Butterfly with Atlanta Opera, and appeared as the bass soloist in both Handel’s Messiah with Nashville Symphony and Mozart’s Requiem with Knoxville Symphony, respectively. In 2023-2024, he returns to Atlanta Opera to sing Count Monterone in Rigoletto, joins the Knoxville Symphony as the bass soloist in Verdi's Requiem, debuts with the Amarillo Symphony as the bass soloist in Beethoven's 9th Symphony, and makes his Opera Louisiane debut in the spring as Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia.

 

The 2021-2022 season saw him as Achilla in Giulio Cesare and Don Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia with The Atlanta Opera, Monterone in Rigoletto with Nashville Opera, Zuniga in Carmen with Santa Fe Opera and a return to The Metropolitan Opera for their production of Turandot. Since making his debut with the Metropolitan Opera in 2007 as The Warrior Apparition in Macbeth, Mr. Crawford has taken part in over three hundred performances and covered roles in over two hundred performances with the company.

 

In 2020-2021, Mr. Crawford sang an Opera Outdoors concert with Opera Omaha. Due to the pandemic, postponed or cancelled engagements included Il barbiere di Siviglia with The Atlanta Opera, Don Giovanni with Opera Naples, and Les contes d’Hoffmann and Billy Budd with The Metropolitan Opera.

 

During the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 seasons, he was involved in several Met productions including Tosca, Don Giovanni, Macbeth, Wozzeck and Der Rosenkavalier. He also appeared as Zuniga in Carmen with The Atlanta Opera, Sam in Trouble in Tahiti with Tucson Symphony, Betto in Gianni Schicchi with Seiji Ozawa Music Academy, Don Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Boston Lyric Opera, and Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor and the Bonze in Madama Butterfly with Knoxville Opera.

 

In the 2017-2018 season, he returned to the Metropolitan Opera for Les contes d'Hoffmann and in the 2016-2017 season, he appeared in over 50 performances in seven different operas with the company, highlights of which included Paris in the new production of Roméo et Juliette, the Sergeant in Manon Lescaut, Lord Walton in I puritani, and the Captain in Eugene Onegin.

 

In the 2015-2016 season, Mr. Crawford appeared as Rochefort in Anna Bolena, Count Ceprano in Rigoletto, a Mandarin in Turandot, and the Commissioner in Madama Butterfly with The Metropolitan Opera. Previous season highlights at the Met include Hermann/Schlemiel in Les contes d'Hoffmann, Count Horn in Un ballo in maschera, Schmidt in Andrea Chénier, Hector’s Ghost in Les Troyens, the High Priest of Baal in Nabucco, Happy in La fanciulla del West, Astarotte in Armida, the Wigmaker in Ariadne auf Naxos, and Angelotti and the Jailer in Tosca.

 

In addition to his Met assignments, Mr. Crawford has performed at several other esteemed North American companies.  Past engagements include singing Lord Capulet in Roméo et Juliette with The Atlanta Opera; Banquo in Macbeth and William Jennings Bryan in The Ballad of Baby Doe with Chautauqua Opera; Caspar in Der Freischütz with Des Moines Metro Opera; the King in Transformations with Wexford Festival Opera; and Monterone in Rigoletto with Florida Grand Opera.

 

A native of Sewickley, Pennsylvania, Mr. Crawford received a Bachelor of Music degree from Ohio Wesleyan University and a Master of Music from Boston University. Earlier in his career, he participated in highly regarded young artists programs with Seattle Opera, Florida Grand Opera, the Merola Program at San Francisco Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Utah Festival Opera, and Sarasota Opera, where he was the recipient of the 2007 Bradenton Opera Guild Award.