Jeffrey Black

Jeffrey Black (born 6 September 1962) is an Australian baritone who has had an active international performance career since the early 1980s. A frequent performer with Opera Australia and the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, he has performed leading role with the Metropolitan Opera, Opéra Bastille, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Bavarian State Opera, and the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, among other opera houses. He is particularly known for his portrayals of Guglielmo in Mozart's Così fan tutte, Count Almaviva in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, and Figaro in Rossini's The Barber of Seville.

Early life and education Born in Brisbane, Black was educated at Junction Park State School and the Anglican Church Grammar School. In his youth he was a boy soprano in the choir at the Cathedral of St Stephen, Brisbane, for several years. He studied singing at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music where graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in 1983. His first role in an opera with the OA was in 1985 as Mercutio in Charles Gounod's Roméo et Juliette. He notably performed the role of Nevers in Les Huguenots with OA in 1990 for the farewell performance of Joan Sutherland as Marguerite de Valois.

Black performed regularly at the Sydney Opera House with the OA for twenty years. His roles with that company included Papageno in Mozart's The Magic Flute (1986), Dandini in Rossini's La Cenerentola (1987), Figaro in The Barber of Seville (1989), the title role of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin (1997), Wolfram in Richard Wagner's Tannhäuser (1998) Rodrigo in Verdi's Don Carlo (1999), the Count in Richard Strauss's Capriccio (2000), Belcore in L'elisir d'amore (2001), Count Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro (2002), and Danilo in The Merry Widow (2004). In 1991 he had a critical triumph with the OA in the title role of Mozart's Don Giovanni;

In 1986 Black made his first appearance in the United Kingdom with the Glyndebourne Festival Opera (GFO). He returned to the GFO numerous times, portraying such roles as Demetrius in Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream (1989), the Count in Richard Strauss's Capriccio (1990), and Count Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro (1991). He performed the role of Fieramosca in Berlioz's Benvenuto Cellini at the Grand Théâtre de Genève in 1992, and returned there in 1995 as Riccardo in Bellini's I puritani. In 2004 he portrayed Escamillo in Opera Queensland's production of Georges Bizet's Carmen with Yvonne Fontane in the tile role. In 2005 he performed the role of Danilo in a staging celebrating the 100th anniversary of The Merry Widow with the Welsh National Opera.

In 2009 Black sang the title role in a concert version of Verdi's Simon Boccanegra with the Chelsea Opera Group at Queen Elizabeth Hall. That same year he performed the role of Frank in Die Fledermaus with the London Lyric Opera. In 2010 he portrayed Gianciotto in Riccardo Zandonai's Francesca da Rimini with Opera Holland Park.

Black has also performed in operas with the Dutch National Opera, Vlaamse Opera, Opéra de Monte-Carlo, Washington National Opera, Teatro Colón, and Opera North. His stage repertoire also included the role of Ford in Falstaff.