Marcus King Baritone

Born and raised in Memphis, TN, Marcus King graduated The University of Memphis with a bachelor’s degree in Music Education, and a master’s in vocal performance. In 2013, he made his European debut in Norfolk, England as Demetrius in the Yorke Trust Opera production of Britten’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. In 2014 he rejoined the company as Ubalde in Gluck’s Armide. In December of 2014, he traveled to Japan as a soloist for the New York based professional touring group The Glory Gospel Singers.

He has been a young artist for the Utah Festival Opera as well as The Charlottesville Opera, formerly known as Ash Lawn Opera. For the Utah Festival, he was engaged for the roles of Jake in Porgy and Bess and Coalhouse Walker Jr. in Ragtime. For Charlottesville Opera, he played the role Monterone in Verdi’s Rigoletto. For Opera Memphis, he has had many roles such as Mr. Gobineau in the Medium, Aeneas in Dido and Aeneas, Vernon in Blue Viola, Samuel in Pirates of Penzance, Joe Harland in Later the Same Evening and Angelotti in Tosca. In 2018, he made his Carnegie Hall debut with the New York Lyric Opera singing the role of Zurga.  In 2019, he was a part of an opera co-commissioned by Opera Memphis and The United States Department of Defense called The Falling and The Rising, playing the role of the Homecoming Soldier.

In 2021, he returned to Opera America’s Sorca Hall making his New York recital debut in the world premiere of Sohrab and Rustom. For 2022, he made his debut with Art Song Colorado as one of the Voices of the Diaspora, a concert featuring the works of Leslie Adams, George Walker and Andre Myers. He also made his debut with Lighthouse Opera of New York’s reading of Twice Upon a Birthday playing the character of Metamorphos. 

This year he returned to Carnegie Hall in the reading of 9131: A Sing Sing Opera. He also made his debut with Opera Theatre of The Rockies, Colorado as Derrick Wheatt in Blind Injustice. His latest engagement was as a Lakes Area Music Festival Vocal Fellow in Brainerd, Minnesota. He is currently an adjunct voice professor for Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee.