Nmon Ford Biography

Pagliacci Cast

Nmon Ford (Silvio)

A featured soloist on the 2010 Grammy Award winning Transmigrations (Telarc) and the three-time Grammy Award winning (including "Best Classical Recording") Songs of Innocence and of Experience (Naxos), Panamanian-American baritone Nmon Ford enjoyed many successful major debuts this season. He made his Italian debut at Teatro delle Muse Ancona in the title role of a new production of The Emperor Jones (directed by Henning Brockhaus and conducted by Bruno Bartoletti), his company debut with Cincinnati Opera as Riolobo in Francesca Zambello's production of Florencia en el Amazonas, and his role debut as The Traveler in a new production of Death in Venice at Hamburg State Opera. Earlier this season he sang Di Luna (Il trovatore) with Virginia Opera and Thoas (Iphigénie en Tauride) with Hamburg State Opera, preceded by Mendelssohn's Elijah at Washington National Cathedral, with the Cathedral Choral Society. During last season he sang both Scarpia (Tosca) and the title role in a new production of Billy Budd with Hamburg Opera, and with the Atlanta Symphony conducted by Robert Spano, he recorded Jennifer Higdon's Dooryard Bloom (written for Mr. Ford) and Vaughan Williams' Serenade to Music for Telarc. He made his Ravinia Festival debut with James Conlon conducting the Chicago Symphony in Shostakovich's Symphony #13 (Babi Yar), which he also performed with Maestro Conlon and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Disney Concert Hall. Mr. Ford's other recent engagements include Orff's Carmina Burana with the Pittsburgh Symphony conducted by Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, and being responsible for the role of Amfortas (Parsifal) with Los Angeles Opera, in a production by Robert Wilson starring Plácido Domingo and conducted by Kent Nagano. He enjoyed critical success at Spoleto Festival USA in the title role of Mozart's Don Giovanni, in a production by Günter Krämer conducted by Emmanuel Villaume. Having begun his musical training in piano at age three, Mr. Ford has since appeared with Hamburg Opera, Teatro delle Muse Ancona, San Francisco Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Cincinatti Opera, Spoleto Festival USA, Utah Opera, Portland Opera, Opera Memphis, and Virginia Opera in roles such as Iago (Otello), Kurwenal (Tristan und Isolde), Scarpia (Tosca), Amfortas (Parsifal), Di Luna (Il trovatore), Amonasro (Aïda), Germont (La traviata), Escamillo (Carmen), Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni), and the High Priest (Samson et Dalila). Other roles include Posa (Don Carlo), Jochanaan (Salome), and Telramund (Lohengrin). Mr. Ford has worked with conductors James Conlon, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Leonard Slatkin, Bruno Bartoletti, Kent Nagano, Emmanuel Villaume, Raphael Frühbeck de Burgos, John Adams, and Marin Alsop. His concert appearances include the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, the Atlanta Symphony, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the National Symphony, and the Orchestra of St. Luke's, and he has given recitals throughout the Americas and Europe. He made his New York recital debut with the Marilyn Horne Foundation's "On Wings of Song" Series at the Kosciuszko Foundation; under the Foundation's auspices he has fulfilled artist's residencies with the New Jersey Symphony, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and the Huntsville Chamber Music Guild in Alabama. In addition to his Grammy-winning Naxos and Telarc releases, Mr. Ford has recorded for Universal/Decca (Vai DaCapo - Songs of Delight), Koch International (Villa-Lobos' Symphony #10, "Amerindia"), and Three Things Records (The Sweetest Brilliance--Songs of Bolcom and Weinstein). His award recognitions include First Place in the Wagner Division of the Liederkranz Foundation of New York Competition, as well as prizes from the Gerda Lissner Foundation and the George London Foundation. He earned his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees from the University of Southern California where he graduated cum laude, and was named Outstanding Vocal Arts Graduate, for both degrees.