Roland Burks was most recently tapped by New York City Opera and composer Jonathan Dawe (“Armide”) to step in at the eleventh hour and perform in their highly acclaimed VOX Festival, at which he “rocked the VOX” in a role that required his skills in both French Baroque Operatic style, as well as his ability to RAP!

Roland has performed extensively throughout the United States with such companies as New York City Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Anchorage Opera, Knoxville Opera, Connecticut Opera, Tri-Cities Opera, Tulsa Opera, Opera Theater of Philadelphia, Center City Opera, San Antonio Opera, Encompass New Opera, and Center for Contemporary Opera New York, as well as Internationally with the Bregenz festival in Bregenz, Austria, Ernen Festival of Tomorrow in Ernen, Swizerland, International Opera Theater in Umbria, Italy, Mercury Opera in Edmonton, Canada, Teatro Real in Madrid, Spain, and Houston Grand Opera on tour to Cairo, Egypt.

Hailing from America’s Mid-west, Roland received his B.A. in Music Education from Southeastern Oklahoma State University where he garnered numerous scholarships and awards, including top honors in the Mid-west region of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. He continued with graduate studies in Opera and Theater Arts at the University of North Texas, and the University of Houston under the tutelage of famed Greek Mezzo, Elena Nikolaidi. In addition to such powerful portrayals of operatic characters like Scarpia in “Tosca”, Tonio in “Pagliacci”, and the Four Villains in “Les Contes d’Hoffmann”, Roland is equally at home in the world of contemporary Opera and Musical Theater, with such roles as Sweeney in “Sweeney Todd”, Jim in “Big River”, and Porgy in “Porgy and Bess”.

RESUME
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