Biography

John Del Carlo (September 21, 1951, San Francisco — October 29, 2016, Portland, Oregon) was an American bass-baritone who had an active international opera and concert career from 1973 to 2016. Music critic F. Paul Driscoll wrote that "Del Carlo had the distinction of being not only one of the busiest artists in opera but one of the best liked, beloved throughout the U.S. by audiences and by his colleagues for decades." He was particularly active with the San Francisco Opera where he performed regularly from 1973 to 2015, and with the Metropolitan Opera where he appeared in more than 300 performances in 21 seasons from 1993 to 2016. He also frequently appeared at the San Diego Opera and the Seattle Opera, and gave performances at important opera houses internationally, including the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Paris Opera, the Royal Opera House in London, and the Zurich Opera among many others. A skilled actor, Opera News stated that "Del Carlo made a career specialty of bringing authentic character to roles that are often dismissed as comprimario parts; in Del Carlo's shrewdly judged performances, [these parts] became authentic star turns."