Martin Luther Clark, Tenor. Photo by Daniel welch.
Bio
Martin Luther Clark is praised by the Chicago Tribune for for bringing “an extra frisson of vocal and dramatic vitality to everything [he] sang.” In the 2024-25 season he makes role and company debuts with Houston Grand Opera as Walther in Tannhäuser and Seattle Opera as Frederick Loudin in Jubilee. He also sings Mozart’s Requiem with the Madison Symphony and Apollo Chorus of Chicago and Handel’s Messiah with Camerata Chicago at the Apollo Chorus of Chicago. Future engagements include his Metropolitan Opera debut and returns to Dallas Opera and Madison Opera. Last season, he sang his first performances of the title role of Candide with Madison Opera, returned to the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Luis Griffith in Champion, and joined Dallas Opera as the Orderly in the world premiere of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. He also sang Handel’s Messiah with the Florida Orchestra and South Dakota Symphony and Bruckner’s Te Deum with the Apollo Chorus and Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra.
In the summer, he joined Wolf Trap Opera for the Brother in Weill’s Seven Deadly Sins and Jonathan Dale in Silent Night.
He created the role of CJ in the world premiere of Will Liverman and DJ King Rico’s highly-anticipated new opera, The Factotum at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Other recent performances include Tenor 3 in Davis’ X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X with Detroit Opera and Opera Omaha, Rapunzel’s Prince in Into the Woods with Tulsa Opera, as well as Master Slender in Sir John in Love as well as two concerts the Bard Music Festival. At the Aldeburgh Music Festival, he sang Britten’s Canticle II: Abraham and Isaac and Canticle V: The Death of Narcissus in addition to William Croft’s A Hymn of Divine Musick, realized by Britten.
Previously at the Lyric Opera of Chicago at which he was a member of the Ryan Opera Center, he sang the First Armed Man in Die Zauberflöte and Adult William and the Chicken Plucker in Blanchard’s Fire Shut up in my Bones in addition to covering Malcom in Macbeth. During COVID’s hold on the industry, he also sang on a number of the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s digital programs, including Larry Brownlee and Friends, The Next Chapter: Creating the Factotum, Sole e amore—upon which he sang songs of Mascagni and Puccini, Magical Musical Around the World, and the company’s annual Rising Stars in Concert in which he sang excerpts of L’amico Fritz.
He joined Washington National Opera as Man 2 on the recording of Tesori’s Blue. He sang Borsa—whilst covering Duca—in Rigoletto and the Peasant Leader—whilst covering Lensky—in Eugene Onegin as a Resident Artist at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City. While a student at the Curtis Institute of Music, he sang Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni and with Russian Opera Workshop, he sang Count Vaudemont in Iolanta and King Charles VII in Pikyovaya Dama. On the concert stage, he joined the Kansas City Symphony as soloist in Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy as well as sangHandel’s Messiah at Opera North and Bach’s Mass in B minor with the Highland Park Chorale. Mr. Clark is a previous young artist of the Britten Pears Young Artist Program, George Solti Academia, and Central City Opera as well as a Resident Artist at Opera North and Studio Artist at Wolf Trap Opera.
In addition, he sang numerous outreach performances or Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore with Dallas Opera while obtaining his Bachelor of Music at the University of North Texas, at which his performances included Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Tybalt in Roméo et Juliette, the Chevalier in Dialogues des Carmélites, Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance, and Mack the Knife in The Threepenny Opera. He holds a Master of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music. He is a Richard F. Gold Career Grant recipient from the Shoshana Arts Foundation.
