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date = "2019-04-05T17:59:00+00:00"
discipline = "Bass-baritone"
primary_image = "https://res.cloudinary.com/schmopera/image/upload/v1572463548/media/2019/10/Douglas_Williams_Headshot_zc62hg.jpg"
primary_image_credit = ""
related_companies = ["scene/companies/mark-morris-dance-group.md", "scene/companies/opera-atelier.md"]
slug = "douglas-williams"
title = "Douglas Williams"
website = "http://www.douglasrwilliams.com/"
[[social_media]]
platform = "Instagram"
template = "social-media"
url = "https://www.instagram.com/dooglaaswilliams/"

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“The gifted young bass-baritone Douglas Williams” (_The New York Times_) combines a “formidable stage presence” (_Seattle Times_) with “a bass voice of splendid solidity” (_Music Web International_), making him one of the most appealing singing actors of his generation. He has collaborated with leading conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, Nicholas McGegan, Helmut Rilling, Sir Neville Marriner, John Nelson, and Christoph Rousset, in such prestigious venues as Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Stuttgart’s Mozart-Saal, and the Frankfurt Alte Oper. His repertoire reaches over four centuries, being a sought-after interpreter of Monteverdi, Handel, Bach, and Mozart, in addition to the romantic and modern eras.

 Recent operatic highlights include the role of Sciarrone in _Tosca_ with Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmoniker at the Baden-Baden Festspielhaus and his debut as Figaro with Edo de Waart and the Milwaukee Symphony in a new production by Robin Guarino. His also performed Sciarrone in his Boston Symphony debut at Tanglewood under Andris Nelsons. He appears regularly with Opera Atelier, most recently the title role in _Marriage of Figaro_ and as Antinoo in Monteverdi’s _Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patri_. He has performed the role of Caronte in Monteverdi’s _L'Orfeo_ with Sash Waltz and Guests and conductor Pablo Heras-Casado and was also highly acclaimed as “Polyphemus” in the world premiere Mark Morris Dance Group production of Handel’s _Acis and Galatea_, (he recorded the work in 2015 with Boston Early Music Festival). 

Mr. Williams’ “superb sense of drama” (_The New York Times_) is as apparent on the concert stage as it is in opera. Recent highlights include the American premiere of Scarlatti’s _La gloria di primavera_ at Carnegie Hall and California’s Orange County and Bay Area with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and conductor Nicholas McGegan; baroque programs with Les Talens Lyriques in Paris, Versailles, and Oslo; a performance at Carnegie Hall of Charles Wuorinen’s _It Happens Like This_ with the MET Chamber Ensemble; and _Messiah_ with Nashville, Detroit, Houston, and National Symphonies

 Mr. Williams is featured on the recording of Scarlatti’s _La gloria di primavera_ released on the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra’s label in April 2016. His recording of Charpentier’s _La Descente d’Orphée aux Enfers_ with Boston Early Music Festival won the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording.

Mr. Williams trained at the New England Conservatory and the Yale School of Music. Raised in Farmington, Connecticut, he now lives in Berlin.