Arizona Opera Cast Members & Creatives
Chris Carr
Raised in the small town of Quasqueton, IA, Mr. Carr has performed roles with Arizona Opera, Merola Opera Program, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Central City Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera and Cedar Rapids Opera Theater. He made his company debut with Arizona Opera last season as a Studio Artist singing several roles including Schaunard in La bohème and Dr. Malatesta in Don Pasquale, as well as John Lassiter in the workshop of The Riders of the Purple Sage, a new opera by composer Craig Bohmler. This season, Mr. Carr returns as a Marion Roose Pullin Arizona Opera Studio Artist to sing Marullo in Rigoletto, Eugene Onegin in Eugene Onegin, the Corporal in The Daughter of the Regiment, and cover Papageno in The Magic Flute.
Mr. Carr spent his summer at the Glimmerglass Festival where he made his debut as Billy Bigelow in Carousel. In December of this year, he will also make his Kennedy Center debut with Washington National Opera as The Pilot in their production of The Little Prince. Mr. Carr won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Arizona District in October and in February Mr. Carr was announced the recipient of the 2014 Igor Gorin Memorial Award in February.
Mr. Carr was featured in San Francisco’s Merola Opera Program as Tarquinius in The Rape of Lucretia in the summer of 2013. The opening of the 2012/13 season marked Mr. Carr’s mainstage debut with The Lyric Opera of Kansas City where he performed Yamadori in Madama Butterfly and later Pish-Tush in The Mikado. Mr. Carr spent two seasons with The Lyric Opera of Kansas City as a Resident Artist beginning in 2011, while he was also at the University of Missouri Kansas City. During this time, he sang the title role in Don Giovanni and Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro at the University of Missouri Kansas City. In the summer of 2012, Mr. Carr made his debut as Schaunard in La bohème at Central City Opera where he also received the John Moriarty Award. Also that year, Mr. Carr was a District Winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and received a Career Development Award from The Sullivan Foundation.
Mr. Carr participated in the Des Moines Metro Opera Apprentice Artist Program in 2010 and 2011. In 2011, he made his debut with The Cedar Rapids Opera Theater as the Sacristan in Tosca. Mr. Carr was also a District Winner in Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the winner of the Vocal Division of the NAFTZGER competition.
Mr. Carr’s concert performances include Orff’s Carmina Burana, Monteverdi’s Vespers, Faure’s Requiem, and Handel’s Messiah. This year, he will sing The Narrator in The Polar Express with the Phoenix Symphony. He has also sung recitals with Cedar Rapids Opera Theater and Kansas City’s Bach Aria Soloists. Mr. Carr graduated with a Master of Music degree from the University of Missouri Kansas City and a Bachelor of Music degree from Simpson College in Indianola, IA.
