@markstevendoss.bsky.social
Juggling, hula hooping, Grammy Award winning human. Grateful for every opportunity afforded me in the bass baritone range. Born in Cleveland & now humbly a citizen of the world. #MusicMatters πΆ
The mirror offers no disguise. Here I confront the reflection of one of operaβs most ruthless figures.
To wear Scarpia is to step into the darkness of Pucciniβs Tosca, where every glance and gesture must carry menace.Β
#markdoss #marksdoss #operasinger
Throwback to Eurydice with Boston Lyric Opera...where suiting up meant more than wardrobe. It was about stepping into a world between myth and modernity, embodying music that asks timeless questions of love, loss, and memory.
12.09.2025 19:06 β π 2 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
A single note can carry defiance, anguish, temptation, or hope. This short compilation brings together moments from Verdi, Offenbach, Rossini, Bizet, and Orff.
Eight excerpts in under four minutes!
Full video now on YouTube:
Honored to be recognized for embodying Captain Balstrode in Brittenβs Peter Grimes at Teatro La Fenice.Β
Read the full review: https://operawire.com/teatro-la-fenice-2021-22-review-peter-grimes/?utm_source=operabase.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=mark-s-doss-a11595&utm_content=website
Revisiting Macbeth through the eyes of The Spectator has brought back vivid memories of inhabiting Verdiβs complex and tormented king.
I am profoundly grateful for the recognition of this journey, and for the opportunity to explore one of operaβs most demanding yet rewarding characters.
Opera is a passport, each performance rooted in a place, a history, a sound that could only emerge from that soil.
If you could journey anywhere in the world for an opera performance, where would you go?
Iβd love to hear your dream destinations.
Witnessing Macbeth in Salzburg, where history, music & memory converge
Thereβs a quiet thrill in watching a role you've once embodied take new shape before you: the echoes familiar, yet the artistry ever evolving.
A salute to the cast for breathing fresh life into Verdiβs psychological masterpiece!
Honored to share this reflection on my portrayal of Verdiβs tormented king. A role that demands vocal command and psychological depth, from the first whisper of ambition to the haunting unraveling of the soul.
To embody Macbeth is to traverse shadow and flame. Thank you to all who journeyed with me
You learn from the greatest.Β
In honor of Robert Wilsonβs passing, who redefined the language of stage direction with his hypnotic fusion of movement, light, and stillness
Rest well, Bob. Your vision lives on in all of us who had the privilege to learn from you
One of the greatest joys of this career has been slipping into the skin of so many unforgettable characters. Each one has taught me something, sometimes profound, sometimes hilarious.
Grateful for the stories, the music, and the many faces Iβve been privileged to wear on stage.
A Tribute to Ron Wichels.
A beautiful soul has passed on to the Next World! He would light up a room with his smiling face and gentle spirit⦠IHe will be greatly missed, but I know God has made room for him in Paradise! Rest in Peace, my friend!
Β Mark Steven Doss
Just over a year has passed since I stepped into the role of The Father in Matthew Aucoin and Sarah Ruhlβs Eurydice with Boston Lyric Opera.Β
Thanks to the entire BLO team and creative collaborators! One year later, I remain grateful for the echoes it left behind.
Those who work with and for us deserve to be thanked and paid on time.
Rather than dwell on the disappointments, Iβd like to take a moment to praise the many opera companies, orchestras, and arts institutions that do uphold this principle. Your commitment makes our artistry possible!
Pop quiz!Β Name one opera/concert singer whoβs taken home ALL of the following:
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Grammy Award
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First Prize, International Verdi Competition
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Winner, Metropolitan Opera National Council Finals
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George London Opera Prize
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Planet Africa Entertainment Award
Give up?
Itβs yours truly. π
In a world that feels like itβs moving a mile a minute, making music is still the thing that grounds me.
Grateful for the notes, the stages, the quiet moments in between, and for every chance to share something meaningful amidst the chaos.
Lifeβs good. Music makes it better.
How old were you when you saw your first live concert or opera?
For me, it was something like Peter and the Wolf Severance Hall with the Cleveland Orchestra. I mustβve been around 12, but I still remember the feeling: something big and alive unfolding right in front of me.
How old were you when you saw your first live concert or opera?
Those first live experiences stick! Was it the sound? The stage? The feeling that stayed with you long after the final bow?
Drop your age (or a memory!) in the comments and letβs take a stroll down musical memory lane.
Life after the curtain call keeps moving and so do I
Since wrapping up Aida, Iβve been reflecting on the role of Ramfis, tracking payments, juggling tax and residency paperwork, and compiling materials for a potential teaching role
Grateful for the music, and the hustle it takes to keep making it!
AIDA OPENING NIGHT!Β
Friday, June 13, 2025 Β· Meyerhoff Symphony Hall Β· Baltimore Symphony
What an honor to take the stage as Ramfis in Verdiβs Aida under the baton of the brilliant Jonathon Heyward, with a cast that brought sheer fire to every moment.
I once gave βlast ritesβ on stage, not in a church, but in Man of La Mancha during seminary.
Along the way, Don Quixote has taught me courage, humility, and the power of holding fast to hope, even in the face of the absurd.
Watch:
The Impossible Dream has followed me through nearly every stage of life.
I first sang it in a youth arts program. Years later, I performed it with full orchestra, then again for a gala that raised millions.
Sometimes your dream takes the long road. But when it lands, it soars!
Believe in your dream, no matter how impossible it seems!
As a teenager in Cleveland, I sang thisafter a local youth production of The Wiz That Is.
Years later, Iβve sung it with full orchestra and in Brusselsβ ThéÒtre Royal de la Monnaie.Β
Watch:
Attila stands at the gates of Rome, ready to strike, until a ghostly vision of Pope Leo stops him in his tracks. In Verdiβs aria and cabaletta, you feel that inner struggle between power and fear.
Sometimes itβs not just the voice that tells the story, itβs the silence that follows.
Thrilled to return to Aida, this time as the high priest Ramfis, under the baton of the phenomenal Jonathon Heyward with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
TICKETS | https://my.bsomusic.org/overview/18941
Singing this title role early in my career helped me make a pivotal decision: to step away from a full-time professorship and embrace the stage completely.
Simone, in Eine florentinische TragΓΆdie, is no polished prince.Β This role demanded complete vocal and emotional control. I leaned on every trick in the book: looping drills, juggling bags, handwritten librettos, even flashcard software.
Preparation is the only thing fiercer than performance
In A Florentine Tragedy, Simone discovers his wife's betrayal & faces it down with wit, grit, and a sword.
Singing 90% of the operaβs lines, this role is a marathon of stamina in a high bass-baritone range.Β
Watch:
Here is the world.β And what a world it is. Boitoβs Mefistofele gives the devil his full due.
What a gift to have recorded this in Goetheβs own city, surrounded by artists who werenβt afraid to go to the edge with me.
Give it a listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0CAriZM1FI
From rehearsals with Sam Ramey in Chicago, to learning the part in complete darkness at NYCO (Capobiancoβs iconic staging), to finally performing and recording it in Frankfurt with the legendary Dietrich Hilsdorf...Iβve lived with this devil for decades.
21.05.2025 14:31 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
Thereβs something both deliciously theatrical and deeply philosophical about singing βEcco il mondoβ - the moment when Mefistofele steps into the Witches' Sabbath, looks down on humankind, and laughs
Listen to the excerpt:
