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LAWRENCE “LARRY” HARRIS - Biography
Baritone LAWRENCE HARRIS was hailed by The New York Times critic Bernard Holland as a
"major voice" "Established overnight as an important new Verdi baritone", Mr. Harris is
widely praised as "a baritone with incredible dramatic intensity and enormous
versatility".
Harris captured First Prize in the 2008 Altamura/Caruso International Voice Competition
and "held the audience spellbound" as he performed the Te Deum scene from Puccini's
TOSCA under the baton of Maestro Anton Coppola. Jon Vickers has also praised Mr. Harris
as having one of the most beautiful voices in the world. Metropolitan Opera soprano
Phyllis Curtin has endorsed him as a significant singer of the Verdi repertoire.
Mr. Harris has been featured on www.OperaOnline.us and in The New York Times.
He has performed for diplomats and heads of state from every continent including Ban
Ki-Moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ambassador Fernando M. Valenzuela,
Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to the United Nations and the United
Nations Women for Peace.
This summer Lawrence made his debut as Count di Luna in IL TROVATORE “and brought
passion and a commanding voice to his performance” with the San Antonio Opera, under
the baton of Maestro Enrique Patron Rueda. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in Weill
Recital Hall this past December in a Puccini Birthday Celebration performing Act II
from TOSCA sponsored by the Italian Academy Foundation. His performance of the role of
the High Priest was “especially brilliant” as the High Priest in Saint-Saens SAMSON &
DALILA playing to an enthusiastic audience the at Hawaii Opera Theatre in Honolulu,
Hawaii.
Mr. Harris' portrayal in the title role of Connecticut Grand Opera's RIGOLETTO earned
him an Opera Online nomination for 2005 Best Leading Male Performance. Mr. Harris is
the recipient of awards and grants from the Metropolitan Opera National Council, the
Metropolitan Opera Guild, the American League of Orchestras and Manhattan School of
Music. He made his debut in Mexico this season performing the title role of RIGOLETTO
at both the Teatro Pablo de Villavicencio and in debut at Teatro Angela Peralta in
Mazatlan, Sinaloa Mexico under the baton of Maestro Enrique Patron de Rueda.
February 2010 sees an all-Tosti concert performance at Carnegie Hall's Weill Hall
sponsored by the Italian Academy Foundation as well as the release of Mr. Harris' upcoming commercial recording of Tosti love songs.
Next year, Chappell Film Corporation in conjunction with Production Central will
feature a documentary on Lawrence Harris and his life story from his pro-football
career to the opera stage as one of the world's leading baritones.
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