Doug Dodson

Possessing a “beautiful, ringing, and agile countertenor” (Boston Classical Review), Doug Dodson brings sensitive musicality and strong dramatic instincts to repertoire ranging from the baroque to the contemporary.  Praised as a “vivid countertenor” by the Wall Street Journal, Mr. Dodson’s current and upcoming seasons feature a wide variety of exciting engagements throughout the United States.

In the 2022-23 season, Mr. Dodson made his debut with Arts on Alexander in Austin, TX, performing parts IV-VI of Bach's Christmas Oratorio. He returned in the spring to sing his first complete St. John Passion of Bach. He was also featured as a soloist in sections of the Christmas Oratorio and Bach’s Ascension Oratorio with Seraphic Fire (Miami, FL), and in Herr, wende dich und sei mir gnädig, a rarely heard cantata by Johann Christoph Bach with Atlanta's premier professional choral ensemble Kinnara in their exciting first collaboration with the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra. He was also happy to return to the operatic stage in Pegasus Early Music’s production of Monteverdi’s Orfeo as alto soloist and chorus.

Mr. Dodson's previous season in 2021-22 included performances of Handel's Messiah with the South Dakota Symphony in Sioux Falls, SD, and Bourbon Baroque in Louisville, KY. He also was featured as a soloist with Seraphic Fire in several Bach cantatas and a world premiere for men’s choir and countertenor soloist by Ilana Perez Velázquez, in Britten's Rejoice in the Lamb with the Summer Singers of Atlanta, and embarked on a tour of the UK with TENET Vocal Artists to commemorate the 450th anniversary of the birth of composer Thomas Tomkins, including performances in Cambridge, Oxford, Ely, Stratford-upon-Avon, and Edinburgh.

The 2019-20 season was unfortunately cut short due to the covid pandemic, but did include some exciting solo opportunities for Mr. Dodson, including Bach’s Cantata 106 (Actus tragicus) with Seraphic Fire in collaboration with the Aspen Music Festival and conducted by Robert Spano, and Schütz’ Musikalische Exequien with Boston’s Back Bay Chorale.

In the 2018-2019 season, Mr. Dodson appeared as an alto soloist in Handel’s Messiah with New York City’s TENET Vocal Artists, in a unique unconducted performance featuring just twelve singers and the collaborative instrumental ensemble The Sebastians. He also joined TENET as an alto soloist in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, and appeared as the alto soloist in Messiah with the Handel Society of Dartmouth College. Additionally, Mr. Dodson created the role of Arion in the American premiere of Jonathan Dove’s Arion and the Dolphin with the Harvard Summer Chorus, and sang the countertenor solo in Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms with the Greater Newburgh Symphony Orchestra of Newburgh, NY.

Notable past engagements include the role of The United Way in the American premiere of Tod Machover’s highly anticipated new opera Death and the Powers, an innovative collaboration between the MIT Media Lab and The American Repertory Theatre performed at the A.R.T. (Boston, MA) and Chicago Opera Theatre, under the baton of Gil Rose. The world-premiere audio recording of this opera was released in 2021. Other operatic role creations include Ignis in the world premiere of Per Bloland’s opera Pedr Solis and Farinelli the Rooster in Ken Ueno’s Gallo with Guerilla Opera. The Boston Globe called his aria in Gallo “show-stopping” and Lloyd Schwartz (for New York Arts) praised his “impressive and uninhibited” countertenor. An accomplished Handelian, Mr. Dodson has been featured as the alto soloist in Messiah with the Charlotte Symphony and the South Dakota Symphony (among many others), and has performed the operas of Handel, Monteverdi, and Purcell and the cantatas and oratorios of Bach with such organizations as Boston Baroque, Aldeburgh Music, the Aspen Music Festival, the Handel and Haydn Society (Boston, MA), Seraphic Fire (Miami, FL), TENET Vocal Artists (New York, NY), Pacific MusicWorks (Seattle, WA), Pegasus Early Music (Rochester, NY), and the Henry Purcell Society of Boston.

Mr. Dodson is a dedicated ensemble singer and appears regularly with many esteemed choral ensembles throughout the country, including the prestigious Handel & Haydn Society, Seraphic Fire, Skylark, and Kinnara. He has been featured on four GRAMMY-nominated recordings by Skylark and the South Dakota Chorale.

His discography includes the United Way on the world-premiere recording of Tod Machover’s Death and the Powers, the Voice of the Angel on the world-premiere recording of James Kallembach’s The Most Sacred Body, as Perforated on the world-premiere recording of Nicholas Vines’ Loose, Wet, Perforated, and as a soloist in works by Charpentier and Sances on Viva Italia recorded with the Duke Vespers Ensemble.

Mr. Dodson has degrees from the University of South Dakota (Vermillion) and the University of Missouri - Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance, and was a proud member of the prestigious Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme in conjunction with Aldeburgh Music in Aldeburgh, UK. He also appears as a regular panelist on the critically acclaimed opera podcast OperaNow! and made his television debut in 2018 as a contestant on season 35 of Jeopardy!, where he was a three-day champion.