Donnie Ray Albert

Donnie Ray Albert is an American operatic baritone born on January 10, 1950, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He completed his secondary education at McKinley Senior High School in 1968 and subsequently earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Louisiana State University in 1972. He pursued graduate studies at Southern Methodist University, where he worked with teacher Thomas Hayward and received a Master of Music degree.

Albert's professional operatic career began in May 1975 with the Houston Grand Opera, where he appeared in Scott Joplin's Treemonisha. He returned to that company the following year to sing Jake Wallace in Puccini's La Fanciulla del West and to portray the title role in George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess opposite Clamma Dale. That Houston Grand Opera production of Porgy and Bess transferred to Broadway, running for 122 performances from September 25, 1976, to January 9, 1977. The cast recording of the production received a Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording. Albert also appeared on Broadway in Show Boat, with his Broadway activity spanning the years 1976 to 1983.

In 1978, Albert made his debuts at both the New York City Opera and the Washington National Opera, and the following year he performed for the first time at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. His work with regional American companies during the 1980s included appearances at the Baltimore Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Dallas Opera, Fort Worth Opera, New Orleans Opera, Portland Opera, and Tulsa Opera. Between 1981 and 1983 he made multiple appearances at the Vancouver Opera, and in 1982 he debuted with the Opera Company of Boston and performed at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. His 1984 debut at the San Francisco Opera coincided with his first appearance at the Teatro Comunale Florence, where he again sang Porgy. He performed with the Canadian Opera Company beginning in 1986, debuted at the Michigan Opera Theatre in 1987 in the role of Porgy, and in 1988 undertook an extensive European tour of Porgy and Bess. His first appearance at the Florentine Opera came in 1989, once more in the role of Porgy.

Albert's international engagements have included the title role in Wagner's The Flying Dutchman at the Cologne Opera in 1996 and performances at La Scala, where he sang Hidraot in Gluck's Armide and the title role in Verdi's Nabucco. His broader stage repertoire encompasses Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen, Iago in Verdi's Otello, Jochanaan in Strauss's Salome, Basilio in Rossini's The Barber of Seville, Count Monterone in Verdi's Rigoletto, Don Carlo in Verdi's Ernani, Don Fernando in Beethoven's Fidelio, Ferrando in Verdi's Il trovatore, Jack Rance in Puccini's La Fanciulla del West, Nourabad in Bizet's Les pêcheurs de perles, Timur in Puccini's Turandot, Valentin in Gounod's Faust, Trinity Moses in Weill's Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, and the title role in Louis Gruenberg's The Emperor Jones.

Alongside his operatic work, Albert has maintained an active concert career, performing with ensembles including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Minnesota Orchestra, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic.