Derrick Ballard

Derrick Ballard has established himself as one of the most sought-after dramatic bass-baritones of his generation with great successes in roles such  as Holländer, Wotan, Hans Sachs, Kaspar, Jochanaan and Scarpia.

Recent performances include Zaccaria / Nabucco, Kaspar / Der Freischütz and Jochanaan / Salome at the Staatstheater Mainz, as well as Hans Sachs / Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Vodník / Rusalka at the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden. Highlights of his previous seasons were the 4 Villains /  Les Contes d’Hoffmann at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Le Grand Inquisiteur / Don Carlos at Theater Basel, Baron Ochs  / Der Rosenkavalier at Garsington Opera, and Lautsprecher / Der Kaiser von Atlantis with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Since the 2014-15 season, Derrick Ballard has been a member of the ensemble of the Staatstheater Mainz, where he gained critical acclaim as Wotan – Wanderer /  Der Ring an einem Abend, Filippo II / Don Carlo , Figaro / Le Nozze di Figaro, Fiesco / Simone Boccanegra, Don Esteban / Der Zwerg, Dikój / Katya Kabanova,  Scarpia / Tosca , Hans Sachs / Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Méphistophélès / Faust  and the title roles of Boris Godunov, Der fliegende Holländer, Mathis der Maler, Handel’s Saul, and Telemann’s Pimpinone.

Guest engagements have brought him to Oper Leipzig (Scarpia, Kaspar), Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden (Scarpia, Hans Sachs, Holländer), Staatsoper Hannover (Mustafà, Kezal), Staatsoper Hamburg  (Salome), Theater Bremerhaven (Pizarro), Theater Detmold (Hans Sachs), Aalto-Theater Essen (Dulcamara, Fürst Gremin), Staatstheater Mannheim (Dulcamara), Theater Bremen (Sarastro), Deutsche Oper am Rhein (Mustafà), Theater Dortmund (Mustafà), Oper Graz (König Heinrich, Gessler),Theater an der Wien (Mephisto).

Upcoming : Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis and Ochs / Rosenkavalier in Mainz, The Dutchman /  Der fliegende Holländer and Kaspar / Der Freischütz in Leipzig.

Derrick Ballard studied at the University of Denver and continued his training with Mark Oswald in New York.  He won several prizes at the Metropolitan Opera Auditions. In 2015 he made his European debut in Tannhäuser at Berlin’s Staatsoper Unter den Linden. Subsequently, he joined the  ensembles of the Staatstheater Kassel (2005 to 2009), the Oldenburgisches Staatstheater (2009 to 2011) and Munich’s Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz (2010 to 2012).

Representation : World