Derrick Ballard

Derrick Ballard has established himself as one of the most sought-after dramatic bass-baritones of his generation, earning major successes as the Dutchman, Wotan, Hans Sachs, Kaspar, Jochanaan and Scarpia.

Recent performances include the title role in Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer and Kaspar in Weber’s Der Freischütz at Oper Leipzig, Zaccaria in Verdi’s Nabucco, Revírník in Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen, the title role in Verdi’s Falstaff, Sarastro in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Der Tod in Ullmann’s Der Kaiser von Atlantis and the title role in Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle at Staatstheater Mainz, Zaccaria in Verdi’s Nabucco at Theater Bonn, the title role in Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer at Theater Osnabrück, Wotan in Wagner’s Die Walküre in TaiwanBaron Ochs in Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier, Kaspar in Weber’s Der Freischütz and Jochanaan in Strauss’ Salome at Staatstheater Mainz, as well as Hans Sachs in Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Vodník in Dvořák’s Rusalka at Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden. Earlier highlights include the Four Villains in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann at Deutsche Oper Berlin, Le Grand Inquisiteur in Verdi’s Don Carlos at Theater Basel, Baron Ochs in Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier at Garsington Opera, and Lautsprecher in Ullmann’s Der Kaiser von Atlantis with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Upcoming engagements include his Bayreuth Festival debut as Donner in Wagner’s Das Rheingold, Don Pizzaro in Beethoven’s Fidelio in Taipei, The Dutchman in Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer à Theater Osnabrück…

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

Guest engagements have brought him to Oper Leipzig, Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden, Staatsoper Hannover, Hamburg State Opera, Theater Bremerhaven, Landestheater Detmold, Aalto-Theater Essen, Nationaltheater Mannheim, Theater Bremen, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Theater Dortmund, Oper Graz and Theater an der Wien.

Derrick Ballard studied at the University of Denver before continuing his training with Mark Oswald in New York. A prizewinner at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, he made his European debut in Wagner’s Tannhäuser at Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin. He was previously a member of the ensembles of Staatstheater Kassel, Oldenburgisches Staatstheater and Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz in Munich.

Representation : World