Jorell Williams

Baritone Jorell Williams, acclaimed for his “solid vocal core and easy, natural production” (Opera News) and “deliciously resonant baritone voice” (Broadway World), has been praised by The Washington Post as “a rock-solid singer with a keen understanding of his own expressive depths.” He continues to grace major concert halls and opera stages worldwide with his commanding presence and vocal artistry.

In the 2024–2025 season, Williams appears in Rome Is Falling with the American Modern Opera Company at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, followed by My Brother’s Keeper with the New York Festival of Song at The Kauffman Center. He makes his Manitoba Opera debut as Belcore in L’elisir d’amore and sings the title role in Le nozze di Figaro with Opera Columbus. Other season highlights include Handel’s Messiah with the National Philharmonic, Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Omaha Symphony, and Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast with Choir St-Laurent at La Maison Symphonique in Montreal. He also headlines Kentucky Opera’s season-opening Fannie Lou Hamer Tribute Concert.

In the 2023–2024 season, Williams made notable debuts with Opera Omaha, Greek National Opera, Catapult Opera, Symphony Nova Scotia, the Ottawa Choral Society, and the Canadian Art Song Project, with return engagements at the National Philharmonic, Brooklyn Art Song Society, and Tapestry Opera. A native of Brentwood, NY, he made his Off-Broadway debut at New York City Center Encores production of Kurt Weill’s Lost In The Stars, followed by his Lincoln Center Theater debut in Lynn Nottage and Ricky Ian Gordon’s Intimate Apparel (a co-production with The Metropolitan Opera, filmed for PBS Great Performances).

Williams has toured with the Mark Morris Dance Company, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Chorale Le Chateau, American Modern Ensemble, and Essential Voices USA. He performed with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in A Celebration of America at the Kennedy Center for President Barack Obama’s first inauguration and sang in the European premiere of Marsalis’ Abyssinian Mass at the Barbican during the 2012 London Olympics. He has collaborated with artists such as Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, Damien Sneed, Jon Batiste, David Lang, and Jennifer Higdon, notably in the Grammy-nominated world premiere of Cold Mountain with Santa Fe Opera. His accolades include awards from the Jensen Foundation, Gerda Lissner International Competition, Schuyler Foundation for Career Bridges, Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation, American Traditions Competition, Harlem Opera Theater Competition, National Association of Negro Musicians (NANM), Liberace Foundation, Serge & Olga Koussevitzky Competition, Civic Morning Musicals, and the Rochester Classical Idol Competition. He holds degrees in music from the Manhattan School of Music and the Conservatory of Music at SUNY Purchase. He is also an alumnus of the Composers and the Voice Program at The American Opera Project, Caramoor International Music Festival’s Bel Canto Program, Ravinia Steans Music Institute, and Songfest at Colburn in Los Angeles. His extensive training includes apprenticeships with Santa Fe Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, and Opera North.