An artist and activist, African-American tenor Aaron Crouch has been described by the Huffington Post as “riveting vocally and as an actor.” Originally from Bowie, Maryland, he is a graduate of the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, studying under the guidance of Mikael Eliasen and Jonathan Beyer. He is a District Winner from Michigan in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and was chosen as one of nine finalists for Houston Grand Opera’s Concert of Arias, the 33rd Annual Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers.
Mr. Crouch’s 2022-2023 season features debuts with Washington National Opera, reprising The Son in Blue, Opera Philadelphia as Gondolier in Rossini’s Otello, and with Tulsa Opera as Lindoro in L’italiana in Algeri. He also joins both the Charlotte Symphony and Memphis Symphony for performances of Handel’s Messiah, and Parlando, a New York-based chamber orchestra, for Julius Eastman’s Prelude to the Holy Presence of Joan d’Arc at Merkin Concert Hall at the Kaufman Center.
During the 2021-22 season, Mr. Crouch returned to the Glimmerglass Festival to debut the role of Tamino in Kelley Rourke’s storybook adaptation of The Magic Flute. Additionally, he reprised the role of The Son in Jeanine Tesori and Tazewell Thompson’s award-winning opera Blue at Michigan Opera Theatre and Pittsburgh Opera, also recording the opera for Pentatone, and debuted the title role in Candide with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in their May Festival, led by Katharina Wincor.
Recent highlights include Jupiter in Pittsburgh Opera’s production of Händel’s Semele, Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore with the Chautauqua Institution, concert performances with Caramoor Festival and the New York Festival of Song, notably the Schwab Vocal Rising Stars Concert, as well as Myths to Live By, co-created by Steven Blier and Julia Bullock, and he joined the New World Symphony for their Ravel Journey concert and performed in an all- Bernstein concert with the Philharmonic of Southern New Jersey for Bernstein’s centennial in 2019. Mr. Crouch was selected as a member of the young artist program at The Glimmerglass Festival in 2019 and 2021, and was a member of Houston Grand Opera’s Young Artist Vocal Academy.
During his time at the Curtis Institute of Music, Mr. Crouch performed several notable roles such as Don Ottavio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Lensky in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, Prunier in Puccini’s La Rondine, and Anthony in Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd. He also starred in the premiere of a new work by Nick DiBerardino, Anansi and the Great Light commissioned for the Curtis Family Concert Series. Mr. Crouch was also featured in Joyce DiDonato’s Masterclass Series at Carnegie Hall, streamed on Medici.tv.
As an entrepreneur constantly seeking to push creative boundaries, Mr. Crouch used the pandemic as an opportunity to stretch himself imaginatively and vocally with his “What the Fach?!” series on YouTube, in which he performs repertoire traditionally sung by different voice types. Crouch also founded Utopia Arts, an organization with the mission of helping discover promising BIPOC classical artists and providing education that lays the foundation for transforming the industry.