Mark Crayton
Mark Crayton is praised by critics and audiences for the pure beauty of his voice, his interpretative insight and natural musicality. In May 2004, he was awarded 1st prize in the professional division at the first USA Classical Singer Vocal Competition.
Mark Crayton's operatic career includes the role of Bacchus in the premiere of Alexander Goehr’s critically acclaimed Arianna for the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Amore in Claudio Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea and Ericlea in Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria with Music of the Baroque. Philip Glass invited him to sing in the world premiere performances of Glass’s opera Galileo Galilei in Chicago, New York City and London; Glass wrote the role of Autumn Oracle for Mark Crayton's voice. Mark Crayton also took the roles of Inquisitor and Cardinal. For the Lyric Opera of Chicago, he covered the role of Armindo in G F Handel’s Partenope. He created the character of the First Minstrel, another role specially written for him, in the Holland Festival’s production of Peter Onnes' opera/theatre piece Pantagruel et Gargantua. In 2006 Mark Crayton will sing the role of Nireno in San Diego Opera's production of Handel’s Giulio Cesare in Egitto.
In musical comedy, Mark Crayton was asked by Kander and Ebb to sing the role of Louis Perch in their new musical The Visit, starring Chita Rivera, at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre.
Mark Crayton's first appearance at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall was in Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms with the National Chorale. He has performed this work more than 150 times. He returned to Avery Fisher Hall in Handel’s Messiah, again with the National Chorale. In Chicago, he has sung works by Giovanni Gabrieli and Dietrich Buxtehude with the ensemble Music of the Baroque.
Since his 1995 debut at the Ravinia Music Festival, Mark Crayton's regular recital partner has been fortepianist James Janssen. They have appeared at New York’s Weill Recital Hall and in a live radio and internet broadcast by Chicago’s classical radio station WFMT. In 2003-2004, the duo's engagements included recitals at Sarasota, FL, in the Music at St Boniface series as well as in Amsterdam, London and Chicago. Their engagements for 2005 include a recital in Northeastern Illinois University’s Jewel Box series, to be simulcast on WFMT and on the internet and performances in Washington DC at the Phillips Collection. Crayton and Janssen return to London and Amsterdam in the fall of 2005 with a program of newly composed music setting texts by English and American poets.
Mark Crayton is a regular guest soloist with the Chicago-based period instrument ensemble Haydn by the Lake. Their 2005 program featured works by Purcell, Blow and Gibbons.
Mark Crayton regularly sings the concert and oratorio repertoire in the United StatesEurope. He first sang at the Kennedy Center in Purcell’s Ode on St. Cecilia’s Day with the Washington Chamber Symphony under Stephen Simon and he is a guest soloist with the Concord Ensemble. He sang Handel’s Messiah at Chicago’s Orchestra Hall with the Apollo Chorus under Steven Alltop. At Carnegie Hall he has sung alto solo in J S Bach’s Magnificat and W A Mozart’s Regina Coeli. He was invited to Prague, Czech republic, to appear in Mozart's Requiem.
A native of Indianapolis, Indiana, Mark Crayton attended Butler University and the University of Tennessee, followed by advanced studies with Nina Belavin Kor and Max van Egmond. He currently studies with Judith Haddon. Like most singers of high international repute, he is frequently requested to give classes to other singers. Mark Crayton is a member of the music faculty of Roosevelt University, Chicago, Illinois.
Mark Crayton sings songs by Phillipp Heinrich Erlebach with the Chicago Baroque Ensemble on a CD for the Centaur label: Harmonic Joys (TCLB623942).
