Marcus Haddock

Marcus Haddock (born 19 June 1957) is an American opera singer and voice teacher who in the course of his 25-year stage career sang leading tenor roles throughout the United States and Europe. Born in Fort Worth, Texas and trained at the Boston University College of Fine Arts under Phyllis Curtin, Haddock began his career in the United States after winning the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 1984. From the late 1980s to the late 1990s he was primarily based in Europe where he sang in all the major opera houses, sometimes performing under the name Marcus Jerome-Haddock. He increasingly sang in American opera houses from 1998 and made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 2003 in the title role of Faust. His early roles were those of the tenore di grazia repertoire, but as his career progressed he also took on heavier lyric and spinto tenor roles such as Rodolfo in La bohème and Don José in Carmen, both of which he has recorded. Haddock retired from the stage in 2009 after suffering two serious strokes, and began a new career as a voice teacher in 2012.

Haddock was born in Fort Worth, Texas, the son of Southern Baptist minister. He grew up in West Texas where he attended Seminole High School and played on its football team as well playing trumpet on the school's marching band. After high school, he attended Baylor University as a pre-med student but then transferred to Boston University. There he majored in vocal performance, studying under Phyllis Curtin and graduating with a Bachelor of Music degree in 1981. He entered the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 1984 winning first place in the New England Region and went on to become one of the 11 National Council winners.