Mark S. Doss

Mark Steven Doss (born July 2, 1957 in Cleveland, Ohio) is a Grammy Award-winning African-American bass-baritone, specializing in opera, concert and recital. He has performed major roles with many international opera companies, including Milan's La Scala, Vienna State Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, Brussels' La Monnaie, Canadian Opera Company, and Oper Frankfurt. He divides his time between Toronto, Ontario and Erie, Pennsylvania.

Mark S. Doss was born on July 2, 1957 in Cleveland, Ohio. He attended Cleveland's East Technical High School, where in addition to avid participation in varsity sports he took drama and chorus, and performed in a school production of Godspell. Following high school, and a summer work-study program dedicated to training in the performing arts, he pursued a lifelong ambition to become a Catholic priest, enrolling in the formation program (seminary) at Saint Joseph's College in Rensselaer, Indiana.

While at Saint Joseph's, Doss continued to take music courses and performed in recitals and musical theatre productions. After two years, he left the seminary and became a secular student at the college, graduating with a BA in music and sociology.

After graduating from Saint Joseph's, Doss entered the master's degree program at Indiana University's School of Music (1980–83), studying voice with Walter Cassel and Nicola Rossi-Lemeni. Doss's first operatic performance was in the role of Khan Konchak in the Indiana University Musical Theatre's production of Borodin's Prince Igor. He performed a total of six roles at Indiana University, including that of Mephistopheles in Faust, which he has reprised on several occasions throughout his professional career.