About

Hailed by the New York Times for his 'robust singing' and Opera News for his 'exquisite vocal beauty,' Grammy Award-winning Canadian baritone Elliot Madore has established himself as an artist of rare versatility at the leading opera houses and orchestras of the world — equally at home in the French lyric repertoire that earned him his Grammy, the great baritone roles of the operatic canon, and the concert stage.

The 2026–27 season marks Mr. Madore's long-awaited debut at the Canadian Opera Company — the company of his birth city of Toronto — in one of the most significant operatic world premieres of the season: Empire of Wild by composer Ian Cusson and librettist Cherie Dimaline, in which he takes the role of Victor. Conducted by COC Music Director Johannes Debus and directed by Yvette Nolan, this Indigenous-led work — based on Dimaline's bestselling novel and rooted in Métis storytelling traditions — runs May 1 through 27, 2027 at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. Earlier in the season, he appears in a staged production of Ravel's L'enfant et les sortilèges with Stéphane Denève — first at the New World Symphony in Miami Beach on January 30 and 31, then with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra on February 12 and 13 — a work he has made one of the great touchstones of his career, from his Grammy Award-winning recording with Seiji Ozawa to his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic. Mr. Madore continues his position as Associate Professor of Voice at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

The 2025–26 season saw Mr. Madore make his debut with the San Diego Symphony, singing L'Horloge comtoise and Le Chat in a concert performance of L'enfant et les sortilèges conducted by Music Director Rafael Payare, and return to Florida Grand Opera as Ponchel in Tomer Zvulun's production of Silent Night.

Mr. Madore's operatic career has been anchored by a series of landmark role and house debuts. He made his role debut in the title role of Ambroise Thomas's Hamlet at Opéra de Montréal, conducted by Jacques Lacombe, and his European operatic debut at the Glyndebourne Festival as Ramiro in L'heure espagnole and in a new production of L'enfant et les sortilèges, returning to the company as the title role in Don Giovanni. He made his house debut at the world premiere of Giorgio Battistelli's Julius Caesar at Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, directed by Robert Carsen and conducted by Daniele Gatti, and returned to Dutch National Opera for the European premiere of John Adams' Girls of the Golden West as Ramón, a role he created at San Francisco Opera.

At the Metropolitan Opera, where he made his debut as Novice's Friend in Billy Budd, Mr. Madore appeared as Mercutio in a new production of Roméo et Juliette broadcast live in HD, Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Schaunard in La bohème, and Lysander in The Enchanted Island. As a featured member of the ensemble at Opernhaus Zürich, his roles encompassed Valentin in a new production of Faust, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Schaunard in La bohème, Andrei in a new production of Peter Eötvös's Three Sisters, Silvio in Pagliacci, and Harlekin in Ariadne auf Naxos.

His Pelléas in Pelléas et Mélisande has been heard at the Bayerische Staatsoper, with the Cleveland Orchestra under Franz Welser-Möst in Yuval Sharon's production, with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra under Charles Dutoit, and at the Croatian National Opera in Stéphane Braunschweig's production. His title role in Don Giovanni has been performed at Opera Philadelphia, Florida Grand Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and Cincinnati Opera.

On the concert stage, Mr. Madore made his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic as Le Chat and L'Horloge comtoise in L'enfant et les sortilèges conducted by Seiji Ozawa — the Grammy Award-winning recording released on Decca Classics — and his debut with the Concertgebouw Amsterdam as The Captain in John Adams' The Death of Klinghoffer. He made his debut at the Kennedy Center singing Carmina Burana with the National Symphony Orchestra under Music Director Gianandrea Noseda, his Toronto Symphony debut in Handel's Messiah under Music Director Gustavo Gimeno, and his debut at the Philharmonie de Paris with Les Arts Florissants as Adario in Rameau's Les Indes galantes conducted by William Christie at the hall's opening. Further highlights include Emile de Becque in South Pacific with the Cleveland Orchestra, Tan Dun's Buddha Passion with the Seattle Symphony and at Müpa Budapest, and a return to the Boston Symphony Orchestra to sing Frank and Fritz in Korngold's Die tote Stadt under Music Director Andris Nelsons. His signature Carmina Burana has been heard with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, London Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Colorado Symphony, and Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, among others.

A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and a winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Mr. Madore is the recipient of the 2010 George London Award and the ARIAS Emerging Young Artist Award from Opera Canada.

Events

Watch

Praise