“Possessor of a strikingly beautiful voice” and “completely commanding on stage” are but two of the powerful phrases used by critics and writers to describe the voice and stage talents of Charles Robert Austin. Internationally acclaimed as a rising Wagnerian bass-baritone, he has an extensive operatic repertoire, including King Mark in Tristan und Isolde; Duke Bluebeard in Bluebeard’s Castle; Rocco in Fidelio; Veit Pogner and Hermann Ortel in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg; Méphistophélès in Faust; Leporello in Don Giovanni; Daland in Der fliegende Holländer, Scarpia in Tosca; Klingsor in Parsifal; King Henry the Fowler in Lohengrin and Wotan in Die Walküre; performing with the Metropolitan Opera and the opera companies of Cleveland, Los Angeles, Madison, Michigan, Hawaii, Pittsburgh, Utah, Omaha, and San Juan. On the concert stage he has performed works including Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast; Mozart’s Requiem and Great Mass in C; Bach’s Mass in
B Minor; Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Missa Solemnis; Handel’s Messiah; Berlioz’s Roméo et Juliette and Verdi’s Requiem; with such ensembles as the Canton, Cincinnati, Minnesota and Seattle symphonies; Tokyo Philharmonic; and the New York Chamber and Cleveland orchestras. Austin’s recordings include the benchmark recording of