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Elias Mokole

Artist Faculty, Diction and Opera Workshop
Office: Strauss PAC 265
Phone: (402)554-3919
e-mail: eliasmokole@songfestival.org

Praised by both Opera News and the Washington Post for his “powerful, rich warm baritone,” Elias Mokole is equally at home in recital, musical theatre and orchestral concerts, as well as opera. Since 2005, he premiered three major Verdi roles, Nabucco in concert at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, Amonasro in concert performances of Aida at Radio France, and as Rigoletto with Fargo–Morehead Opera. In June 2006, he returned to Paris to sing the role of Agamemnon in Offenbach’s La Belle Hélène at UNESCO. Frequently appearing as a soloist in the Midwest, Mokole appeared as Sharpless in Madama Butterfly with the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra and internationally, he was recently the soloist in Handel’s Messiah as well as Bach’s Weihnachtsoratorium for performances in Japan [Osaka,Tokyo].

Performance highlights include: Germont in La Traviata and Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor for Dayton Opera, Ford in Falstaff with Greensboro Opera, Scarpia in Chattanooga Symphony and Opera’s production of Tosca, Elijah with the Walla Walla Symphony, Sharpless in Algiers [Africa] and for Minnesota Opera, and as the title role in Gianni Schicchi in Des Moines. In concert, the artist recently sang performances as Valentin in Faust and the Mozart Requiem in Paris, concerts in Lyon with L'Ensemble Orchestral Contemporain as soloist in Shostakovich's Symphony No. 14 and with the Dayton Philharmonic as soloist for the Brahms Requiem.

Mokole received a Bachelor of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music. He has participated in several international competitions winning the following awards: the Maryland Prize in the Baltimore Opera International Voice Competition, the Union League Prize for Arts in Chicago, and top prizes in the MacAllister International Voice Competition. His training continued at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia [degree diploma]; concentrating on study of style, language, and stage experience. Mr. Mokole was then selected for the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Artist in Residence Program [LOCAA], where he had the opportunity to perform principle roles with the Opera Center as well as singing minor roles in Lyric’s mainstage productions.

In contemporary works, Mr. Mokole had the rare opportunity to work with composer Patrick Lama on the role of Ba’al in his opera KAN'AAN; for orchestra, choir, and four soloists on ancient ugaritic poems. Recently, Mr. Mokole was the baritone soloist in the Paris premier of Lama’s Le lit de l’étrangère, a cantata for soprano, baritone soloists and orchestra; based on the poems of Mahmoud Darwich and sung in Arabic.

Additionally, Mr. Mokole has appeared as a singer in two independent films. The Lost Door was filmed in Paris and released in Italy and Germany in spring of 2005. The second film, For Me, directed by Yann Kilbourne, features Mokole singing the famous Charles Aznavour tune in a unique setting. This film was recently selected for the 8th annual Festival des Très Courts and was presented in a program called “Around Musique” in May 2006 at Le Grand Rex Cinéma in Paris, France.

Since 2000, Mr. Mokole has been frequently invited by the Paris American Academy to conduct intensive courses in French language, diction, voice, as well as leading classes exploring the medium of opera through text, vocal color, and its evolution from past to present. In June 2004 at the American Embassy in Paris, sponsored by the French American Foundation, he presented a recital themed “Americans in Paris” featuring the music of Ives, Copland, and Barber as well as excerpts from the Jardins de Paris by French composer Marc Berthomieu. Mr. Mokole has additionally performed his “Americans in Paris” recital in Iowa, Nevada, and South Dakota.

In addition to performing, Elias Mokole is committed to the education of the next generation of singers. He has served on the faculties of the American Academy in Paris, France, and Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona. Currently, Mokole is the Artistic Director of the Festival of Song and Arts Academy [songfestival.org], while lecturing and conducting master classes throughout the United States, as well as abroad.