McCarthy, James

Bass-Baritone
(Pleasantville, New York)

Bass-baritone James McCarthy has been nationally recognized for his “robust, booming bass voice” by the Rochester City Newspaper and as a presence on stage which remains “ever commanding” by San Francisco Classical Voice. As a first-year Adler Fellow McCarthy’s assignments include Zuniga in Carmen and Carmen Encounter, Second Armored Man in The Magic Flute, Colline in Bohème Out of the Box, and covering the Commander in Poul Ruders and Paul Bentley’s The Handmaid’s Tale and Tom in Un Ballo in Maschera.

Endlessly curious about exploring the different styles and periods of opera, McCarthy has performed the roles of Seneca and Mercurio in Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea, Il Commendatore and Masetto in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Prince Gremin in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, Thomas Brockwiller in Lehár’s Die Juxheirat, and Frank Maurrant in Kurt Weill’s Street Scene.

Most recently in San Francisco, McCarthy performed the role of Collatinus in Benjamin Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia with the Merola Opera Program in 2023 under the baton of Maestro Judith Yan. He has worked with other leading conductors including Gary Thor Wedow, Steven Osgood, and Timothy Long.

McCarthy holds a Master of Music degree from Rice University, where he studied with Dr. Robin Rice. Additionally, he holds bachelor’s degrees in music and audio/music engineering from the Eastman School of Music and the University of Rochester.