Acclaimed Opera Bass Morris Robinson Is Back at Boston Lyric Opera in 'Aida,' Where It All Began

Nicholas Dussault READ TIME: 9 MIN.

Morris Robinson
Source: Morris Robinson

EDGE: Which came first, football or opera?

Morris Robinson: In terms of opera, football came first. In terms of singing, singing always came first. I remember way back when I was seven years old wanting to go play Pop Warner football but I was too big to play with my age group. At age seven, I was heavy enough to play with 10–11-year-olds and that's just not a good match. My mother took me to audition for The Atlanta Boy Choir. I was the first soprano singing "My Country 'Tis of Thee," but I did not like the choir. After rehearsal we'd go to the mall and all the cool kids from the football team were walking around because they'd just gotten out of practice. I always longed to be part of that fraternity, but music always came first.

EDGE: When did you get into football?

Morris Robinson: I played one year in middle school when I was not in the chorus. I did not want to be in the chorus. I never wanted to be in the chorus. But then I auditioned for the Northside School of Performing Arts. My mother made me be in the band. At the very first football game I realized that I don't want to be in the band. All the cool kids were out, you know, (on the field). I quit the band. I remember the band director walking out on the field during football practice and saying, "What the hell are you doing?" He thought I was throwing away my life because I had just made all-city band. I was like, "Nah, bro. I'm gonna stay out here and hit people." It seemed like that's where all the cool kids were. There was always this dichotomy of existence and I excelled at both. I was a good athlete but football didn't come naturally to me. I had to work at it. Music always came naturally for me.

EDGE: Do you come from a musical family?

Morris Robinson: I'm a Black kid from Atlanta, GA. I grew up in church. The truth of the matter is you can't grow up in Georgia, go to church every Sunday and not be from a musical family. My dad was a Baptist minister, my mother was president of the gospel choir. My grandad was a Baptist minister. There was always singing and gospel music in my house from the moment I woke up as far back as I can remember. There were six people in our house, my three sisters, my mom and dad, and me. I was probably the worst singer in the house. I just never had a voice that was suited for gospel music.

Morris Robinson
Source: Tina Guiterrez

EDGE: You went to Citadel?

Morris Robinson: Yes, that's the military academy of South Carolina. It's our version of West Point. I think we're better. We played them in football. We beat them the last three or four times. We beat Navy when I was there, twice. It's a great school. My son is now there playing football.

EDGE: Does he sing?

Morris Robinson: He definitely has a musical ear. But by the time he got to middle school and high school and they figured out who his dad was they burned him out. He was in every chorus, every auxiliary chorus. He was in "The Lion King" in sixth grade. It was too much. He said "I'm going to do something easier. I'm going to play football." I don't think he's ever coming back to music because he never invested in it. He's a computer guy. He's way smarter than his daddy.

EDGE: You played football for four years at Citadel. Were you doing any music?

Morris Robinson: A couple of my buddies wanted to start a gospel choir on campus and as the military academy goes, I was the best pianist on campus. And I couldn't play at all, but I ended up playing and directing the choir. The word traveled that I went to a performing arts high school and I ended up doing solos for the cadet choir. I was singing "O Holy Night" for the Christmas candlelight service every year and the national anthem at games. They found out I had this hidden talent and they started utilizing it on campus. I never thought anything of it other than it was a good party trick to have. I ended up singing at all my friends' weddings for free, the Lord's Prayer, Ave Maria, things like that for the next several years.

EDGE: How did you get from there to acclaimed opera singer?

Morris Robinson: I was always debating whether I was going to do law school or what because I felt like I was going to do something more than be a salesman for a corporate company. Unbeknownst to me, my wife Denise set up an audition for the Choral Arts Society of Washington. One Saturday morning I went to run some errands and when I came back she said, "By the way, you have an audition at one o'clock." So I went to the store and bought a Mozart Requiem score because that was the only thing I knew. Turns out I sang the "Tuba Mirum" for Norman Scribner, a very well-known choral conductor who ran the Choral Arts Society of Washington for years. As soon as I stopped singing he stopped playing and said, "You absolutely need to be singing." I was there for about a half of a year then I took another job in New England, and that brought me to Boston. We were riding through Boston doing a house hunting tour and we passed the New England Conservatory of Music and my wife said, "You might as well go in there and sing for them too." So I did.

Morris Robinson
Source: Morris Robinson

EDGE: I think it's safe to assume it went well.

Morris Robinson: The Boston music community is extremely elite, which I didn't know walking into it. It's very small and well connected. I sang the national anthem for Janice Giampa, who ran the continuing education program, and Tim Steele. They asked me if I'd ever sung opera and I said "no," and they put me in their Opera Studio. I had no idea what we were doing, but there was an opening for someone to play the Devil in an opera in Salem, MA on Halloween weekend. It was there that Sharon Daniels and Steve Steiner from Boston Lutheran Opera heard me sing. They said they could really change my life if I was serious about it because my voice was something they need in their business. I was invited to audition for Boston Opera Institute at Boston University. I hired Donald Wilkinson, a teacher they recommended, who taught me four arias of contrasting styles. I auditioned and I got in. And that was the moment the decision was made to quit my job and study this opera thing and see where it takes me.

EDGE: That's a huge leap.

Morris Robinson: I lost lots of sleep over it. Denise was always saying "just go for it." I had a house, a mortgage, a company car, an expense account. Things were going pretty well at the age of 29 in corporate America. But I begrudgingly came to the conclusion that if they were going to offer me a full scholarship to do this, I'm going to take two years out of my life and just try it, see what happens. At the end of two years, I'm going to get a job. I'll be fine. I'll be 32. But I have never looked back.

EDGE: What a great story you have.

Morris Robinson: It sounds really nice and concise when you put it on a note card, I went from absolutely ground zero to going to Boston University where they gave me my first assignment as Bluebeard in "Bluebeard's Castle" in English. Then I auditioned for the Boston Lyric Opera who said they wanted me to be the King in "Aida." That's huge. It happened so fast, but I think the beauty of it is before I realized the enormity of what was happening, I was already in it. So you either freak out or do it. I think that's really where being a high caliber collegiate NCAA athlete was a perfect precursor for what I did. Mentally, I was strong enough to do it. I knew how to do it on my feet. Having gone to a military academy, I was able to take orders, to be focused. I knew how to black out everything and have tunnel vision. I was going to make sure I do everything they tell me to do to bring this to fruition so I won't have any regrets. And now, this is my 25th year singing professionally. I'm currently in Houston Grand Opera singing Fernando in "Il Travatore." So, yeah, a lot has happened since then.


Watch Morris Robinson discuss "Aida."

EDGE: And here you are 25 years later, back at the BLO doing "Aida," where you will be feted as an artistic honoree at the gala that follows the performance.

Morris Robinson: It's very flattering and it's always nice to be recognized at home. I consider Boston my musical home, because it's where I started. I'm honored to be recognized by the company that gave me my first break. And like I said, other than God, I don't think anyone could have written the story where on the 25th anniversary to the day of my professional debut as an opera singer, I get to go back to the place where I did the same exact opera in a bigger role, and then be honored as one of their artistic ambassadors. I'm very excited about it. I'm filled with emotion, really sometimes just trying to figure out how the heck dis all this happen? Is this truly my life? It's almost like a fairy tale.

At this point all I can do is just continue to enjoy the journey, enjoy the ride, continue to put my best foot forward, make sure that I make good on the people that invested in me at this company. I will enjoy this moment, but I will also put tunnel vision back on, because, you know, there's always a shiny new model coming up behind you. I want to make sure I'm always kicking butt, so no one even thinks about me NOT doing this.

EDGE: One more question. Are you still a football fan?

Morris Robinson: Absolutely, I don't miss any. I watch my whole Saturday if I'm not on stage, and even when I'm on stage I'm just watching college football all day. I've tried to go to all my Citadel football games since my son's on the team. But if I'm not there I watch it on my iPad or on my phone. I keep up with college football more than pro because I think the kids pretty much still play with a lot of passion and not for the paycheck.

The Boston Lyric Opera presents a concert version of "Aida," Sunday, November 10, 2024 at the Emerson Colonial Theatre, 106 Bolyston Street, Boston, MA. For more information, follow this link.


Watch Morris Robinson in a rehearsal from "Porgy and Bess" at Milan's La Scala.


by Nicholas Dussault

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