Roy Cornelius Smith

born 1966 Big Stone Gap

He studied voice in Knoxville and Hammond and spent his first career years in the US. His first international appearance was as Fatty (Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny by Kurt Weill) at the Salzburg Festival 1998. Guest appearances at the Met, New York City Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, in Chicago, New Orleans, Birmingham, San Antonio, Sarasota, Long Beach, Memphis, Copenhagen, Oslo, Malmö, Hannover, Chemnitz, Köln, Graz, Montreal, and at the festivals of Bregenz, Ravenna or Savona.

A special place in his career was occupied by the Nationaltheater Mannheim, where he was also a member at times.

Repertory: Turiddu, Calaf, Dick Johnson, des Grieux (Manon Lescaut), Cavaradossi, Florestan, Tristan, Erik, Max, Faust (Mefistofele), Radames, Otello, Canio, Éléazar, José, Andrea Chénier, Peter Grimes, Kaiser, ...

I heard Smith in Turandot at the Vienna Volksoper, and he was pretty good – nonetheless, his performance was difficult to endure. How come? Although he has a large voice, he succumbed to the microphone opera fashion. A large voice further amplified (and heavily to boot!), that made him so loud that it was actually tough on the ears: a volume that you'd expect from a rock concert. Bizarre!

Picture source and reference: Smith's website
For the biography cf. also: reference 2, reference 3