Tenor CALVIN ELLIS LEE (Mingo / Nelson / Crab Man), who recently made his debut in Paris at the Opéra Comique and at the Théâtre de Caen in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, has performed worldwide in numerous productions of the opera. Notably, he toured with Houston Grand Opera’s international production that was seen in such notable opera houses as La Scala, Paris National Opéra Bastille, and Japan’s Bunkamura Theater in Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya with the Japanese Philharmonic. Recently, Lee recorded Porgy and Bess for Decca Records with the Nashville Symphony, conducted by John Mauceri.

In recent seasons, Lee has performed with Tulsa Opera, the Atlanta Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Opera Memphis, Orlando Opera, and Connecticut Opera in roles such as Pang in Turandot; Monostatos in Die Zauberflöte; Kaspar in Amahl and the Night Visitors; Mingo, Peter, and Robbins in Porgy and Bess; The Four Servants in Les contes d’Hoffmann; and Dritte Jude in Salome. Other roles performed by Lee include The Sailor in Dido and Aeneas, The Circus Manager in The Bartered Bride, Victor in Los Bohemios, Joe in Blue Monday, Von Asterburg in The Student Prince, Cascada in The Merry Widow, and Littore in L’incoronazione di Poppea.

In concert Lee has been heard in Handel’s Messiah, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Haydn’s Creation, Mozart’s Requiem and Vesperae Solennes, Schubert’s Mass in G, Stravinsky’s Pulcinella, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. He was also co-developer of a one-man show that he performed for FBN Opera for Kids called Characters Through Song, which introduced children to opera.