Praised for his “ringing tenor voice” (Chicago Classical Review), and his “brightness and energy” (Texas Classical Review), tenor Travon D. Walker is a current third-year young artist at The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center with Lyric Opera of Chicago. This season he covers Beppe in Pagliacci, Ferrando in Così fan tutte, and Young Man in El último sueño de Frida y Diego. On the concert stage, Mr. Walker joins Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería for Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony as well as Phoenix Symphony and the US Naval Academy for Handel’s Messiah. In the spring, Mr. Walker joins the Erie Philharmonic for Britten’s War Requiem. He recently also joined Haymarket Opera to cover Oronte in Alcina at the Ravinia Festival.

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Last season he sang Borsa in Rigoletto, 1st Prisoner in Fidelio, the Son in Blue, and Parpignol in La Bohème at Lyric Opera of Chicago. He sang Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Psalm 23 from Omar with North Carolina Symphony Orchestra and joined Opera Philadelphia as Valcour in L’Amant anonyme. As a Filene Artist at Wolf Trap Opera, he sang Chevalier de la Force in Dialogues des Carmélites, Remendado in Carmen, and Carmina Burana with the National Symphony Orchestra. The season prior, he joined Lawrence Brownlee, Lisette Oropesa, and Craig Terry in recital and participated in Joyce DiDonato’s acclaimed masterclass series at Carnegie Hall as well as the Britten Pears Young Artist Program in Aldeburgh, England. He was awarded Best Vocal Artist Award at the American Opera Society of Chicago and was also the recipient of a Luminarts Fellowship.

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In 2023, Mr. Walker participated in Renée Fleming’s SongStudio at Carnegie Hall. Other recent highlights have included Handel’s Messiah with the Erie Philharmonic Orchestra and his company debut with Houston Grand Opera as The Navigator in Jeremy Howard Beck’s Another City (world premiere). At Lyric Opera of Chicago, Walker sang scenes from Ariadne auf Naxos (Scaramuccio), La Périchole (Piquillo), and Falstaff (Bardolfo). He also received an Encouragement Award from the Kansas City District in the 2023 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition and the Cesare Saneramo Award at the 2023 Opera Index Vocal Competition. Mr. Walker was a Studio Artist at Wolf Trap Opera in 2022, where he sang Elder Gleaton in Susannah.

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A native of Hinesville, GA, Mr. Walker graduated with a master’s degree from Rice University, where he performed the role of Sam Kaplan in their production of Street Scene by Kurt Weill and appeared in scenes from Così fan tutte, The Turn of the Screw, Lucia di Lammermoor, and West Side Story. He completed his undergraduate studies at the Eastman School of Music, where he was heard in the roles of The Reader in Ricky Ian Gordon’s The Tibetan Book of the Dead, Anthony Hope in Sweeney Todd (canceled due to Covid-19), and Dan Leno in the virtual production of Kevin Puts’ Elizabeth Cree.