African American bass-baritone Davóne Tines is noted for considerable success on the operatic scene in both Europe and the U.S. and for a strong commitment to a wide variety of contemporary music in which he finds personal significance. By his early 30s, Tines had roles written specifically for him in several new operas by major composers. Tines was born in 1986 and grew up in the tiny town of Orlean in Virginia's horse country west of Washington, D.C. He attended Fauquier High School in nearby Warrenton. Tines began violin studies at seven, but he became interested in singing after his grandfather, a retired naval officer who conducted several local church choirs, listened to him talk in a mock-operatic accent and said he thought Tines had vocal talent. Joining choirs at his high school and in local Black churches, Tines found that both gospel and classical vocal repertory appealed to him. He went on to Harvard University, continuing violin classes, serving as president of Harvard's student orchestra, and studying set design. After graduating in 2009, Tines worked for several years as an arts administrator in Washington. He switched to voice at the Juilliard School in New York, where he earned a master's degree in 2013. His unusually flexible bass-baritone voice soon began to attract attention on both sides of the Atlantic. During the 2015-2016 season, he gained wide attention in the premiere production of Kaija Saariaho's opera Only the Sound Remains at the Dutch National Opera, directed by Peter Sellars and singing opposite star countertenor Philippe Jaroussky, and in the U.S., he made a splash at California's Ojai Music Festival in works by Saariaho and Caroline Shaw, who flung herself on the ground at Tines' feet after his performance of her work. Tines has originated roles in several significant operas, including John Adams' Girls of the Golden West, Matthew Aucoin's Crossing, and Fire Shut Up in My Bones by jazz trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard. He also appeared in Adams' El Niño at Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles. He has co-created several projects that he could perform himself, including The Black Clown (2018), for which he co-wrote wrote the libretto, and on which he collaborated with Harvard choirmate and composer Michael Schachter. In 2020, Tines created and co-composed VIGIL, a work about Louisville police shooting victim Breonna Taylor that was premiered in video form on the Lincoln Center website and in orchestral form by the Louisville Orchestra. In 2021, Tines made his recording debut with pianist Lara Downes on Remember Me to Harlem. That year, he was named artist-in-residence at the Michigan Opera Theatre in Detroit.

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DAVÓNE TINES

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