Isaiah Musik-Ayala,
Bass-baritone

Mary and Clinton Gilliland Fellow*

During the 2010 - 2011 season, second-year resident Isaiah Musik-Ayala performs the roles of Alexei Karenin (Anna Karenina), Sciarrone (Tosca), Basilio (The Barber of Seville) and Colline (La bohème). Last season, Mr. Musik-Ayala performed the roles of Count Des Grieux (Manon), Don Magnifico (La Cenerentola), Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), and Crebillion (La rondine.) Last season, Mr. Ayala made his Opera San José debut singing the role of Zaretsky in Eugene Onegin.

Roles performed recently with other companies include Don Alfonso (Così fan tutte) with Bay Area Summer Opera Theater Institute,  Surin (Queen of Spaces) for West Bay Opera, Pistola (Falstaff) with Berkeley Opera, Santiago in the world premiere of the chamber musical Viva Concha!, the Doctor (Macbeth) for North Bay Opera and Prince Yamadori (Madame Butterfly) with Bayshore Lyric Opera.  Other roles in his repertoire include Kezal (The Bartered Bride), Frank (Die Fledermaus), Escamillo (Carmen), Sharpless (Madame Butterfly), and Sarastro (The Magic Flute.)

Awards and accolades include third place in the International Concert Alliance’s Mozart Aria Competition held in Manhattan, New York, 2007.

Mr. Musik-Ayala holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Oberlin Conservatory, and has participated in masterclasses at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, Italy, and the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria.  He has also studied acting at the American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) in San Francisco.

*Mr. Musik-Ayala's residency made possible by a Fellowship Grant from Mary and Clinton Gilliland.