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Biography

American baritone Chad Sloan is recognized as much for his warm, elegant vocalism as he is for deft interpretations of diverse characters. In the 2019-2020 season, Chad performed the role of Ponchel in Kevin Puts’ Silent Night with Arizona Opera, was baritone soloist in concerts with Louisville Orchestra including “A Night in Vienna” as well as Handel’s Messiah, and appeared on Kentucky Opera’s Sidecar Gala concert. Other exciting projects this season included lending his voice to the character of Tanek/Kenat in the virtual reality film THE KEY TO TIME by Roderick Cooper and Krzysztof Wolek and singing “The Porch Over the River”, a commission by A/TONAL ensemble for baritone, clarinet and piano by composer Daniel Gilliam for a concert celebrating the work of Kentucky author, activist and poet, Wendell Berry. This season also included his debut with the Evansville Philharmonic in performances of Handel’s Messiah, as well as a concert with Rob Kapilow’s series What Makes it Great.

Engagements for the past few seasons have included Pooh-Bah in The Mikado and Owen Hart in Dead Man Walking with Kentucky Opera, his debut as Papageno in Die Zauberflöte with Arizona Opera, Carmina Burana with the Lexington Philharmonic, Flagstaff Symphony, and South Bend Symphony, singing The Herald in Britten’s The Burning Fiery Furnace with Ballet-Opéra-Pantomime of Montreal, joining the Louisville Orchestra for works by Schoenberg and Mahler on their War + Peace concert and an orchestrated version of Dichterliebe on their Portrait of Robert Schumann concert, appearances with eighth blackbird in a new work titled Killing the Goat by Andrew McManus, and Fauré’s Requiem in a collaboration with the Louisville Ballet & Kentucky Opera.

Other recent engagements include Adario in Rameau’s Les Sauvages with Bourbon Baroque, Carmina Burana with Fox Valley Symphony and Columbia Pro Cantare, Bach’s Weihnachts-Oratorium with Louisville Choral Arts Society, Brahms’ Liebeslieder Waltzer at Twickenham Music Festival, Britten’s War Requiem at Lawrence Conservatory, Lee Hoiby’s This is the Rill Speaking with Opera Memphis, Prosdocimo in Rossini’s Il turco in Italia with Wolf Trap Opera and Tacoma Opera, Telemaco in Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria with Wolf Trap Opera, Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem with the Lexington Philharmonic, Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music with Anchorage Opera, Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette with Dayton Opera and the Bar Harbor Music Festival, the cover of Willy Wonka in The Golden Ticket with Atlanta Opera and Pluto in Telemann’s Orpheus for New York City Opera, Belcore in L’elisir d’amore with Kentucky Opera, John Brooke in Little Women with Utah Opera, and Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Bar Harbor Music Festival.

Chad is currently an Associate Professor of Voice and voice area coordinator at the University of Louisville. University of Louisville School of Music

Silent Night – Arizona Opera, 2019
“Standouts in a cast full of impressive standouts [was] baritone Chad Sloan as the delightful French aide-de-camp Ponchel…” -Arizona Daily Star

The Mikado – Kentucky Opera, 2017
“In the role of Pooh-Bah, Chad Sloan was perfectly cast. His baritone was ideal for the character’s shady doings and softer sides.” -Arts Louisville

Die Zauberflöte – Arizona Opera, 2015
“One exception is baritone Chad Sloan, who provides welcome comic relief as Tamino’s less-than-courageous sidekick, the bird catcher Papageno.” -AZ Central

This is the Rill Speaking – Opera Memphis, 2013
“…Musically and dramatically, it was the festival’s high point…Baritone Chad Sloan was a believably innocent young boy at the moment he makes a grown-up revelation” -GoMemphis

Carmina Burana – Fox Valley Symphony, 2013
“Sloan sang the most diverse role among the soloists; a task he accomplished with confidence, and a bit of humor and dramatic interest. Highlights of his performance include his impeccable diction and fluid upper range in the sprightly “Estuans interius” solo from the “In The Tavern” section, as well as demonstrating how freely he shifted from falsetto to full voice in the dramatic and lovely “Dies, nox et omnia” from the “Court of Love” section.” -Post Crescent

Little Women – Utah Opera, 2011
“Baritone Chad Sloan gives a charming performance as Meg’s suitor (and eventual husband), John Brooke.” – Salt Lake Tribune

A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Wolf Trap Opera, 2010
“Chad Sloan as Demetrius, pursued by Rena Harms as Helena, seemed somewhat better-imagined, and both handled their assignments nicely.” – The Washington Post

Il Turco in Italia – Wolf Trap Opera, 2010
“Chad Sloan, done up rather like Marcello Mastroianni in 8 1/2, nearly stole the show as Prosdocimo, cavorting and conniving his way through the comic complications with theatrical aplomb. He also used his vivid baritone tellingly at every turn.” – Opera News

“The show-stealer was Chad Sloan in the role of the writer Prosdocimo — here given a bit of Mastroianni treatment — whose attempt to find fresh subject matter for a comic work pushes the opera’s plot along. Sloan molded his bright baritone to extract the gold in Rossini’s music, and he handled the theatrical side of the assignment with considerable charm.” – The Baltimore Sun

“Putting it all together in this production was baritone Chad Sloan, whose Prosdocimo is busy creating all these characters as the opera proceeds. He’s a supple, natural singer, although his role is somewhat prosaic here, as befits the narrative he’s putting in place. Wittily stepping out of the action, and then re-entering to quarrel with his own characters, Sloan’s primary role—wittily realized during Tuesday’s performance—is to keep things moving, and make his characters interact in meaningful ways . . . Upon reflection, Prosdocimo is actually the only “real” character in the show. Everyone else is a figure of his imagination. Yet the seeming effortlessness of Sloan’s acting chops made everything seem reassuringly normal, even if it wasn’t.” – The Washington Times

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead! – Boston Classical Orchestra, 2010
“Chad Sloan sang with skill, power, and exemplary diction. – The Boston Globe

“The Pursuit of Love”, recital with Steven Blier, pianist – Wolf Trap Opera, 2009
”Baritone Chad Sloan’s falsetto and exaggerated theatricality in songs from Gabriel Kahane’s best-known work, “Craigslistlieder,” were simply splendid. Sloan went beyond the R-rated language to get to the heart of both the humor and the underlying desperation of these excerpts from the popular Web site, whether explaining just what one individual “will trade for Spider-Man comics or equivalent” or belting out the details of the personal ad from a “neurotic and lonely, slightly hunched anthropologist” seeking a “gorgeous, artsy, genius woman” who owns a video game system.” – Washington Post

Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria – Wolf Trap Opera, 2009
“The baritone’s [Chad Sloan] singing had a tender, subtle beauty…” – The Baltimore Sun

Messiah– Utah Symphony, 2007
“By far, the standout performance was commandingly delivered by Chad Sloan. He started strong, appropriately booming the introductory line of “Thus saith the Lord,” and he continued to deliver rich, powerful reports for the rest of the performance. Of special note was his performance of “The trumpet shall sound,” in which his accompanying trumpeter was also well into a high-performance groove. Both Chad and the trumpeter ornamented sparingly but in brilliant fashion. Saturday night’s performance of “The trumpet shall sound” was easily the best I’ve ever heard in person.” – FishNet Forum

What Next? – Tanglewood Music Festival, 2006
“With Maestro Levine in the pit, the performance was pointed and polished, and the singers illuminated their roles brilliantly” – New York Times

“Standouts in the cast included…Chad Sloan, a big, buoyant baritone…” – Music & Vision Daily