Recognized by The New York Times as a “robust baritone” and “agile comedian” and by The Sondheim Review for his “opulent baritone and nuanced phrasing,” RON LOYD has been praised for thoughtful portrayals and versatility on operatic, concert, and musical theatre stages across the United States.
After his role debut of RIGOLETTO with Salt Marsh Opera, Connecticut’s The Day wrote “it was the vocal power and characterizations by Loyd, in the title role, that carried the night. Physically compelling in his characterization…Loyd mined dramatic material at every turn, whether cowering, raging or pouring affection on Gilda. His seething musing on his fate, to be mocked daily by those who stand straight and tall, ‘Pari siamo,’ came across as a Shakespearean soliloquy writ larger than life.”
In recent seasons, Ron added the title role of Verdi’s MACBETH to his repertoire with New Hampshire’s Raylynmor Opera, appeared as FORD in Verdi’s Falstaff with Winter Opera St. Louis, returned to Mobile Opera as TONIO in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, and performed LEPORELLO in Don Giovanni for his seventh role with Albuquerque’s Opera Southwest. The baritone performed THOMAS BETTERTON in the NY stage premiere of Carlisle Floyd’s newest opera Prince of Players with the little OPERA theatre of NY, returned to the Helena Symphony in Montana for MARCELLO in Puccini’s La Bohème, and reprised the title role of SWEENEY TODD in a return to Baltimore Concert Opera.
In his 2018 company debut with St. Petersburg Opera as GERMONT in La Traviata, the Tampa Bay Times wrote “Ron Loyd blossoms from his earlier passages as a sturdy supporting player to an indispensable rock. This metamorphosis, brilliantly written into the score, happens as Violetta agrees to break off the romance and his suspicion turns into admiration for her character. Time and again throughout the rest of the show, Loyd added depth to everyone else on stage, [which] allowed Loyd to emerge as the opera’s surprise star.”
In the season prior to the COVID 19 pandemic, Ron debuted as FREDRIK in Sondheim’s A Little Night Music with Opera Ithaca and with The Chorus of Westerly and New England Symphony Orchestra as bass soloist in Beethoven’s NINTH SYMPHONY. He made returns to Raylynmor Opera as Falke in a new English translation of Johann Strauss II’s DIE FLEDERMAUS, Cambridge Symphony Orchestra for Beethoven’s NINTH SYMPHONY, and Baltimore Concert Opera for his role debut of John Sorel in Menotti’s THE CONSUL.
Operatic beginnings
Ron made his professional operatic debut as HORACE TABOR in The Ballad of Baby Doe with Amarillo Opera upon graduating from West Texas A&M University. After moving to New York City, he spent two seasons touring with Opera Iowa as BELCORE in L’Elisir d’Amore and as FIGARO in Il Barbiere di Siviglia in the US and China before apprenticing with Chautauqua Opera, Sarasota Opera, and Lake George Opera performing mainstage roles and cover assignments that included GERMONT and BARON DOUPHOL in La Traviata, FALSTAFF in Falstaff, MORALES in Carmen, PETER in Hansel and Gretel, and MILLER in Verdi’s Luisa Miller.
As a mainstage artist, company debuts quickly accumulated and include FIGARO in Le Nozze di Figaro with Nevada Opera and Opera Southwest; SHARPLESS in Madama Butterfly with El Paso Opera, Mobile Opera, Opera Southwest, Baltimore Concert Opera, and the Holder’s Festival in Barbados, West Indies; MARCELLO in La Bohème with Baltimore Concert Opera and Opera Southwest; SCHAUNARD in La Bohème with Des Moines Metro Opera, Pensacola Opera and National Lyric Opera; PETER in Hansel and Gretel with Nevada Opera; PING in Turandot with Mobile Opera and Pensacola Opera; FALKE in Die Fledermaus with Salt Marsh Opera; PAPAGENO in Die Zauberflöte with Pensacola Opera and Opera Southwest; MONTERONE in Rigoletto with Pensacola Opera; SCARPIA in Puccini’s Tosca with Baltimore Concert Opera; TONIO in Pagliacci with New Jersey Verismo Opera; GERMONT in La Traviata with Bronx Opera and the New Operafestival di Roma Symphony in Rome, Italy. POOH-BAH in The Mikado and BARON ZETA in The Merry Widow with Natchez Festival of Music; DON BARTOLO in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Opera Southwest and Pensacola Opera; GUIDO in the world stage premiere of Un Racconto Fiorentino (Louis Gioia) with New Jersey Verismo Opera; and DULCAMARA in L’Elisir d’Amore with Salt Marsh Opera in which he “dominated the theater with his double-takes, his asides and tack-sharp comic timing that made a simple raised eyebrow speak volumes” (Connecticut’s The Day).
An advocate for new opera, Ron is often recruited for first readings of new American works with organizations such as Music-Theatre Group (The Nefarious, Immoral but Highly Profitable Enterprise of Mr. Burke & Mr. Hare) and Ardea Arts (BOUNCE) and was featured on Opera America’s 2016 New Opera Showcase as RASHEED in A Thousand Splendid Suns, a new opera by American composer Sheila Silver and librettist Stephen Kitsakos based on Khaled Hosseini’s New York Times best selling novel, produced by American Opera Projects and led by American conductor Sara Jobin.
In concert
In concert, Opera News complimented Mr. Loyd’s “solid baritone” as baritone soloist with The Collegiate Chorale and The American Symphony Orchestra under the baton of James Bagwell in Handel’s ISRAEL IN EGYPT (featuring the late Brian Asawa, Sari Gruber, and Rufus Müller). Other notable performances in NYC include his Carnegie Hall debut as KUNZ GILGENSTOCK in Richard Strauss’ Feuersnot with the American Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Leon Botstein, baritone soloist with The Dessoff Choirs for An Exploration of 19th to 20th Century American Works and The Choral Society and Orchestra for Brahms’ EIN DEUTSCHES REQUIEM. Ron has twice performed with the Metropolitan Opera Guild Lecture series in Masterly Singing: Guiding Light Opera with Broadway and television star, Ron Raines, as well as in a concert of excerpts from Rossini’s Le Comte Ory for a private MET patron audience.
Symphonic credits include guest soloist with the Missouri Symphony in their Hot Summer Nights Music Festival under the baton of Kirk Trevor, the Victor Herbert Foundation in NYC as FATHER PERALTA for a concert reading of Victor Herbert’s rarely heard grand opera Natoma under the baton of Gerald Steichen, and the Helena Symphony under the baton of Allan R. Scott for Aaron Copland’s OLD AMERICAN SONGS and Kile Smith’s PSALM 46. Other concert credits include Beethoven’s NINTH SYMPHONY with the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra; VIVA VERDI! with the Chautauqua Symphony under the baton of Joseph Colaneri; Palm Beach Opera’s popular Music for the Mind concert series; Holiday Pops concerts with the Charlotte Symphony (FL) and the Gulf Coast Symphony (FL); bass soloist in Bach’s WEIHNACHTS-ORATORIUM with the Berkshire Bach Society; baritone soloist in Handel’s MESSIAH with The Stonington Choral Society; and WEST SIDE STORY in Concert with the Fort Worth Symphony.
In recent seasons, Ron was guest soloist with Mid Atlantic Symphony Orchestra and Opera Delaware for STARRY NIGHT OPERA, a concert of operatic favorites at The Freeman Stage in Delaware, bass soloist for Beethoven’s NINTH SYMPHONY with the Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Gerald Steichen, and returned to Missouri Symphony for Beethoven’s NINTH SYMPHONY. He debuted with the Cambridge Symphony Orchestra as baritone soloist in Michael Tippett’s A CHILD OF OUR TIME and returned to Mid Atlantic Symphony for holiday season concerts in Maryland and Delaware.
Musical Theatre
A dynamic actor and strong proponent of American musicals, Ron has been an active performer in the opera/musical theatre crossover scene. He was the subject of a feature article in The Sondheim Review, the national quarterly magazine dedicated to the works of Stephen Sondheim. Examining his career commitment to compelling performances in both opera and musical theatre, the magazine concluded that “Ron Loyd has built a career on ‘and’ and not ‘or.’” Building on this theme, Ron debuted with Light Opera Oklahoma as EMILE DEBEQUE in South Pacific, garnering “a remarkable performance – his voice warm, resonant, and powerful” from The Tulsa World and was immediately invited back to take on Stephen Sondheim’s demon barber SWEENEY TODD where The Tulsa World subsequently wrote that his performance was “electrifying in its intensity” and “stunning in its ferocity” and voted the show as Tulsa’s “Best Night of Theatre” in 2007. Subsequently, LOOK’s production of SWEENEY TODD with Ron singing the demon barber was remounted in 2014 and once again garnered the distinction of Tulsa’s 2014 “Best Night of Theatre” from The Tulsa World.
Ron’s off-Broadway debut came in 2012 at 59E59 Theatres as LOUIS in Gustav Holst’s rarely performed opera The Wandering Scholar produced by the little OPERA THEATRE of NY while other musical theatre highlights include MAX VON MAYERLING in a concert performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s most lyrical musical, Sunset Boulevard with Mobile Opera, and TEVYE in Fiddler on the Roof with Natchez Music Festival. LOOK Musical Theatre audiences have also enjoyed Ron as THE PIRATE KING in Pirates of Penzance; CAPTAIN in Candide; THE BAKER in Sondheim’s Into the Woods where “his warm baritone offered one of the production’s greatest musical pleasures” (The Sondheim Review); and as FREDRIK in A Little Night Music, where The Sondheim Review again praised his “opulent baritone and nuanced phrasing.” Conquering the Shaw-inspired dialogue, Mr. Loyd’s HENRY HIGGINS in My Fair Lady earned “his gorgeous, booming voice” was accentuated by fine acting. His portrayal of Higgins as a cantankerous but lovable bachelor was spot-on” from Urban Tulsa. Also at LOOK, Mr. Loyd portrayed FRED in Cole Porter’s Shakespeare inspired Kiss Me, Kate and BUNTHORNE in Gilbert & Sullivan’s Patience, HERBIE in Gypsy, BRIAN in Avenue Q, and PSEUDOLUS in Sondheim’s A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.