James Bobick has enjoyed a versatile career, from leading operatic roles in the works of Donizetti, Verdi, Bizet, and Mozart to those in the contemporary operas of composers including Jake Heggie, Mark Adamo, John Eaton, and David T. Little. Mr. Bobick was seen in over twenty roles at New York City Opera including a Primetime Emmy-winning broadcast of La Bohème. Mr. Bobick has also appeared with companies including Los Angeles Opera, Seattle Opera, Portland Opera, Opera Colorado, Connecticut Opera, Opera Omaha, Opera Pacific, Opera Delaware, Virginia Opera, Baltimore Opera, Wichita Grand Opera, Dayton Opera, Central City Opera, Fort Worth Opera, and the Bard Festival.
James Bobick is regularly praised for the quality of both his singing and his acting. As Figaro in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia, the Washington Post singled him out for particular praise; “Among the many good things about Virginia Opera’s production of Rossini’s Barber of Seville, the best was baritone James Bobick as Figaro. Bobick was a standout in a strongly cast production. He has a fine voice and his first-act aria ‘Largo al factotum,’ was given a bravura performance. With his good looks, excellent comic timing and strong stage presence, he exuded confidence and joie de vivre. It is a Figaro to remember.” Opera News has noted that in La Bohème, “Bobick was an ideal Marcello, singing with comic point, emotionally volatile and vocally splendid in the Act IV duet,” and in a performance with LA Opera that “James Bobick, who sang the role of the Father with manic intensity, presented a disturbing study of the easily-crossed borderline between patriarchalism and vituperative madness.” In The New York Times, Mr. Bobick’s Elmer Gantry garnered the mention, “Many of the vocal performances were impressive, including that of James Bobick as Elmer.” The New York Times has also praised James for his “burnished sound and incisive diction” as the Gambler in Jack Beeson’s Hello Out There, and for his portrayal of Howard in David T. Little’s Dog Days, printing, “The vocal cast is uniformly fine, with particularly moving work from James Bobick as Howard.”
In addition to his work in the standard operatic repertoire, Mr. Bobick has extensive experience performing the new works of contemporary composers. He has bowed as Bendrix in Jake Heggie’s End of the Affair, as Kinesias in Mark Adamo’s Lysistrata, as Dr. Bloom in John Eaton’s micro-tonal operas Pumped Fiction, as Donald Giovanni in P.D.Q. Bach’s The Abduction of Figaro, as Rob Petrie in Paul Salerni’s The Life and Love of Joe Coogan and as Howard in David T. Little’s critically acclaimed Dog Days. He has also performed contemporary works while in concert, on recording, or as a frequent guest of New York City Opera’s VOX festival. These works include leading roles in Robert Manno’s Dylan and Caitlin, Robert Aldrich’s Elmer Gantry, John Eaton’s The Rev. Jim Jones and Re-routed, Herschel Garfein’s Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Timothy Geller’s Where Silence Reigns, Stephen Colantti's The Selfish Giant, Matt Marks’ Bluetooth Islands, Sergio Cervetti’s Elegy for a Prince and Yum!, Michael Dellaira's The Death of Webern, David T. Little’s Soldier Songs, and Ted Hearne’s Katrina Ballads.
James Bobick has also been heard frequently as a concert soloist. At Carnegie Hall, he has been heard in Orff’s Carmina Burana, Mendelssohn’s Die Erste Walpurgisnacht, Mozart’s Coronation Mass, and Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass. He has performed at Avery Fisher Hall in Carmina Burana, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Haydn’s Creation and Paukenmesse, Bach's Mass in B minor, and Handel’s Messiah. Internationally, he has performed Messiah in Prague with the Prague Symphony; Carmina Burana and Messiah in San José, Costa Rica with the San José Symphony; Fauré’s Requiem in Paris, Reims, and Chartres, with the Orchestre Pasdeloup; and, Fauré’s Tu es Petrus in Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris. Around the country, Mr. Bobick’s performances have included Orff’s Carmina Burana; Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem; Mozart’s Requiem; Bach’s Magnificat and Mass in B minor; Handel’s Israel in Egypt, Messiah, and the title role in Saul; Haydn’s Die Schöpfung and Lord Nelson Mass; Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem, Five Mystical Songs, and Songs of Travel; and, Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Oratorio.
James Bobick can be heard on the original cast recording of David T. Little’s Dog Days, which was recently ranked #19 on NPR’s Top 50 Albums of the Year.
"Bobick has a commanding stage presence and the kind of rich,
confident baritone that hasn't been heard in the musical theater
since the heyday of Alfred Drake."
- The Denver Post