Baritone Franco Pomponi is critically acclaimed for his rich, expressive, beauty, and powerful virility of voice with a cultivated musical style and unmatched dramatic intensity. These qualities have brought him to the world’s most prestigious opera houses and concert halls.

A regular at the Metropolitan Opera, he was responsible for the roles of Hamlet, Don Giovanni, Nick Shadow and Eugene Onégin; and performed a number roles including Schaunard in La bohème and Count Dominick with Renée Fleming in Arabella.

In Paris, Franco created a sensation as Pentheus in The Bassarids by Hans Werner Henze at the Théâtre du Châtelet, and has returned to the Châtelet in Cyrano along side Placido Domingo; and in the title role of Sweeney Todd and Richard Nixon in Nixon in China, which is still being televised throughout Europe.

In 2017 Franco Pomponi sang the title role of Eugene Onégin at Florida Grand Opera, then again this spring in a new production for the Spoleto Festival USA. He also made his Dallas Opera debut early this season in their highly anticipated gala, ’Viva Verdi!’ singing arias and scenes from La traviata, La forza del destino, and Rigoletto.

In 2016 Pomponi’s highly acclaimed performances included his debut at the Hungarian State Opera as Prospero in a new production of The Tempest by Thomas Adès, Prince Metternich in L’Aiglon for Opéra de Marseille, and Belcore in a new production of L’elisir d’amore in Strasbourg for Opéra National du Rhin.

Recent worldwide successes include Don Giovanni at The Bolshoï in Moscow, Opéra Montpellier and Greek National Opera, Athens; Nick Shadow in The Rake’s Progress at Teatro Massimo, Palermo; Golaud in Pelléas et Mélisande; and the “Four Villains”--Lindorf, Coppélius, Miracle, and Dapertutto--in Les contes d’Hoffmann for The Netherlands Reisopera. He was also noted as a powerful Zurga in a new production of Les pêcheurs de perles at Théâtre de Genève. Additionally, Franco performed Jack Rance in La fancifulla del West in 2014 and Marcello in La bohème for Opéra Lausanne and Opéra Vichy.

His European debut came as the title role of Hamlet at the Gran Teatro del Liceu in Barcelona under Bertrand de Billy. He has since performed Hamlet at La Monnaie in Brussels and Opéra de Marseille, winning Opéra Magazine’s choice as “best opera”.

Pomponi made his New York City Opera debut as Escamillo in Carmen, also for Opéra Toulon, France, Los Angeles Opera under Nicola Luisotti and Placido Domingo, Miami, Maine, San Antonio, and with Marc Minkowski and Les Musicians du Louvre- Grenoble.