As Verdi’s old, drunk knight, Falstaff, the Kansas City Star said this about bass, Roberto Mancusi: “Mancusi made a fine Falstaff, with a commanding voice and an engaging physical and comedic presence that nicely captured the character’s epicurean fullness.” In addition to Falstaff, Mancusi has performed in a variety of roles ranging from Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte), Commendatore (Don Giovanni), and Musiklehrer (Ariadne auf Naxos) to Prologus/Pseudolus (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum). 

 

On the concert stage, he has appeared as the bass soloist in such works as Beethoven's Missa Solemnis and Symphony No. 9, Faure's Requiem, Handel's Messiah, Haydn's The Creation, and Mendelssohn's Elijah, among others. He has appeared with numerous symphonies around the U.S. including the Southwest Symphony, Sherman Symphony Orchestra, Jackson Symphony, and Savannah Philharmonic Orchestra. During that time, he was fortunate to work with many notable conductors, among them: David Effron, Robert Larsen, Eph Ehly, Andy Anderson, Charles Bruffy, Daniel Dominick, and Peter Shannon.

 

Equally at home in recitals, Mr. Mancusi, uses his programs to not simply entertain, but to reach out to the next generation of young singers and encourage them to continue to participate in music throughout their education and beyond. He has toured with two such programs: Real Men CAN Sing which stayed in the contiguous United States, and most recently, The Big Sing Theory: The Triumph of the Human Spirit, which he also took on a limited concert tour of southern England.

 

Mr. Mancusi can be heard as a featured soloist on several CDs including: A Jubilant Song: Celebrating 75 Years of Singing at Eastern New Mexico University; Small Town-Big Sound, vol II: The Music of West Tennessee; Sunset Over the Weald: Vocal Music by British Composer F L Dunkin Wedd; and a companion CD recording to his concert tour:  The Big Sing Theory: The Triumph of the Human Spirit.

 

During the pandemic, he also composed his first opera, The New "Normal". It was created so that his students could perform safely and takes place in an online Zoom-type class. In 2022, it was recognized by being a national finalist for The American Prize in Virtual Performance (Performing Remotely) and as a national semifinalist for The American Prize for Composers (opera/theater/film/dance).

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When not singing, Mr. Mancusi is a member of the voice faculty at the University of Tennessee at Martin where he has taught since 2008. He is in demand as a clinician having given several master classes for singers of all levels across the country and in England. He is also an accomplished author, having written multiple articles for Classical Singer Magazine and a textbook, Voice for Non-Majors, which was published by Pearson/Prentice Hall, and is currently in use around the world. He received his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance Degree from Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa and both his Masters of Music in Vocal Performance degree and Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance.