Isaiah Musik-Ayala

With a voice that the New York Times has praised as “burly and resonant,” and the San Francisco Classical Voice has called “commanding and compelling,” American bass Isaiah Musik-Ayala is gaining recognition in a wide variety of repertoire across the United States.

In the 2024-25 season, Isaiah returns to Anchorage Opera for all three productions. He makes his role debut as Haly in L’Italiana in Algeri, in a co-production with Houston’s Opera in the Heights. He also reprises his Bonze in Madama Butterfly and sings a variety of Mozart repertoire in the company’s immersive pastiche production of Mozart at the Museum, performed at the Anchorage Museum and developed by Artistic Director Ben Robinson. A last minute opportunity saw Isaiah revisit the title role in Le nozze di Figaro with Greenville Symphony, and this season features a debut as Lodovico in West Bay Opera’s Otello and a debut as Orgon in Tartuffe with Pocket Opera in San Francisco.

Highlights of the 2023-2024 season include Isaiah's debut at the Los Angeles Philharmonic as The Groundskeeper in Oliver Leith’s Last Days, a new opera chronicling the last days in the life of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, under the baton of Thomas Adès. He also débuted with Anchorage Opera as Baron Douphol in La Traviata and returned to Opera San Jose to cover Bartolo in their latest production of Il barbiere di Siviglia.

Isaiah recently performed Banquo in Heartbeat Opera’s innovative Lady M, an adaptation of Verdi’s Macbeth, which they have released free to stream on Youtube, and in which Loren Lester of Schmopera praised his performance as, “…potent and formidable… a force to be reckoned with, not only as Banquo, but as an ascendant star in the opera world.”

Other recent highlights include Rocco in Fidelio and the Archbishop in The Maid of Orleans at the Opera Company of Middlebury; Jochanaan in Salome, Oroveso in Norma, Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor, and Ramfis in Aida with West Bay Opera; Alidoro in La Cenerentola with Syracuse Opera; Baron Douphol in La traviata with Savannah Voice Festival, Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro with Hawaii Performing Arts Festival; Commendatore in Don Giovanni with Opera Academy California; Colline in La bohème with New York City Opera, Union Avenue Opera, and Opera San Jose; Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia and Prince Gremin in Eugene Onegin with Union Avenue Opera; Bonze in Madama Butterfly with North Shore Music Festival, and Escamillo in Carmen with Opera San Luis Obispo.

With Opera San Jose, besides the recent cover of Bartolo, Isaiah has sung several leading roles including Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, the Sacristan in Tosca, Frank in Die Fledermaus, Alexei Karenin in Anna Karenina, Simone in Gianni Schicchi, Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola, Le Comte Des Grieux in Manon, and he covered the French General in Silent Night. He has also covered the King in Aida, Colline in La bohème, and Barbarossa in La battaglia di Legnano at Sarasota Opera.

On the concert platform Isaiah has sung many bass solos, including Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Schubert’s Mass No. 6, and Haydn’s Nicolai Mass, and he has appeared in recital with The Beverly Hills Recital Series. He was slated to sing Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with Glacier Symphony before its cancellation due to COVID-19.

Isaiah is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music where he studied with the late Richard Miller.