A member of the Merola Opera Program Class of 2009, tenor Gregory Carroll died of a heart attack, following a respiratory infection, on July 2, a week before his 36th birthday, in his Des Moines, WA, home.
During his Merola days, Carroll sang in a Schwabacher concert and at the Grand Finale, where he impressed with his Erik in a Flying Dutchman excerpt.
Recently, he was engaged as cover for leading roles at the Chicago Lyric and the Met, where he also participated in The Enchanted Island workshop with Plácido Domingo.
In Opera News, he was acclaimed for roles "beautifully sung [with] sturdy, shining tenor voice that cuts through easily," and as "an impressively solid tenor with nice finish and ring, traveling easily up top."
Other recent engagements included Rodolfo in Verdi’s Luisa Miller with Chautauqua Opera and Puget Sound Opera, Canio in Pagliacci with Cleveland Opera and Spokane Opera, First Armed Man in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte at Canadian Opera Company, Bacchus in Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos as a guest artist with Seattle Opera’s Young Artist Program, and as a cover at Canadian Opera Company.
On the concert stage, his recent performances included Mahler’s Eighth Symphony at the Virginia Arts Festival, Gounod’s Messe Solennelle de Sainte Cécile with the Northwest Symphony Orchestra, Handel’s Messiah with the Tacoma Symphony, and Bach’s Magnificat with the Skagit Symphony Orchestra. A funeral mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. July 15, 2013 in St. James Cathedral, Seattle, WA.