Antonio Charles

An aspiring opera singer, Antonio Charles has over seven years of performance experience. Charles has excelled in competitions and on stage since high school, when he earned an Excellent rating in Solo Performance from the Ohio Music Education Association. As a participant in 4-H, Antonio Charles earned recognition for his musical performances and participated in musical service projects at local nursing homes. Charles sings in his church choir on a weekly basis.

As a high school student, Antonio Charles performed in musicals. He was part of the casts for West Side Story, Guys and Dolls, Annie Get Your Gun, and The Music Man. He also performed in the Men's Glee Club. The summer before his senior year in high school, Charles worked at the Abercrombie & Fitch headquarters. He served as a floor model in the firm's flagship store, helping to arrange displays and model clothes for customers.

Antonio Charles' college career has featured a shift from musicals to opera. In 2010 and 2011, he received scholarships to study German lieder songs in Graz and Mozart and his opera, The Magic Flute, in Salzburg, both in Austria. As part of the program in Salzburg, Charles performed the role of Papageno in the Austrian American Mozart Academy's performance of The Magic Flute. He would reprise this role a year later at the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival.

Antonio Charles has also performed the role of a picador in a production of Bizet's Carmen at the Cincinnati Opera. Recently, he sang the role of the Registrar in the Amarillo Opera's production of Madame Butterfly. The company performed Puccini's opera in order to celebrate its 25th year.