“The tenor Martin Shalita, who mastered the high tessitura wonderfully in the Bartók, sang […] with great tonal beauty” Waltraud Brunst - Mannheimer Morgen

A native of Miami, Florida, Martin Shalita holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Vocal Performance from the University of South Florida and a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Miami. Dr. Shalita began his professional career with Deutsche Oper am Rhein. Highlights from these seasons include Don Ramiro in Rossini’s La cenerentola and Eurito in Düsseldorf’s revival performances of Wilderer’s Giocasta, as well as roles in Lady Macbeth von Mzensk, Don Carlos, Moses und Aron, Fidelio, and Il tabarro. Subsequently, he was engaged with Theater Koblenz for four seasons, where he gained public and critical acclaim for his performances of Don Ottavio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, the title role in Offenbach’s Orpheus in der Unterwelt, Andres in Berg’s Wozzeck, Araquil in La Navarraise by Massenet, Steuermann in Der fliegende Holländer by R. Wagner, Paolino in Il matrimonio segreto by Cimarosa, Ivan in Shostakovich’s Nos, and Admeto in Gluck’s Alceste: “… (he) commands a very high tenor voice that he always applies with great tonal beauty and precise diction for the role of Admeto. At the same time, his voice always sounds natural in the high tessitura, and never pressed [...]” Thomas Molke - Online Musik Magazin. He also performed Tony in Bernstein’s West Side Story and Magaldi in Webber’s Evita, both in-house and on the ancient fortress of Ehrenbreitstein in open-air performances.

In 2015, he performed Des Grieux in Massenet’s Manon with Theater Nordhausen and Dr. Siedler in Bantzky’s Im Weissen Rössl with the Schlossfestspiele Zwingenberg, as well as Ismaele in Nabucco by Verdi with Opera Classica in Buc, France. "The Chevalier Des Grieux was portrayed uniquely by Martin Shalita. His flexible top register was wonderfully secure, and poured out pure harmony […]" Friedeon Rosén - Der Online Merker

In 2016, Dr. Shalita returned to Buc, France to make his debut as Lt. Pinkerton in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and in 2017 made his debut as Calaf in Puccini’s Turandot with Staatstheater Cottbus. “Striking in metallic vocal sound with a secure top in attack and sound quality is the young American tenor, Martin Shalita.” Dieter David Scholz - O-Ton, online May 2nd, 2017. “Martin Shalita’s vocal technique is perfect for the role of Calaf. His vocal fire burns itself deep into the consciousness of the listener. In the aria ‘Nessun dorma’, Shalita’s splendidly radiating, very controlled and rich sounding tenor dynamically leads into a gleamingly carved out, honest ‘vinceró’, and that with enormous stamina, completely free of fluttering or fading.” Dr. Andreas Gerth - Operapoint, online May 2nd, 2017. Dr. Shalita returned to Staatstheater Cottbus in 2018 to make his debut as Edwin in Kálmán’s Die Csárdásfürstin and in 2019 as Erik in Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer.

Dr. Shalita is also an established concert artist, having performed as a soloist in Orff’s Carmina Burana and Bartók’s Cantata Profana with the Internationale Bach Akademie in Stuttgart, Britten’s Serenade for Tenor and Horn with the Rheinische Philharmonie, Handel’s Messiah with the Sarasota Choral Society, Schubert’s Mass in G, Rossini’s Petite Messe solenelle with Convivium Musicum Mainz, an evening of Rodgers and Hammerstein with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, and the 9th Symphony of Beethoven in Bonn, the composer’s hometown. As a recitalist, he has performed Schubert’s Die Schöne Müllerin both in Salzburg, Austria, and Theater Koblenz, as well as Schumann’s Liederkreis Op.39 and Ravel’s Don Quichotte.

He has sung under the batons of artists such as John Fiore, Robert Shaw, Marco Boemi, Enrico Delamboye, Wen-Pin Chien, Celso Antunes and Karsten Huschke, and worked with directors such as Gianfranco de Bosio, Philipp Kochheim, Pet Halmann, Markus Dietze, Matthias Schönfeldt and Christoph Nel. He is a two-time recipient first-prize winner of the Leopold’s Kron competition in Salzburg.

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