Rod Gilfry

Rodney Gilfry, who began performing under the stage name Rod Gilfry in 2005, is an American operatic baritone. Born on March 11, 1959, Gilfry studied music education at California State University, Fullerton, before completing a vocal degree at the Thornton School of Music of the University of Southern California. Gilfry debuted in 1986 in a supporting role in Giuseppe Verdi's Otello at the Los Angeles Opera, and subsequently performed in Frankfurt, Zürich, and with companies such as the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Dallas Opera. Gilfry's recording career included a 1991 recording of Johannes Brahms's Ein deutsches Requiem and a 1995 release of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Don Giovanni. Gilfry earned a Grammy Award nomination for the 2008 recording of Olivier Messiaen's Saint François d'Assise. Gilfry's repertoire included 77 roles, such as the title character in Don Giovanni, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, and Papageno in Die Zauberflöte. Gilfry also joined the faculty of the Thornton School of Music as an associate professor of vocal arts.