Sankara Harouna

“Mr. Harouna is a supremely talented Apprentice Artist, and his rolling, mature baritone was invested with beautiful phrasing, controlled delivery and commendable character delineation.” – Opera Today

Sankara Harouna’s musical journey began in the traditional arts of West African culture, music, and drumming. He has also performed across the United States, singing in a variety of styles including jazz, gospel, and classical.

This season, Mr. Harouna continues as a member of the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. He covers Silvio in Pagliacci and Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, sings the Registrar in the same production, and covers the First Soldier while singing the Cappadocian in Salome. In concert, he appears at the Cincinnati May Festival in selections from Alexander von Zemlinsky’s Symphonische Gesänge and works by Margaret Bonds. He closes the season with the Grant Park Music Festival for Fauré’s Requiem.

In the 2024/25 season, he performed Marullo in Rigoletto, and he covered Reverend in Blue, Marcello in La bohème, and Paul in The Listeners. He also made his Opera Theatre of Saint Louis debut as Milton in This House and debuted with the Grant Park Music Festival in Margaret Bonds’ Credo.

A Chicago native, Mr. Harouna made a triumphant debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in the 2023/24 season, double cast as Benny “Kid” Paret and his son Benny Jr. in Terence Blanchard’s Champion: “considering he was a last-minute replacement announced from the stage, baritone Sankara Harouna is nothing short of spectacular as Paret and his son.” That season, Mr. Harouna joined Portland Opera as a Resident Artist, where he was seen in Le nozze di Figaro (Antonio) and The Snowy Day (Daddy). He also joined Greensboro Opera in David Conte’s The Gift of the Magi (Jim). Additionally, he sang the role of Angelotti in Tosca with Dayton Opera.

 In previous seasons, Mr. Harouna joined the Atlanta Opera for Il barbiere di Siviglia (Fiorello) and The Pirates of Penzance (Samuel); Dayton Opera for L’elisir d’amore (Belcore) and Charlie Parker’s Yardbird (Dizzy Gillespie); Kentucky Opera for La Cenerentola (Dandini cover), Dead Man Walking (Prison Guard #1), and Amahl and the Night Visitors (Page); and Cincinnati Opera for Il barbiere di Siviglia (Officer) and Blind Injustice (Derrick Wheatt). At Des Moines Metro Opera, as part of the Frank R. Brownell III Apprentice Artist Program, Mr. Harouna performed in Carmen (Moralès) and Redler’s The Falling and the Rising (Homecoming Soldier). In concert, he performed in Stained Glass Concerts and the Mozart Missa Brevis with Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra.

Mr. Harouna was awarded a Career Development Grant in the 2023 William Matheus Sullivan Musical Foundation. He was previously a member of both the Glynn Studio Artist Program with Atlanta Opera and the Barbara & Halsey Sanford Studio Artist Program with Kentucky Opera; and an Artist-in-Residence with Dayton Opera. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Music in Vocal Performance at Kentucky State University. He is a proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated.

Last updated 2026.