A VERSATILE ARTIST

Hailed as “thrillingly powerful” by The New York Times and “a major talent” by The Toronto Star, Marcus Nance is a 2025 and 2024 Dora Award winner and a 2025 Toronto Critics’ Award winner who masterfully straddles the worlds of opera, musical theatre, film, and cabaret. Named My Entertainment World’s 2023 Critics’ Pick Performer of the Year, he was praised as “one of Canada’s greatest musical theatre talents.”

Recent credits include Andrey, Old Bolkonsky, the Opera Singer and roving clarinetist  in Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 (Mirvish Productions); Thought #6 in A Strange Loop (Soulpepper); the Businessman in The Little Prince (Pacific Opera Victoria); Jupiter in Cymbeline, the Creature in Frankenstein Revived, and the Abbot of Westminster in Richard II(Stratford Festival); Andrey, Old Bolkonsky, and the Opera Singer in Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 (Crow’s Theatre/Musical Stage Company); Dick Deadeye in H.M.S. Pinafore (Vancouver Opera); and Benjamin Stone in Follies at Koerner Hall.

Marcus made his film debut as the singing accountant in Mel Brooks’ The Producers, and recently returned to screen work with roles in Queen Tut, Good Sam, Murdoch Mysteries, Departure, and Mayday.

He has spent twelve seasons at the Stratford Festival, where credits include Caiaphas in Jesus Christ Superstar, Queequeg in Moby Dick, Reverend J.D. Montgomery in My One and Only, and a digital performance of his acclaimed solo show Voice of a Preacher’s Son. At the Shaw Festival, his Judge Turpin in Sweeney Todd was called a “standout performance… with his stunning singing voice and commanding physical presence” (The Toronto Star).

Other musical theatre highlights include Clairborne in the world premiere of Evangeline (Charlottetown Festival); the Beast in Beauty and the Beast (The Grand Theatre / Western Canada Theatre); King Triton in The Little Mermaid and the Mikado in The Mikado (Drayton Entertainment); and Porgy in Porgy and Bess highlights with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

On Broadway, he played Caiaphas in Jesus Christ Superstar and performed in Baz Luhrmann’s Tony-winning production of La Bohème. In New York, he also appeared as Alidoro in La Cenerentola (New York City Opera Education), in Encores! productions of Kismet and Of Thee I Sing, and in concert at The Metropolitan Room and The Public Theater.

International acclaim came with his portrayal of Malcolm in the world premiere of Atom Egoyan’s opera Elsewhereless(Tapestry New Opera Works), earning him a Dora nomination for Outstanding Male Performance. For Queen of Puddings Music Theatre, he originated the role of Moses in the world premiere of Beatrice Chancy. Other operatic highlights include the Bass soloist in Tapestry Opera’s Dark Star Requiem (Juno nominee), Sparafucile in Rigoletto (Tacoma Opera), the Compère in Four Saints in Three Acts (Chicago Opera Theatre), Basilio in The Barber of Seville (Monterey Opera Association), and Ali in L’Italiana in Algeri (Hawaii Opera Theatre).

A versatile recording artist, Marcus appears on numerous cast recordings and albums, including the original pre-Broadway Ragtime cast album and the Juno-nominated Dark Star Requiem. His work continues to be broadcast and streamed internationally.

Marcus holds a BA in Music and Voice from California State University, Fresno, and pursued graduate studies at the University of Texas and the University of Illinois. He is on faculty at Sheridan College’s Musical Theatre Department, served as master voice teacher for Stratford Summer Music’s 2024 Vocal Academy (where he also designed the curriculum), and has led masterclasses and adjudicated festivals across Canada and the U.S. He will serve on the International Congress of Voice Teachers (ICVT) 2025 Program Committee in Toronto, where he will also be the featured soloist at the opening ceremonies.

Marcus is a proud member of the Canadian Actors’ Equity Association (CAEA), ACTRA (Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists), and the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), and continues to champion excellence in professional performance and vocal education.