Baritone Michael Sokol grew up in Phoenix, Arizona. He has sung Faninal in Der Rosenkavalier with the Nashville Opera; Nardo in Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera with the Netherland’s Opera Zuid; Popolani in Offenbach’s Barbe-Bleue with Opéra Français de New York; and the world premiere of There Is a Garden: The Music of Leonard Bernstein, conceived, created, and directed for Chicago Opera Theater by his wife, soprano Angelina Réaux, who performed in it as well. Acclaimed for his performances of 20th-century opera, he created the role of Frank Lloyd Wright in the world premiere of Darren Hagen and Paul Muldoon’s opera Shining Brow and the role of the Magician in the American premiere of Stephen Oliver’s Mario and the Magician.