Gary Lakes

Gary Lakes (born September 26, 1950) is an American opera heldentenor.

Lakes was born in Woodward, Oklahoma, and raised in Irving, Texas. He made his professional debut with the Seattle Opera in the role of Froh in 1981 in Wagner's Das Rheingold, after attending Southern Methodist University where he studied with Thomas Hayward. He was a high school football defensive tackle, but switched his career aspirations to singing after a cracked vertebra derailed any hope for a football career. He debuted with the Metropolitan Opera on February 4, 1986 as the High Priest in Mozart's Idomeneo and soon after sang the ensemble role of Walther von der Vogelweide in Wagner's Tannhäuser. In 1987, he sang the role of Siegmund in Wagner's Die Walküre with the Met. He sang the role of Siegmund on both the Met's DVD and CD of Die Walküre opposite Jessye Norman as Sieglinde with James Levine conducting. Other roles he has sung at the Met include Don José in Bizet's Carmen, Samson in Saint-Saëns' Samson et Dalila, the Emperor in Strauss' Die Frau ohne Schatten, Erik in Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer, Grigory in Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, Florestan in Beethoven's Fidelio, the title role in Wagner's Parsifal, Laca in Janáček's Jenůfa, Aeneas in Berlioz' Les Troyens and Jimmy Mahoney in Weill's Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.