Born and raised in Memphis, TN, Marcus King graduate of The University of Memphis with a bachelor's degree in Music Education, and a master's in vocal performance. In 2013, he made his European debut in Norfolk, England as Demetrius in the Yorke Trust Opera production of Britten’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. In 2014 rejoined the company as Ubalde in Gluck’s Armide. In December of 2014, he traveled to Japan as a soloist for the New York based professional touring group D&P Joubert LLC/ The Glory Gospel Singers.
He has been a young artist for the Utah Festival Opera as well as The Charlottesville Opera, formally known as Ash Lawn Opera. For the Utah Festival, he was engaged for the roles of Jake in Porgy and Bess and Coalhouse Walker Jr. in Ragtime. For Charlottesville Opera, he played the role Monterone in Verdi’s Rigoletto. For Opera Memphis, he has had many solo roles such as Mr. Gobineau in The Medium, Aeneas in Dido and Aeneas, Vernon in Blue Viola, Samuel in Pirates of Penzance, Joe Harland in Later the Same Evening, and the doctor in La Traviata, Erminio in The Triumph of Honor and Prince Yamadori in Madame Butterfly. In 2018, he made his Carnegie Hall debut with the New York Lyric Opera singing the role of Zurga. In 2019, he will make his debut at the Opera America National Opera Center singing the title role in Don Giovanni. Also, in 2019, he was apart of an opera co-commissioned by Opera Memphis and The United States Department of Defense called The Falling and The Rising, playing the role of the Homecoming Soldier. This 2020/2021 season he will be company artist for Moon River Opera, Savannah GA, bringing monthly digital performances across all social media platforms.
In 2021, he returned to Opera America's Sorca Hall making his New York recital debut in the world premiere of Sohrab and Rustom. For 2022, he made his debut with Art Song Colorado as one of the Voices of The Diaspora, a concert featuring the works of Leslie Adams, George Walker and Andre Myers. He also made his debut with Lighthouse Opera of New York’s reading of Twice Upon a Birthday playing the character of Metamorphose. This summer he will play Derrick Wheatt in Opera Theater of the Rockies production of blind injustice.
Later this year, he will travel to west coast making his role debut as Vodnik and Dvorak’s Rusalka with Opera Cecilia. In addition to his singing career, he splits his time as a vocal fellow for the Memphis Music Initiative and as an adjunct voice professor for Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee.