Bass-baritone Antoine Hodge has died after a two-month battle with COVID-19.

Hodge was a rising star in the opera world who performed leading roles at the Atlanta Opera, On Site Opera, Central City Opera, Opera Colorado, Regina Opera Company, Ash Lawn Opera, Colorado Springs Philharmonic, and Winter Opera St Louis, among many others.

Among the roles he performed were Antonio/Gusmano in Portugal’s “Marriage of Figaro,” Dr. Grenvil in “La Traviata,” Ferrando in “Il Trovatore,” King Balthazar in “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” the bass soloist in Gerald Finzi’s “In terra pax,” Sam in “Un ballo in maschera” and Don Basilio in “Il barbiere di Siviglia.”

He was also well known for his concert repertoire and performed such works as Mozart’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Liza Lehmann’s In A Persian Garden, Schubert’s Mass No. 2 in G Major, Vaughan Williams’ Hodie, Five Mystical Songs, and Serenade to Music, Faure’s Requiem, Haydn’s Nelson Mass, Verdi’s Messa da Requiem, and Handel’s Messiah.

During the 2019-20 season, Hodge made his Metropolitan Opera debut in the ensemble of  Gershwins’ “Porgy and Bess.” The company released a statement noting, “Antoine lit up our stage with his immense talent and helped create the sense of community in ‘Porgy and Bess’ that made our audiences adore it. Our thoughts are with Antoine’s loved ones and all his friends and admirers here at the Met. This fall, we will honor Antoine by dedicating the opening night performance of our revival of ‘Porgy and Bess’ to his memory.

Outside of his work in opera, he served as a bodyguard to Adam Driver while the actor was performing in a production of “Burn.”