American tenor William Davenport is recognized for a strong yet lyric voice and an Italianate style. Tim Smith of The Baltimore Sun wrote that Davenport "has the makings of a significant tenor," praising a timbre with "quite an Italianate tint." After his role debut as the Duca in Rigoletto at the Italian Opera Festival of Orange County, the Italian press reported that the biggest ovation of the evening was his.

Leading roles include Alfredo (La traviata) and Roberto Devereux at Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova; Nemorino (L'elisir d'amore) at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia, where he also debuted Gennaro in Lucrezia Borgia opposite Mariella Devia; Rodolfo (La bohème) and Ernesto (Don Pasquale) with Opera Naples; the Duca, Rodolfo, and Tonio (La Fille du régiment) with Sarasota Opera; Tamino (Die Zauberflöte) and Nemorino in Costa Rica with the Compañía Lírica Nacional and the Teatro Nacional; Ruggero (La Rondine) with Opera Boutique; Lensky and Hoffmann with Union Avenue Opera; Edgardo with Baltimore Concert Opera; and Arnold (Guillaume Tell) at the Southern Illinois Opera Festival.

In concert, he has sung Verdi's Requiem with the Austin Symphony, National Philharmonic, Princeton Symphony, and New Jersey State Opera; Beethoven's Ninth and Mozart's Requiem with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Costa Rica; Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass and Dan Forrest's Requiem for the Living at Carnegie Hall; and gala concerts with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland.

He is a First Prize winner of the Gerda Lissner, Giargiari Bel Canto, and OperaLive Potenza competitions, and a winner of the Opera Orchestra of New York's Agnes Varis Prize. He also received 2nd Prize at the Veronica Dunne International and was a semi-finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

A dedicated teacher, Davenport taught voice at Southwest Virginia University (2021–2022) and has served on the faculty of the FEMUSIK festival in Novo Hamburgo, Brazil, and the Festival de Ópera de Zapopan for young singers. He directed Puccini's La Rondine for Opera Boutique in San José. He holds an Artist Diploma from the Academy of Vocal Arts (2015) and a Bachelor of Music from the Peabody Conservatory.

Photographer: Lauren Sowa