Aaron MCKONE

A native of Rock Hill, South Carolina, tenor Aaron McKone has been recognized as a “rising star” and praised for his “ardent tenor” (Cincinnati Business Courier). Currently in his second season as a Resident Artist with Utah Opera., Mr. McKone will appear in several mainstage productions, singing Bill Watson and Lloyd the bartender in Paul Moravec’s The Shining, Jaquino in Fidelio, and Gastone in La Traviata, while also covering the role of Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore. He will again join the Utah Symphony as the tenor soloist in Messiah and as a featured performer in the annual Access to Music concert. In the summer, Aaron returns to The Santa Fe Opera as an Apprentice Artist to cover the role of Monostatos in The Magic Flute and perform in the choruses of The Magic Flute, Eugene Onegin, and Lili Elbe.

In the 2024-2025 season, Mr. McKone joined The Santa Fe Opera for the first time, study-covering the roles of the Prologue and Peter Quint in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw and performing the role of Eisenstein from Die Fledermaus in an Apprentice Scenes Concert with the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra. He also made his Utah Opera debut as Beppe in Pagliacci and the Official Registrar in Matthew Ozawa’s striking new production of Madama Butterfly. Last season also saw him covering the role of the Witch in Hänsel und Gretel and appearing as the tenor soloist in both Messiah and the Access to Music concert with the Utah Symphony. Other notable operatic roles Aaron has performed include Rinuccio (Gianni Schicchi), Galileo (Galileo Galilei), Scaramuccio (Ariadne auf Naxos), Laurie (Little Women), Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus), Le Remendado (Carmen), Orphée (Orphée et Euridice), and Chevalier de la Force (Dialogues des Carmélites).

In 2023-2024, Aaron made a critically acclaimed debut with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, performing the role of Laërte in Ambroise Thomas’ Hamlet under the baton of Louis Langrée in collaboration with Paris’ Opéra Comique. He was also a Studio Artist with Wolf Trap Opera, covering the title role in Gounod’s Faust and performing as a soloist in a collaborative concert with the National Orchestral Institute and Festival. Mr. McKone was previously a Resident Artist with Opera Naples, performing Lord Tolloller in Gilbert & Sullivan’s Iolanthe and Goro in Madama Butterfly, in addition to community concerts and educational outreach productions of the touring children’s opera Stop, Bully!.

No stranger to new works, Aaron joined Spoleto Festival USA in the world premiere of the Pulitzer Prize-winning new opera Omar (Giddens/Abels) and performed in the U.S. premiere of Nico Muhly’s The Street. He has participated multiple times in Cincinnati Opera’s Opera Fusion: New Works program, collaborating with composers and librettists to develop new operas. His workshop credits include Robeson by Scott Davenport Richards and The Highlands by Carlos Simon, Lynn Nottage, and Ruby Aiyo Gerber.

Equally at home on the concert stage, Aaron has performed as the tenor soloist in Beethoven’s Mass in C with the Cathedral of the Madeleine, Mozart’s Requiem with the Lima Symphony Orchestra, and the Messiah with the Utah Symphony. He has also performed as the tenor soloist in Orff’s Carmina Burana and Bach’s Uns Ist ein Kind Geboren with the York County Choral Society.

Aaron earned his Bachelor of Music from Winthrop University. He earned a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance and an Artist Diploma in Opera from the University of Cincinnati: College-Conservatory of Music (CCM).