Hayden SMITH

American tenor Hayden Smith was recently praised for his portrayal of Gennaro in Lucrezia Borgia with Opera Baltimore, where his “radiant tenor ranged from loud to louder without losing purity of tone,” and his acting “brought electricity to the space” (Parterre Box). Engagements for the 2025–2026 season include a role debut as Alfredo in La traviata with Fargo-Moorhead Opera, Le Prince Charmant in Viardot’s Cendrillon with Opera Modesto, Arontshik in a workshop of Weiser’s Tevye’s Daughters with American Lyric Theater, covering Ford in Salieri’s Falstaff with Chicago Opera Theater, and appearing as the tenor soloist in Messiah with Opera Laguna. Next season, he will sing the role of Don Ottavio in Opera Baltimore and OperaDelaware's shared production of Don Giovanni and will join the Southeastern Pennsylvania Symphony as the tenor soloist in Handel’s Messiah.

During the 2024–2025 season, Mr. Smith made house debuts with Annapolis Opera and Indianapolis Opera as Count Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia and joined The Lean Ensemble Theatre as Tony in Master Class. On the concert stage, he sang as the tenor soloist in Carmina Burana and as Father in Seven Deadly Sins with Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra. He also joined Syracuse Orchestra as the tenor soloist in Mozart’s Requiem. In the 2023–2024 season, Mr. Smith portrayed the title roles in Sid the Serpent Who Wanted to Sing and Grétry’s Beauty and the Beast with OPERA Iowa. He also appeared at Carnegie Hall with MidAmerica Productions as the tenor soloist in Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass. In summer 2024, he joined the Apprentice Artist program at Des Moines Metro Opera, covering Count Almaviva in The Barber of Seville and singing Mr. Sparhawk in the world premiere of American Apollo. The previous summer, he was a Young Artist with Glimmerglass Festival where he sang Tybalt in a new production of Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette and portrayed Frank in the world premiere of Morris and Fuentes’ The Rip Van Winkles.

Championed for his work across leading young artist programs in the country, Mr. Smith joined Wolf Trap Opera for three consecutive summers as a Studio Artist. While there, he portrayed Elder Hayes in Susannah, Giuseppe in La Traviata, and covered Le Prince Charmant in Viardot’s Cendrillon and Colin in L’amant anonyme. As a Vocal Fellow with Music Academy of the West, he sang both Junior and Charlie in Cold Mountain. He also joined Houston Grand Opera’s Young Artist Vocal Academy as a Young Artist and was a Young Artist with the Chautauqua Institution Voice Program. Based in Brooklyn, Mr. Smith is a graduate of Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where he starred as Don Ottavio in the 2022 production of Don Giovanni and sang Arnalta in L’incoronazione di Poppea. With Opera in the Heights, he made his company debut as Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore in 2022, a role he first performed with Temple University Opera in 2019. A frequent winner in the competition circuit, he was a 2023 Houston District Winner in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition and an Encouragement Award Winner in the New Orleans District in 2022. He received the Carolyn Bailey Argento Fellowship through the National Opera Association and was the 1st Place Winner of the NATS TBB Upper College Division in 2021. Mr. Smith completed his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance at Temple University and a Master of Music degree at Rice University.