John CHEST
American baritone John Chest’s “presence and delivery complement the dark, rich colours in his voice” (Opera Now). One of the premiere baritones of his generation, Mr. Chest has established his reputation for excellence in a wide range of roles. In the current season, he appears in the title role of Billy Budd with Teatro Colón, Albert in Werther with Opéra-Comique, and Michael in Mark-Anthony Turnage and Lee Hall’s Festen with Finnish National Opera. He also returns to Opera Hong Kong for a second consecutive season in the role of Papageno in Die Zauberflöte. Next season, he joins the Metropolitan Opera to cover Lieutenant Audebert in Silent Night.
In the 2024-2025 season, he appeared as Il Conte d’Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro with Palm Beach Opera, Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus with Vancouver Opera, John Cree in Kevin Puts’ Elizabeth Cree at the Glimmerglass Festival, Marcello in La bohème with the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Teatro Carlo Felice, as well as Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Rossini in Wildbad, a role he recently sang with the Teatro Regio Torino. He also joined the Opera Theatre of St. Louis where he reprised Guglielmo in Così fan tutte.
Recent operatic engagements include a thrilling debut as Rodrigue in a new production of Don Carlos (Theater Basel), the title role in Billy Budd (Deutsche Oper Berlin, San Francisco Opera), the title role in Pelléas et Mélisande (Glyndebourne), Albert in Werther (Théâtre des Champs Elysées), Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby (Staatsoper Dresden), Valentin in Faust (Théâtre du Capitole Toulouse, Teatro Real Madrid), the title role in Don Giovanni (Angers-Nantes Opéra), Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, Ford in Falstaff, and Silvio in Pagliacci (Deutsche Oper Berlin); Guglielmo in Così fan tutte (Bayerische Staatsoper, Hamburgische Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper Berlin), Il Conte d’Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro (Opéra National de Lyon, Grand Theatre de la Ville de Luxembourg, Opera Philadelphia, Deutsche Oper Berlin), Marcello in La bohème (Washington National Opera, Semperoper Dresden) Nardo in La finta giardiniera and Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Festival d'Aix-en-Provence), and Ned Keen in Peter Grimes and Belcore in L’elisir d’amore (Norwegian National Opera).
In concert, Mr. Chest has sung Fauré’s Requiem with the Festival Internacional de Bogotà, and in recent seasons has performed several roles with Il Pomo D’oro. Equally passionate about art song, Mr. Chest first collaborated alongside Marcelo Amaral at the Mertingen Recital Series in 2011, and the duo have worked together frequently in recital over the course of a decade. They notably took Die Schöne Magelone to venues across Europe, including the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, Paris Philharmonie, Opéra de Lille, and Wigmore Hall, and their interpretation of the work has been recorded with ALPHA Classics. He has performed a recital with Dierdre Brenner at the Essener Philharmonie. Mr. Chest also can be heard on all four volumes of Malcolm Martineau’s The Complete Songs of Fauré through SIGNUM Classics, and in Hugo Wolf: The Complete Songs Vol. 11 with Sholto Kynoch through STONE RECORDS.
In 2017, Mr. Chest represented the United States at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition and was awarded a Career Grant by the Richard Tucker Music Foundation. He received the top prize at the prestigious 2010 Stella Maris International Vocal Competition and the Arleen Auger Prize in the 2012 Hertogenbosch International Vocal Competition.
Mr. Chest was a member of the ensemble of the Deutsche Oper Berlin from 2013-2017 and is a graduate of the Bayerische Staatsoper Opernstudio, where he sang over eighty main stage performances. He has held apprenticeships with the Santa Fe Opera and the Chicago Opera Theater, and took part in the esteemed Merola Opera Program in San Francisco.
Mr. Chest holds a Master of Music from the Chicago College of the Performing Arts at Roosevelt University and a Bachelor of Music from Bob Jones University.