Possessing a “big, rich bass voice” that “brings chills” (MinnPost), bass Benjamin Sieverding has launched a promising career that touches upon more than three centuries of repertoire. He has gained notice for his "resonant, expressive bass" (StarTribune) and for a range of characterizations spanning from "wickedly charming" (l'étoile magazine) to "genuinely threatening" (Phindie).

 

This season, Mr. Sieverding will perform the Jailer in Tosca and cover José Tripaldi in Ainadamar with the Metropolitan Opera. Mr. Sieverding made his debut with the Metropolitan Opera as Pit Singer - Bass 1 in Brett Dean’s Hamlet in 2022, and has since covered several roles with the company including Prison Guard 2 in Dead Man Walking, Tom in Un ballo in maschera, Boroff in Fedora, and Pistola in Falstaff.

 

Mr. Sieverding recently made his Edmonton Opera debut as Il Commendatore in Don Giovanni. He has leant his interpretation to several of Mozart’s bass roles: Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte (Northern Lights Music Festival, Lakes Area Music Festival, Minnesota Opera), Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte (Glacier Symphony, Opera in the Heights), Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro (Madison Opera), Sprecher in Die Zauberflöte (Minnesota Opera), and a double role of Il Commendatore and Masetto in Don Giovanni (Skylark Opera Theatre).

 

Mr. Sieverding has performed frequently with Minnesota Opera. He most recently sang as a soloist in their preview concert and as Colline in La bohème.  Roles with Minnesota include Bull/Neal and cover of Lucius/Witch in the workshop and world premiere of Prestini’s Edward Tulane, Alfred Austrian in the workshop and world premiere of The Fix, and Prison Warden George Benton in Dead Man Walking. As a young artist with Minnesota Opera, he performed Colline in La bohème, Laurent in Roméo et Juliette, the Sacristan in Tosca, Truffaldino in Ariadne auf Naxos, and cover of Vodnik in Rusalka.

 

Other roles from the operatic canon include Zuniga in Carmen (Glacier Symphony, Mill City Summer Opera, and Opera Colorado); Dr. Grenvil in La traviata and The Duke of Verona in Roméo et Juliette (Madison Opera); Betto and cover of Simone in Gianni Schicchi (Tulsa Opera), The Armchair and A Tree in L’enfant et les sortilèges (Pacific Symphony), Fifth Jew and the Cappadocian in Salome and Montano in Otello (Minnesota Orchestra), and Peter Quince in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Lakes Area Music Festival). New and rare works include Mr. Noble in The Montana Mikado with Intermountain Bozeman Opera, the Dough's Mate in Rachel Peters' Companionship with Fort Worth Opera, Max Kane in the world premiere of Bolcom's Dinner at Eight with Minnesota Opera, Frère Filandro in the modern premiere of Bernardo Pasquini's 1672 opera Il Tirinto with Consortium Carissimi, and Detective Kearley/2nd Prison Warder in the world premiere of Theodore Morrison's Oscar with Santa Fe Opera and Opera Philadelphia.

 

In concert, he has sung as the bass soloist in the Glagolitic Mass with the Brno Philharmonic; the Nunes Garcia Requiem at Carnegie Hall; excerpts from Mozart’s Requiem with Omaha Symphony; Handel’s Messiah with the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Seattle and the Seattle Chamber Singers; Rossini's Petite messe solennelle with the South Bend Chamber Singers; Haydn's Mariazeller Mass with MidAmerica Productions at Carnegie Hall, and Janáček's Glagolitic Mass with Madison Symphony Orchestra.  He has performed Bernstein’s Songfest at LOFTrecital, the Biblical Songs by Antonin Dvořák with faculty and other alumni of the University of Michigan, and a solo recital with Opera South Dakota.

 

As an Apprentice Artist with Santa Fe Opera, Mr. Sieverding covered Herr Puff in Mozart's The Impresario, the Chamberlain in Stravinsky's Le rossignol, and the title role of Don Pasquale. As a Resident Artist with Opera Colorado, he performed Count Ceprano in Rigoletto.

 

Mr. Sieverding is a four-time Regional Finalist of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Finalist in the Mary Trueman Vocal Arts Competition (Art Song Preservation Society of New York), and Winner of the Birmingham Musicale, Franco-American Vocal Academy Grand Concours de Chant, and Schubert Club Competitions. Mr. Sieverding completed his Post-Graduate Studies in Vocal Performance at the University of Michigan, where he also received his Master of Music. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Music from South Dakota State University.