JOHN ALLEN NELSON

Irish-American baritone John Allen Nelson possesses “a deliciously hearty sound: his bold, rounded singing elicits the same earthy satisfaction as a great glass of Cabernet.” This season, Mr. Nelson appears as Escamillo in Peter Brook’s The Tragedy of Carmen with Skylark Opera Theatre and as Moralès in Carmen with the Lakes Area Music Festival. He will also debut with the Rhode Island Civic Chorale and Orchestra as the baritone soloist in Handel’s Messiah. In 2016, he made his New York debut as Mr. Slook in Rossini’s La Cambiale de Matrimonio with Bare Opera. Recent roles include Pa Joad in The Grapes of Wrath, Dandini in La Cenerentola, Guglielmo in Così Fan Tutte, Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Escamillo in La Tragédie de Carmen. A Minnesota native, Mr. Nelson has appeared with Minnesota Opera as the Mandarin in Turandot, Schaunard in La Bohème and Zimmerkellner in Arabella. Other favorite roles include the title role in Don Giovanni, Belcore in L’Elisir d’Amore, Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, and Marcello in La Bohème. As a concert soloist, Mr. Nelson has sung the baritone solo in John Rutter’s Mass of the Children with Masterworks Chorale in Boston and Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs at Old South Union Church. Mr. Nelson completed apprenticeships with Des Moines Metro Opera and Opera Colorado.