John Allen Nelson

Irish-American baritone John Allen Nelson is known for his “deliciously hearty sound” with “uniformity from top to bottom” as well as his “full body approach” to acting. This season, Mr. Nelson debuted with Opera in the Heights as Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor and joins the New West Symphony in Thousand Oaks, CA as a soloist in their Carmen & Bohemian Rhapsody concerts.

In the 2023/24 season, Mr. Nelson returned to Pacific Symphony as Schaunard in La Bohème after his debut the season prior as Marullo in Rigoletto. He made his Carnegie Hall debut as the bass soloist in Mozart’s Coronation Mass and debuted with Bel Cantanti Opera as the title role in Aleko. In the 2022/23 season, Mr. Nelson jumped in to the title role of West Bay Opera’s Don Giovanni and debuted with Northern Lights Music Festival as Marcello in La Bohème. He also returned to the Spoleto Festival as Nicholas in Vanessa following his debut the year prior as Alcindoro in La Bohème and reprised one of his signature roles as Escamillo in The Tragedy of Carmen with Seaglass Theater Company.

Mr. Nelson made his company debuts with Opera Ithaca as Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro, with Lubbock Symphony as Imperial Commissioner and Sharpless cover in Madama Butterfly, and with Finger Lakes Opera as the Ufficiale and Figaro cover in Il Barbière di Siviglia. He appeared at the Bar Harbor Music Festival as Guglielmo in Così fan tutte in 2021 and returned in 2022 as Schaunard in La Bohème.

Prior to the pandemic, Mr. Nelson debuted with Opera Santa Barbara as Di Cosimo in Il Postino and as Yamadori and the Imperial Commissioner in Madama Butterfly. Appearances as Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette with Opera Santa Barbara and as the Earl of Essex in Merrie England with Odyssey Opera were canceled due to Covid-19.

An advocate for new works, Mr. Nelson debuted with New York City Opera as Giordano in the world premiere of Stonewall and with Boston Lyric Opera in a workshop of Joseph Summer’s Hamlet. Other favorite appearances include Mr. Nelson’s Utah Opera debut as a last-minute fill-in for Marcello in La Bohème in 2017 and his Odyssey Opera debut as King Edward III in Donizetti’s L’assedio di Calais. Mr. Nelson has also appeared with Minnesota Opera as Schaunard in La Bohème, Mandarin in Turandot, and Zimmerkellner in Arabella.

An active interpreter of concert works, Mr. Nelson has performed the baritone solos in John Rutter’s Mass of the Children, Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs, and Fauré’s Requiem with Masterworks Chorale in Boston. He has sung the bass solos in Händel’s Messiah with the Hyperion Singers, the Heartland Symphony, and the Rhode Island Civic Chorale and Orchestra.

Mr. Nelson completed apprenticeships with Opera Colorado and Des Moines Metro Opera, as well as a residency at Boston University Opera Institute. He holds a Master of Music from the University of Missouri Kansas City Conservatory of Music and a Bachelor of Arts in Vocal Performance from St. John’s University in his native Minnesota.