Arizona Opera Cast Members & Creatives

Zachary Nelson, a native of Annapolis, Maryland, studied vocal performance at The Catholic University of America, and later the prestigious Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia.

The 2023/24 Season will feature a return to Atlanta Opera as Marcello in La Bohème and performances of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, and excerpts as the title role of Berg’s Wozzeck with Utah Symphony. Recent and career highlights include his role debut as Alberich in Das Rheingold with Atlanta Opera; Marcello in La Bohème with Lyric Opera of Chicago; the title role in The Marriage of Figaro, Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor, Malatesta in Don Pasquale, and Marcello in La Bohème all with Santa Fe Opera; the title role in Sweeney Todd with Des Moines Metro Opera; and Escamillo in Carmen with Den Norske Opera in Oslo, Canadian Opera Company and San Francisco Opera.

Last season, Nelson made an anticipated role debut as Alberich in Atlanta Opera’s new production of Das Rheingold. Additionally, Nelson sang Mercutio in productions of Roméo and Juliette with Florentine Opera and Opera San Antonio, returned to the role of Leporello in Don Giovanni with North Carolina Opera, and joined the Lubbock Symphony as Sharpless in Madame Butterfly.

In the 2021/22 Season, Nelson joined the Lyric Opera of Chicago for its production of The Elixir of Love, sang Escamillo in Carmen with Palm Beach Opera, and performed Marcello in La Bohème with both New Orleans Opera and the Jacksonville Symphony.

During the COVID-19 impacted 2020/21 Season, Nelson’s engagements included Conte Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro with Opera Omaha (cancelled), Marcello in La Bohème with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra (postponed), and the Lyric Opera of Chicago for its production of The Marriage of Figaro (cancelled). In the summer of 2021, Nelson made his awaited debut as Sweeney Todd with Des Moines Metro Opera.

Original engagements during Nelson’s COVID-19 shortened 2019/20 Season included debuts with New Orleans Opera as Escamillo in Carmen (performed) and Chicago Opera Theater as Doug in Everest (performed). Nelson was scheduled to return to Lyric Opera of Chicago as Donner in Das Rheingold as part of performances of Wagner’s Ring Cycle (cancelled), and also to return to Palm Beach Opera, singing Ping in Turandot (performed). Nelson sang Christmas Concerts with Voices of Ascension in New York City (performed), and during the summer of 2020, was scheduled to make his role debut as Sweeney Todd with Des Moines Metro Opera (postponed).

A regular performer with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Nelson's 2018/19 Season began with a return to the Lyric as a soloist in their widely attended annual Millennium Park concert, followed by performances of Marcello in La Bohème. Nelson has also performed Ping in Turandot, Donner in Das Rheingold and covered Enrico Ashton in Lucia di Lammermoor. Other notable recent US appearances include: Santa Fe Opera as Marcello in La Bohème, Enrico Ashton in Lucia di Lammermoor, Figaro in The Marriage of Figaro, Malatesta in Laurent Pelly's Don Pasquale, and Angelotti in Tosca, Arizona Opera as the Count in The Marriage of Figaro, San Francisco Opera in Carmen as Escamillo, Pittsburgh Opera debut as Belcore in The Elixir of Love, and Quinault in Adriana Lecouvreur with Opera Orchestra of New York. Nelson has appeared in concert with Leah Crocetto at New York City's Morgan Library under the auspices of the George London Foundation, essayed Bloch's Sacred Service with Voices of Ascension in New York City, and joined Steven Blier's “Killer B's” with the New York Festival of Song.

In the 2013/14 Season, Nelson joined the ensemble of the Dresden Semperoper, where he performed the roles of Il Conte in The Marriage of Figaro, Marcello in La Bohème, Der Sprecher in The Magic Flute, Figaro in The Barber of Seville, and Guglielmo in a new production of Così fan tutte. Subsequent performances there include Paolo in Simon Boccanegra, Escamillo in Carmen, and he reprised the roles of Gugliemo in Così fan tutte, Belcore in The Elixir of Love, Marcello in La Bohème, and Figaro in both The Barber of Seville and premiered a new production of The Marriage of Figaro. Other notable international engagements include: Escamillo in Carmen with Den Norske Opera, the title role of The Marriage of Figaro with the Aix-en-Provence Festival on tour in Manama, Bahrain, and Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus with the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy in Kyoto, Tokyo, and Nagoya. Nelson made a debut at the Salzburg Landestheater, and returned to the Canadian Opera Company as Escamillo after making his debut as Masetto in Dmitri Tcherniakov's Don Giovanni.

Awards Nelson has garnered are: The George London Award from the 2012 George London Foundation, 1st prize from the 2012 Opera Index Competition, The 2012 Liederkranz Foundation Competition (General Opera Division), and the 2012 Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation. Also, 2nd prize from the 2011 Gerda Lissner Competition, the 2011 Giulio Gari Foundation, and the 2011 Loren Zachary Competition.