Arizona Opera Cast Members & Creatives

Baritone Benjamin Taylor begins the 2023/24 season with a return to Opera Philadelphia for Simon Boccanegra (Paolo). Other season engagements include debuts with Austin Opera for Pagliacci (Silvio), The Princeton Festival for Così fan tutte (Guglielmo), and returns to The Metropolitan Opera for Carmen (Moralès), Detroit Opera for Breaking The Waves (Jan), and Bayerische Staatsoper for La fanciulla del West (Bello). He will also debut with Symphoria and Northwest Florida Symphony in Carmina Burana.

Last season he debuted at Boston Lyric Opera in La Bohème (Schaunard) followed by debuts with Bayerische Staatsoper for La fanciulla del West (Bello), OperaDelaware/Opera Baltimore for La traviata (Germont), and Opera Philadelphia for La Bohème (Schaunard). He returned to The Metropolitan Opera for The Magic Flute (Papageno) and Dialogues des Carmélites and Berkshire Opera Festival for La Bohème (Marcello). On the concert stage he will made his debut with The Cleveland Orchestra in La fanciulla del West (Bello).

Recent engagements include his debut at The Metropolitan Opera in Fire Shut Up in My Bones (Chester) followed by debuts with Michigan Opera Theatre and Spoleto Festival USA in La Bohème (Schaunard), Cincinnati Opera for the World Premiere of Castor and Patience (West), North Carolina Opera for Sanctuary Road (William Still), Baltimore Concert Opera for Adriana Lecouvreur (Michonnet), and a return to Pittsburgh Opera for The Magic Flute (Papageno). Additionally, he workshopped Factotum (Garby) at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Past highlights include a visit to Opera Theatre of Saint Louis for Opera on the Go – Digital followed by debuts with Fargo-Moorhead Opera for The Barber of Seville (Figaro), Opera Orlando for The Secret River (Augustus), and Des Moines Metro Opera for Pique Dame (Tomsky), Platée (Satyre), and Fellow Travelers (Tommy McIntyre).

Taylor is a graduate of the Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist Program where some of his assignments included La Bohème (Schaunard), Glory Denied (Older Thompson), and Tosca (Sciarrone). He debuted at Madison Opera in I pagliacci (Silvio) and was an Apprentice Artist at The Santa Fe Opera where his assignments included covering in Les pêcheurs de perles (Zurga). As a Gerdine Young Artist and Richard Gaddes Festival Artist at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis where he seen in The Barber of Seville (Fiorello), Shalimar the Clown (Cowardly Giant), and Madam Butterfly (Prince Yamadori) and covered in The Barber of Seville (Figaro), La Bohème (Marcello), Ariadne auf Naxos (Music Teacher), Madam Butterfly (Sharpless), and The Trial (Lawyer Huld). Additional performances include La Bohème (Marcello) with Crested Butte Festival and Madama Butterfly (Prince Yamadori) for Berkshire Opera’s inaugural season.

Taylor received his Master of Music from Boston University and his Performer’s Certificate with Boston University’s Opera Institute. While at BU, he performed in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Demetrius), Così fan tutte (Guglielmo), La Tragédie de Carmen (Escamillo), Angels in America (Prior Walter), Florencia en el Amazonas (Alvaro), Owen Wingrave (Coyle), and Le Portrait de Manon (Des Grieux). He received his Bachelor of the Arts at Morgan State University where he sang in Blue Monday (Tom) with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.