Arizona Opera Cast Members & Creatives

Described by Das Opernglas as “a strong, rich and warm-colored voice with assured style,” Mark Schnaible returns this season to Arizona Opera as Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte. His recent appearances include Klingsor in Parsifal with Indiana University Opera, and the title role in Bluebeard’s Castle with the Columbus Symphony, Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro with Arizona Opera, reprise performances of Pere Joseph in the acclaimed production of Gounod’s Der Rebell des Königs (Cinq Mars) and Méphistophélès in Faust with Oper Leipzig, Musiklehrer in Ariadne auf Naxos and the Police Sergeant in Pirates of Penzance with Palm Beach Opera, and returning to the Metropolitan Opera for their new productions of Guillaume Tell and Lulu.

Schnaible’s other recent performances include Friedrich in Das Liebesverbot and Méphistophélès in Faust with Oper Leipzig with repetitions of the latter at the Teatro Comunale Bolzano, Orest in Willy Decker’s production of Elektra with Polish National Opera; Der Wanderer in Siegfried with Kent Nagano conducting and the Four Villains in Les contes d’Hoffmann in a production directed by Nicholas Joel with Den Nye Opera; Jochanaan in Salome with Edmonton Opera and Cedar Rapids Opera Theater; Escamillo in Carmen with New Orleans Opera and the Saarbrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra; Nick Shadow in The Rake’s Progress, Pizarro in Fidelio, Ferrando in Il trovatore, and the title role in Giulio Cesare with Utah Opera; Friedrich in the North American stage premiere of Das Liebesverbot and the Count in Le nozze di Figaro with Glimmerglass Opera; Biterolf in Robert Carsen’s production of Tannhäuser conducted by Seiji Ozawa at Tokyo Opera Nomori; the title role in Sweeney Todd and Scarpia in Tosca with Portland Opera, Dayton Opera, and Shreveport Opera; and Mephistofeles in Faust with Shreveport Opera and El Paso Opera.

He has sung numerous leading roles with Theater Lübeck including the Four Villains in Les contes d’Hoffmann Dr Schön in Lulu, both directed by Anthony Pilavachi as well as the title role in Der fliegende Holländer, Seven Antagonists in Death in Venice, Orest in Elektra, Pizarro in Fidelio, Capulet in Roméo et Juliette, Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor, and Lorenzo in I capuleti e i Montecchi. Additional recent performances include Leporello in Don Giovanni with Boston Baroque and Utah Opera; Colline in La bohème with Oper Kiel; the title role in Gianni Schicchi and Rambaldo in La rondine with Opera Tampa; Ariodate in Xerxes with Boston Baroque; Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte with Shreveport Opera; Capulet in Roméo et Juliette with New Orleans Opera; as well as the Huntsman in Rusalka with Christoph Eschenbach at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival and with Franz Welser-Möst at the Opernhaus Zurich. A past winner of the prestigious Marseille International Opera Competition, the bass-baritone subsequently sang Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro with Opera d’Avignon and Metz Opera and joined the Choregies d’Orange Festival under Bertrand de Billy for Baron Douphol in La traviata and for Carmen under Michel Plasson. He also also previously joined the Metropolitan Opera roster for its production of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.

He is equally at home with the concert repertoire having recently sung Bizet’s Clovis et Clotilde with Les Flaneries Musicales de Reims and Jean-Claude Casadesus and in subsequent performances with the same conductor and the Orchestre National de Lille (released on the Naxos label). Other concert performances include Bluebeard’s Castle with Utah Symphony and excerpts of Boito’s Mephistopheles with Dayton Opera; Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem with the Utah Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, and Sioux City Symphony; previous performances of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Edo de Waart conducting the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Jacques Lacombe conducting the Lorraine Philharmonic, as well as with the Nashville Symphony and Memphis Symphony Orchestra; Verdi’s Requiem with the Orchestre National d'Île de France; Saint-Saens’ Christmas Oratorio with the Winterthur Philharmonic; Beethoven’s Mass in C with the Hartford Symphony; Dvořák’s Te Deum with the Utah Symphon;, and Fauré’s Requiem with the Heidelberg Philharmonic and Lorraine Philharmonic. He has sung Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with the Lübeck Philharmonic Orchestra, St. John Passion with the Heidelberg Philharmonic, and Mass in B minor with the Würzburg Symphony Orchestra; Berlioz’s Messe Solenelle also with the Heidelberg Philharmonic and his Lélio, ou le retour à la vie with the Lübeck Philharmonic Orchestra; and Handel’s Utrecht Jubilate with the Sioux City Choral Union, Judas Maccabeus with the Octavo Singers in Albany, Messiah with the Jerusalem Symphony and El Paso Symphony; Mendelssohn’s Elijah with Seiji Ozawa conducting at the Saito Kinen Festival as well as with the Nuremberg Philharmonic Orchestra, with which he also sang the composer’s St. Paul; Mozart’s Mass in C minor with the Quad Cities Symphony, Requiem with the Harrisburg Symphony, and Vesperae Solemnes with the Buena Vista Symphony; and Haydn’s The Creation with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra conducted by David Stern and Utah Symphony conducted by Jeffrey Kahane and The Seasons with the Poitou-Charentes Orchestre. He also joined the Sioux City Chamber Music Association in his home state of Iowa for a recital of Brahms’ Vier ernste Gesänge in addition to works by Handel, Duparc, and Kohn.