Arizona Opera Cast Members & Creatives

Praised by Opera News for “brandishing a beautiful, evenly produced, nicely ripe sound,” Michael Adams makes role and company debuts as Zurga in Les pêcheurs de perles at the Grand Teatro del Liceu, Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor with Knoxville Opera, and Gaylord Ravenal in Showboat at The Glimmerglass Festival in the 2018/19 season. He also returns to Washington National Opera as Lieutenant Audebert in Puts’ Silent Night. Future seasons include returns to Seattle Opera and Washington National Opera in role debuts. Last season he joined Seattle Opera for the first time as Guglielmo in Così fan tutte. He also debuted with Utah Opera as Marcello in La Bohème and returned later in the season for his first performances of Silvio in Pagliacci and Betto in Gianni Schicchi. He returned to Washington National Opera to reprise Melisso in Alcina and for the Pilot in Portman’s The Little Prince, the Grand Théâtre de Genève as Masetto in Don Giovanni, and on the concert stage, the Fort Worth Symphony for an all-Bernstein concert under the baton of Miguel Harth-Bedoya. 

The baritone made company debuts and subsequent returns with the Grand Théâtre de Genève as Melisso in Alcina and Marcello in La Bohème and Des Moines Metro Opera as Lescaut in Manon followed by Ping in Turandot and Donald in Billy Budd. He recently joined the Deutsche Oper Berlin for a season, singing a number of roles including Ping in Turandot, the Marquis in La Traviata, Harašta in The Cunning Little Vixen, in addition to covering Neluso in L’Africaine. He is a former member of the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist of Washington National Opera at which he sang the title role of Don Giovanni directed by Francesca Zambello, Prince Yamadori in Madama Butterfly, and the Motorcycle Cop and Prison Guard #1 in Dead Man Walking.

Adams completed two years as a Resident Artist at the acclaimed Academy of Vocal Arts, where his performances included Valentin in Faust, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Lescaut in Manon, Tomsky in Pique Dame, Schaunard in La Bohème, Taddeo in L’italiana in Algeri, and the Marquis in La Traviata. He is a former Resident Artist of the Santa Fe Opera, having joined the company for its productions of Rigoletto, The Daughter of the Regiment, and the world premiere of Higdon’s Cold Mountain. His previous performances include the Lackey in Ariadne auf Naxos, Corporal in The Daughter of the Regiment, as well the covers of Conte Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro and Bion in Adamo’s Lysistrata with Fort Worth Opera; Presto in Les mamelles de Tirésias as well as scenes of the title role of Don Giovanni and Escamillo in Carmen with Wolf Trap Opera while a member of its studio program; and the title roles of both Eugene Onegin and Don Giovanni and the First Gangster in Kiss Me, Kate at the Seagle Music Colony. He has previously joined the Fort Worth Symphony for Bach’s Cantata No. 29 and Handel’s Te Deum.

He was a 2015 winner of first place in the Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition, Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation International Vocal Competition, and the Mario Lanza Competition; the namesake award from the Nelson Eddy Foundation; third place in the Giulio Gari Foundation International Vocal Competition, and fifth place in the Loren L. Zachary Competition, an encouragement award winner of the Opera Index Competition. Additionally, he was a Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions semi-finalist in 2015.

Adams holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Texas Christian University, where he sang his first performances of Don Giovanni, and has also been a member of the Janiec Opera Company of the Brevard Music Center.