A “rich baritone sounding more than ready for prime time”– James Jorden (The Observer)

Current Season:

New Zealand baritone Christian Thurston rejoins the Minnesota Opera Resident Artist program for the ²⁰¹⁸⁄₁₉ season.
He performs the roles of ‘Maggiordomo’ in _La Rondine,_ ‘Gordon’ in Silent Night, ‘Emilio’ in The Italian Straw Hat, and ‘The Marquis’ in La Traviata.

In the previous ²⁰¹⁷⁄₁₈ season, he performed the roles of ‘Count Almaviva’ in Le nozze di Figaro, ‘Marullo’ in Rigoletto, and ‘Nicia’s servant’ in Thaïs with the Minnesota Opera.

Education:

Christian graduated from the prestigious Manhattan School of Music with a Masters degree after completing his undergraduate and post-graduate certificates at the New Zealand School of Music . At MSM, he performed the roles of ‘Count Homonay’ in Strauss’ DerZigeunerbaron, ‘Harasta’ in Janacek’s The Cunning Little Vixen, ‘Pandolfe’ in Massenet’s Cendrillon, ‘Azolan’ in Susa’s _Les Liaisons_ dangereuses, and ‘Miller’ in Verdi’s Luisa Miller.

New Zealand Career:

In New Zealand Christian sang the role of the ‘Imperial Commissioner’ in _Madama Butterfly_ and covered ‘Dandini’ in _La Cenerentola,_ both with New Zealand Opera. At the New Zealand School of Music he performed ‘Snug’ in Britten’s _A Midsummer Night’s Dream_ and ‘Pasha Seid’ in Verdi’s rarely performed Il Corsaro. He has also sung ‘Chichibio’ in Mozart’s rarity _L’oca del Cairo_ and performed ‘Don Polidoro’ in Cimarosa’s _L’Italiana in Londra._  New Zealand audiences have also seen him in concert as a soloist in _Celebrating Lilburn_ with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, _Fantasia on Christmas Carols_ with the Kapiti Orchestra, and performances of Viktor Ullmann’s _Der Kaiser von Atlantis_ and Richard Fuch’s Vom Judischen Schicksal.

International Competitions:

Christian Thurston was the third place winner in the Lexus Song Quest with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. In 2016 Christian was a Connecticut district finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and received the Guida-LaCamera Award. He was a winner of the Alan M. and Joan Taub Ades Vocal Competition at MSM in 2017, and was a Dame Malvina Major New Zealand Opera Emerging Artist in 2014 and 2015.