Zachary Nelson, a native of Annapolis, Maryland, has been praised for his rich and powerful baritone, as well as his ability to embody dramatic and comic characters on the operatic stage.

The baritone’s 2018-2019 season includes a return to Lyric Opera of Chicago as a soloist in their widely attended annual Millennium Park concert, followed by performances of Marcello in _La bohème._ Additionally, he joins Arizona Opera as the Count in Le nozze di Figaro, and returns to Santa Fe Opera as Marcello in La bohème. On the concert stage, he sings Peter in _Hansel and Gretel_ with the Oregon Symphony.

Mr. Nelson’s 2017-2018 included performances of Ping in _Turandot_ with Lyric Opera of Chicago and Semperoper Dresden as the title role in _Le nozze di Figaro._ He made his Pittsburgh Opera debut as Belcore in L’elsiir d’amore, appeared in recital with Leah Crocetto at New York City’s Morgan Library under the auspices of the George London Foundation, and essayed Bloch’s _Sacred Service_ with Voices of Ascension in New York City.

The 2016-2017 season brought debuts at the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Donner in _Das Rheingold_ and Enrico Ashton (cover) in Lucia di Lammermoor, Escamillo in _Carmen_ with Den Norske Opera, and a fourth season with the Santa Fe Opera as Enrico Ashton in Lucia di Lammermoor.

2015-2016 began with a return to the Dresden Semperoper as Figaro in both _Le nozze di Figaro_ and Il barbiere di Siviglia. He performed the role of Dr. Falke in _Die Fledermaus_ with the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy in Kyoto, Tokyo, and Nagoya. He made debuts at the Salzburg Landestheater, Palm Beach, and San Francisco Opera in _Carmen_ as Escamillo, and returned to the Canadian Opera Compnay as Escamillo.

His 2014-15 season included the title role of _Le nozze di Figaro_ with the Aix-en-Provence Festival on tour in Manama, Bahrain. Additionally, he made his debut with Canadian Opera Company as Masetto in Dmitri Tcherniakov’s Don Giovanni. He debuted the roles of Paolo in Simon Boccanegra, Escamillo in _Carmen,_ and reprised the roles of Gugliemo in Cosi fan tutte, Belcore in L’Elisir D’Amore, Marcello in La bohéme, and Figaro in both _Il barbiere di Siviglia_ and a new production of _Le Nozze di Figaro,_ all with the Dresden Semperoper.

In the 2013-2014 season, Mr. Nelson joined the ensemble of the Dresden Semperoper, where he performed the roles of Il Conte in Le nozze di Figaro, Marcello in La bohème, Der Sprecher in Die Zauberflöte, Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and Guglielmo in a new production of Così fan tutte. He also returned toSanta Fe Opera as Malatesta in Laurent Pelly’s Don Pasquale.

Other notable performances include: Figaro in _Le nozze di Figaro_ with Santa Fe Opera, Germont in _La traviata_ with Lyric Opera of Virginia, Angelotti in _Tosca_ and Mandryka (cover) in _Arabella_ with Santa Fe Opera, Quinault in _Adriana Lecouvreur_ with Opera Orchestra of New York, Sciarrone in _Tosca_ with The Glimmerglass Festival, and he was a soloist in Steven Blier’s “Killer B’s” with the New York Festival of Song.

A graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, PA, Mr. Nelson performed many roles including: Belcore in L’elisir D’Amore, Renato in Un ballo in Maschera, the title role in Falstaff, Michele in Il Tabarro, Sancho Panza in Don Quichotte, Mandryka in Arabella, Golaud in Pelléas et Mélisande, and Masetto in Don Giovanni. Mr. Nelson is also a graduate of The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Awards Mr. Nelson has garnered are: The George London Award from the 2012 George London Foundation, 1st prize 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.