Baritone Justin Burgess returns to Washington National Opera (WNO) to sing the role of Paul in The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs. This fall, he makes his Opera Las Vegas debut in the world premiere of Conrad Cummings’ Again & Again & Again, and will join Lyric Opera of Kansas City to cover Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia. In summer 2024, he joined Des Moines Metro Opera, also covering Figaro. Last season, as a Cafritz Young Artist at WNO, he was seen as Mercutio in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, Donkey in Jeanine Tesori’s The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me and A Mobster/The Guide in Songbird.
In his first season with WNO, he sang Schaunard in Puccini’s La bohème. In summer 2023, he sang Schaunard and covered Martin/James in Candide at the Glimmerglass Festival. In summer 2022, at Santa Fe Opera, he sang Der Steuermann in Tristan und Isolde and covered Morales in Carmen. He spent three summers with Wolf Trap Opera where he sang the roles of Fiorello in Il barbiere di Siviglia and Zerbin in L’ile de Merlin, as well as covering Figaro, Merlin, Toby in Sweeney Todd, and Baron Pictordu in Viardot’s Cendrillon.
In competition, he was a two time Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, a finalist for the McCammon Vocal Competition at Fort Worth Opera, and an Emerging Artist Award Winner in the Opera Index Vocal Competition. As a concert artist, he will join the Richmond Ballet and the Charleston Symphony Orchestra as the Baritone soloist in Carmina Burana, and sang in the North American premiere as Pilatus in Sixten’s Johannespassionen.
Justin received his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, and Dance, and his master’s degree and artist diploma from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). He has been a Young Artist with Santa Fe Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival, Wolf Trap Opera, and Des Moines Metro Opera.
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