John Chest

Cymraeg

John is a graduate of the Opera Studio at Bayerische Staatsoper where he sang over 80 performances. He has held apprenticeships with the Santa Fe Opera and the Chicago Opera Theater, and took part in the prestigious Merola Opera Programme.

In 2010 John won the Stella Maris International Vocal Competition and the Arleen Auger prize in 2012. He was a member of the ensemble at Deutsche Oper Berlin until 2016 where roles included the title of Billy Budd in a new production by David Alden; Valentin, [Faust], Ford, [Falstaff], Silvio, [Pagliacci], Figaro, [Il barbière di Siviglia], Papageno [Die Zauberflöte], Gugliemo, [Cosi fan tutte] and Il Conte Almaviva [Le Nozze di Figaro].

Recent engagements elsewhere include Albert [Werther], (Théâtre des Champs-Elysées) Nick Carraway [The Great Gatsby] (Staatsoper Dresden), Don Giovanni (Nantes Opera), Marcello[ La Bohème] (Washington National Opera) Fritz [Die Tote Stadt] (Nantes & Nancy) plus Nardo [La finta giardiniera] and Demetrius [A Midsummer Night’s Dream] (both Aix-en-Provence) Eddie in Greek, Ned Keene [Peter Grimes]. John is equally passionate about art song and will return to the Wigmore Hall this season following a successful debut recital in 2013.

Highlights of the 2016-7 season include the Conte [Le nozze di Figaro] with Opera Philadelphia, Nick Carraway (Dresden) and a return to the role of Billy Budd in Berlin. Future performances include major roles at Glyndebourne, Teatro Real Madrid, Teatro Municipal Santiago and the Bayerische Staatsoper Munich.