Lester Lynch
Baritone
New England Regional Third Place Winner, 1994

Lester Lynch, is recognized as one of today’s most promising Verdi baritones. Hailed by the New York Times as “magnificently forceful” for his Carnegie Hall performance at the Marilyn Horne Foundation Gala, Lynch has been praised for his performances at major opera companies throughout the world.

A native of Ohio, Mr. Lynch studied at the Juilliard Opera School before making his debut as Marcello in La Boheme with New York City Opera. Other important debuts followed, including Germont in La Traviata with Houston Grand Opera, Count di Luna in Il Trovatore with Deutsche Oper am Rhein and Seattle Opera, and Flint in Billy Budd with Canadian Opera Company. The baritone has enjoyed a long association with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis where he has received critical acclaim for his performances of Calchas in Le Belle Helene, Marcello in La Boheme, and The Bartender in Conrad Susa’s Black River.

Just this past summer Lester was heard as Paolo in The Santa Fe Opera’s new production of Simon Boccanegra where the New Mexican said he sang “with imposing force” and that when he was on stage “the air snapped.” Mr. Lynch has also recently joined the roster of the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Alfio/Tonio in Cavelleria Rusticana and I Pagliacci as well as a return to the company for the High Priest in Samson and Dalila. Mr. Lynch made an important debut in the title role of Rigoletto with Dayton Opera, where he was noted for his “powerful and intensely moving” performance of the tragic jester.

Mr. Lynch also added other important roles to his growing Verdi repertoire with performances of Renato in Un Ballo in Maschere with Michigan Opera Theater and Amonasro in Aida with the Dayton opera and Connecticut Opera. Other recent performances include appearances with Cincinnati Opera as Marcello in La Boheme, Dayton Opera as Tonio in I Pagliacci and Count di Luna in Trovatore, Amonasro in Aida with Dayton Opera, Opera Columbus as Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro and Nat Turner in Vanqui, and Shreveport Opera as Escamillo in Carmen. Mr. Lynch’s portrayal of Crown in Porgy and Bess with Houston Grand Opera’s International Tour brought him to audiences worldwide, including celebrated performances at Teatro alla Scala and L’Opera Bastille in Paris.

An accomplished concert artist, Mr. Lynch has performed a wide variety of repertoire with many important orchestras, including New York Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and Houston Symphony. Mr. Lynch was again as Amonasro in Aida with the Springfield Symphony which was later broadcast on PBS. Also on the concert stage, he performed in Placido Domingo’s Operalia concert in Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic with Eugene Kohn conducting. His performances with Chautaqua Symphony of Mussorgsky’s Songs and Dances of Death were described as “truly splendid,” and the Baltimore Sun praised his Elijah as “glorious.” Mr. Lynch’s numerous concert appearances also include New World Symphony in Copland’s Old American Songs, Mendelssohn’s Die Erste Walpurgis Nacht with Grant Park Music Festival in Chicago, Bach Magnificat with Orchestra of St. Lukes at Carnegie Hall, Don Fernando in Fidelio with Cincinnati Symphony, Fauré’s Requiem with the Duluth-Superior Orchestra, Carmina Burana with Fox Valley Symphony and the New York Oratorio Society again at Carnegie Hall, Elijah with the Flagstaff Symphony, Tuscon Symphony in Brahms’ Requiem, a premier with the Columbia Pro Cantare in I Build a House.

He recently performed both Crown and Jake in Porgy and Bess under the baton of Bobby McFerrin with the Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, and The Ravinia Festival Orchestra.

Mr. Lynch is a frequent recitalist and has performed throughout the United States under the auspices of the Marilyn Horne Foundation. His 2002 Merkin Hall recital included the premiere of Lowell Liebermann’s new song cycle, which was commissioned by the Marilyn Horne Foundation for Mr. Lynch.

He was heard on New York’s classical radio station WQXR, and performed a recital with pianist/composer John Musto sponsored by the George London Foundation at New York’s Morgan Library.

Mr. Lynch is the recipient of many distinguished awards, such as the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the George London Vocal Competition, and the Sullivan Awards. His work with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis earned him the prestigious Richard Gaddes Award.

In the 2005-2006 season Mr. Lynch will sing Crown in Porgy and Bess with Washington Opera and on a recording with the Nashville Symphony, the world premiere of Adolphus Hailstork's Whitman's Journey with the Washington Master Chorale at the Kennedy Center, Carmina Burana with the Cincinnati Symphony with Maestro Conlin conducting, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Virginia Symphony, Messiah with the Columbia Pro Cantare, a Gershwin Gala with the Grand Rapids Symphony, Dvorak’s Te Deum with the Dayton Symphony. In the future Mr. Lynch will sing Tonio in I Pagliacci with Pittsburgh Opera and Lake George Opera, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly with Opera Theatre of St. Louis (no contract yet), and leading roles with Opera Company of Philadelphia and with Los Angeles Opera.

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