American baritone John Chest, winner of the prestigious 2010 Stella Maris International Vocal Competition, is on the verge of a major operatic career.
Chest has held apprenticeships with the Santa Fe Opera, the Chicago Opera Theatre and took part in the prestigious Merola Opera Programme. He is a recent graduate of the Opera Studio at the Bayerische Staatsoper, where he sang over 80 performances including Fiorello Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Schaunard La Bohème, Lovec Rusalka, Petrucci Lucrezia Borgia, Carmen with Jonas Kaufmann, La Boheme with Anja Harteros, and Lucrezia Borgia with Edita Gruberova. Other past roles include Dandini La Cenerentola, Guglielmo Così fan tutte and Il Conte Almaviva Le nozze di Figaro. Equally passionate about art song, Chest is a frequent recitalist and last season also saw his first performance of Die Schöne Müllerin.
Highlights of the 2011/12 season include Chest’s role debut as Ned Keene in a new production of Peter Grimes at the Norwegian Opera, Il Conte Almaviva Le nozze di Figaro for the Nationale Reisopera and, at the end of the season, Nardo La finta giardiniera at the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence. In the 2013/2014 season he will take up a Fest contract with Deutsche Oper Berlin, the highlight of which will be his debut in the title role of Billy Budd in a new production by David Alden.
John Chest holds a Master’s degree in music from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University where he studied with David Holloway.
John Chest is represented by Intermusica.
May 2012 / 244 words. Not to be altered without permission. Please destroy all previous biographical material.
Lieder recital / Landsberg
“Barely had pianist Marcelo Amaral played the opening bars and American baritone John Chest begun to sing ‘Das Wandern ist des Müllers Lust’, that it became apparent to the audience of fifty music-lovers that this would be a very special concert.
John Chest’s voice was youthful and fresh, yet also powerful and imbued with astounding lyrical qualities. He performed the cycle of 20 songs in his own personal way, and showed an artistic maturity beyond his years.
John Chest gave proof of a markedly clean enunciation, singing the romantic lyrics without a trace of an American accent, never stumbling over an umlaut or a typically German vowel, and underlying it all with a beautiful, soft vibrato.
The young baritone visibly put himself into the relevant emotional state before beginning each song, and so his performance gained additional credibility. His performance was always engaged and fresh, and he never resorted to cheap showmanship.
The hour-and-a-half of recital flew by, and the audience showed their enthusiasm with heart-felt applause. The musicians thanked their audience with an encore of Brahms’ ‘Meine Liebe ist grün’, where John Chest once again demonstrated the power of his voice.”
Augsburger Allgemeine, April 2011
Bavarian State Opera, Munich / Puccini La Bohème
“John Chest used his virile baritone to telling effect as Schaunard – his realisation that Mimi had expired in the last act was truly gut-wrenching.”
What’s On Stage, December 2010
Stella Maris Competition (winner)
“…he triumphed with some challenging repertoire… In the song/oratorio segment he chilled the blood with ‘Auf dem Fluss’ from Winterreise, and in the final round… his ‘Look, through the port’ from Billy Budd ran subtle and deep…
The poised intensity of Chest’s presence and delivery complements the dark, rich colours in his voice, but the quicksilver wit of Rossini’s Figaro is also in his armoury, as he proved in both ‘Largo al factotum’ and in the duet ‘Dunque io son’…”
Yehuda Shapiro, Opera Now, November 2010