Zachary Nelson

Zachary Nelson’s career at the Santa Fe Opera began in 2012 when he was an Apprentice Singer. It was a busy summer; he sang the role of Angelotti in Tosca, Mandryka (cover) in Arabella, and was in the choruses of Tosca, Maometto II, Arabella, King Roger, and The Pearl Fishers. The very next year, he was back singing the title role in our production of The Marriage of Figaro. He followed that up as Dr. Malatesta in Don Pasquale in 2014, Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor in 2017, Marcello in the 2019 production of La bohème, and Golaud in Pelléas & Mélisande in 2023. A critic with Opera Warhorses described his most recent Santa Fe Opera performance as “highly charged” and praised his “intense dramatic power.” Mr. Nelson will be back in 2024, singing the role of Herr von Faninel in Der Rosenkavalier. 

photo: Simon Pauly

This versatile baritone became an ensemble member with the Dresden Semperoper in 2013 and he has continued a strong relationship with that company. Portrayals in Dresden include Count Almaviva and Figaro in The Marriage of Figaro, Marcello in La bohème, Escamillo in Carmen, Figaro in The Barber of Seville, Paolo in Simon Boccanegra, Guglielmo in Cosi fan tutte, and many more.

Mr. Nelson’s career has taken him to major opera houses--including the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Canadian Opera Company, San Francisco Opera, and den Norske Opera--for principal roles in works composed by Mozart, Donizetti, Bizet, Gounod, Puccini, and Wagner. He has also performed starring roles with the Atlanta Opera, Arizona Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Palm Beach Opera, San Antonio Opera, and North Carolina Opera, among others. 

A native of Annapolis, Maryland, Mr. Nelson studied at The Catholic University of America and did his graduate work at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. His mother, an accomplished singer, introduced him to opera when he was a child, playing performances of the Metropolitan Opera while driving in the car. 

Mr. Nelson has triumphed in numerous competitions, including those sponsored by the George London Foundation, Opera Index, the Liederkranz Foundation, the Gerda Lissner Foundation, the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation, and the Richard Tucker Foundation.