BIOGRAPHY

Justin Burgess returns to Washington National Opera in 2025 to sing the role of Paul Jobs in The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs. In Fall 2024, he will debut with Opera Las Vegas as Adraste in the world premiere of Conrad Cummings and Mark Campbell's Again & Again & Again, perform Barber's Dover Beach with the Kennedy Center Chamber Players, sing as the baritone soloist in Carmina Burana with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, and cover Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia at Lyric Opera of Kansas City.

 

In summer 2024, he joined Des Moines Metro Opera, covering Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia. Last season, as a Cafritz Young Artist at Washington National Opera (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 La bohème. In summer 2023, he sang Schaunard and covered Martin/James in Candide at The Glimmerglass Festival. In summer 2022, he made his Santa Fe Opera debut as 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.

 

A rising star in the world of contemporary opera, he has appeared in several workshops, including as Ty in A Thousand Acres for Des Moines Metro Opera and Walter in The Hours for The Metropolitan Opera. He has also premiered two new operas through WNO’s American Opera Initiative.

 

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.

 

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). As a student, he sang  Count Almaviva and Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, Ormonte in Partenope, and Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream. He has been a Young Artist with Santa Fe Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival, Wolf Trap Opera, and Des Moines Metro Opera.