Christopher Magiera

Christopher Magiera (born 30 May 1983) is an American operatic baritone. Born in Evanston, Illinois, Magiera was an undergraduate student at Wake Forest University and a graduate student at the Peabody Conservatory and the Yale School of Music. He attended the Bavarian State Opera Opernstudio and was employed by Eytan Pessen as a fest member at the Semperoper in Dresden from 2010-2012.

Magiera has performed worldwide as a leading baritone, singing hundreds of performances throughout the world. He has been seen in the title roles of Eugene Onegin, Figaro (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Joseph De Rocher (Dead Man Walking) and Don Giovanni, as well as in the roles of Conte Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Valentin (Faust), Marcello (La bohème), Papageno (Die Zauberflöte), Robert (Iolanta), The Captain (The Death of Klinghoffer) and Zurga (The Pearl Fishers), among many others.

He has performed at opera houses throughout the world including the Semperoper Dresden, Bayerische Staatsoper, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, English National Opera, Teatro di San Carlo, Teatro Massimo Palermo, and Vancouver Opera, among others. In concert he has performed at the Knowlton Festival of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal and with the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra of Ankara, Turkey, among others. Magiera has performed with conductors such as Kent Nagano, Riccardo Frizza, Vladimir Jurowski, Emmanuel Villaume, Stephen Lord, Pier Giorgio Morandi and Frederic Chaslin.

Magiera has received awards from numerous national and international competitions and organizations throughout his career, including those from:

• Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions - National Grand Finalist, New England Region - First Place, Connecticut District - First Place
• Operalia - International Finalist
• Sullivan Foundation - Grand Prize
• Veronica Dunne International Vocal Competition
• Jensen Foundation
• Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition - 2nd Prize
• Liederkranz Foundation
• Bel Canto Foundation
• Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation
• Giulio Gari Foundation
• Anna Sosenko Assist Trust Fund
• Opera Birmingham Competition - First Prize
• Partners for the Arts Competition - First Prize
• Harlem Opera Theater - 2nd Prize
• Fort Worth Opera McCammon Competition
• Florida Grand Opera - YPO Competition - First Prize Junior Division
• Oratorio Society of New York - Johannes Somary Award
• Mario Lanza Institute
• Annie Wentz Prize