John Chest
# John Chest

John Chest (born July 6, 1985) is an American baritone opera singer performing with leading opera companies around the world.

## Career

John Chest was born in Greenville, South Carolina, to parents Sandra Marie Chest and Robert Davis Chest. He started his professional voice studies at Bob Jones University where he got his Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from 2003 to 2007. He then studied at CCPA (Chicago College of Performing Arts) at Roosevelt University, where he graduated with a Master of Music (Voice Performance) in 2009 after two years. Following that he joined the Apprentice Program at Santa Fe Opera for the summer of 2008 where he covered the Bosun in Benjamin Britten's Billy Budd (an introduction to the opera that he is known for playing the title role in today.) Chest joined the Merola Opera Program at the San Francisco Opera in the summer of 2009 where he performed Guglielmo in Così fan tutte. He concluded his formal studies in the professional Opernstudio at the Bavarian State Opera from 2009 to 2011 where he sang in over 80 performances.

Chest continued to train with the Chicago Opera Theater, in addition to joining the ensemble of Deutsche Oper Berlin, where he remained until 2016. His roles in Berlin included the title role of Billy Budd in a new production by David Alden; Valentin (Faust), Ford (Falstaff), Silvio (Pagliacci), Figaro (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Papageno (Die Zauberflöte), Gugliemo (Così fan tutte) and Il Conte Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro).

A finalist in the BBC Singer of the World Art Song Competition, he has also appeared in recital at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, the Philharmonie de Paris, and Wigmore Hall. He has made appearances on three Fauré CD's with pianist Malcolm Martineau.

## Repertory

| Year | Role | Composer | Opera | Location |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 2024 | Aristobolo | Händel | Berenice | Théâtre des Champs-Elysées |
| 2024 | Marcello | Puccini | La bohème | Trondheim Symfoniorkester & Opera |
| 2023 | Figaro | Rossini | Il barbiere di Siviglia | Kraków Philharmonic |
| 2023 | Guglielmo | Mozart | Così fan tutte | Opera Theatre of St Louis |
| 2023 | Il Conte di Almaviva | Mozart | Le nozze di Figaro | Bayerische Staatsoper |
| 2023 | Figaro | Rossini | Il barbiere di Siviglia | Teatro Regio di Torino |
| 2022 | Melisso | Händel | Alcina | Angers Nantes Opéra |
| 2022 | Il Conte di Almaviva | Mozart | Le nozze di Figaro | Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg |
| 2022 | Rodrigue | Verdi | Don Carlos | Theater Basel |
| 2021 | Valens | Händel | Theodora | Teatro alla Scala |
| 2021 | Il Conte di Almaviva | Mozart | Le nozze di Figaro | Grand Théâtre de la Ville de Luxembourg |
| 2019 | Billy Budd | Benjamin Britten | Billy Budd | San Francisco Opera |
| 2018 | Pelléas | Debussy | Pelléas et Mélisande | Glyndebourne |
| 2018 | Marcello | Puccini | La bohème | Semperoper Dresden |
| 2017 | Guglielmo | Mozart | Così fan tutte | Bayerische Staatsoper |
| 2017 | Billy Budd | Benjamin Britten | Billy Budd | Deutsche Oper Berlin |
| 2017 | Nick Carraway | John Harbison | The Great Gatsby | Semperoper Dresden |
| 2017 | Conte Almaviva | Mozart | Le nozze di Figaro | Opera Philadelphia |
| 2017 | Valentin | Gounod | Faust | Deutsche Oper Berlin |
| 2017 | Engel | Scartazzini | Edward II (world premiere) | Deutsche Oper Berlin |
| 2016–17 | Papageno | Mozart | Die Zauberflöte | Deutsche Oper Berlin |
| 2016–17 | Guglielmo | Mozart | Così fan tutte | Deutsche Oper Berlin |
| 2016–17 | Figaro | Rossini | Il barbiere di Siviglia | Deutsche Oper Berlin |
| 2016 | Valentin | Gounod | Faust | Théâtre du Capitole |
| 2016 | Nazarener | Strauss | Salome | Grand Théâtre de la Ville de Luxembourg |
| 2016 | Ein Kappadozier | Strauss | Salome | Grand Théâtre de la Ville de Luxembourg |
| 2016 | Albert | Massenet | Werther | Théâtre des Champs-Elysées |
| 2016 | Don Giovanni | Mozart | Don Giovanni | Angers-Nantes Opéra |
| 2016 | Marchese d'Obigny | Verdi | La traviata | Deutsche Oper Berlin |
| 2016 | Belcore | Donizetti | L'elisir d'amore | Deutsche Oper Berlin |
| 2015 | Nick Carraway | John Harbison | The Great Gatsby | Semperoper Dresden |
| 2015–16 | Figaro | Rossini | Il barbiere di Siviglia | Deutsche Oper Berlin |
| 2015 | Il Conte di Almaviva | Mozart | Le nozze di Figaro | Deutsche Oper Berlin |
| 2015 | Papageno | Mozart | Die Zauberflöte | Deutsche Oper Berlin |
| 2015 | Rosalinde | Strauss | Die Fledermaus | Vancouver Opera |
| 2015 | Silvio | Leoncavallo | Pagliacci | Deutsche Oper Berlin |
| 2015 | Demetrius | Benjamin Britten | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Festival d'Aix-en-Provence |
| 2015 | Fritz | Korngold | Die tote Stadt | Opéra national de Lorraine |
| 2015 | Fritz | Korngold | Die tote Stadt | Angers-Nantes Opéra |
| 2015 | Figaro | Rossini | Il barbiere di Siviglia | Deutsche Oper Berlin |
| 2014–15 | Papageno | Mozart | Die Zauberflöte | Deutsche Oper Berlin |
| 2014 | Ford | Verdi | Falstaff | Deutsche Oper Berlin |
| 2014 | Marcello | Puccini | La bohème | Deutsche Oper Berlin |
| 2014 | Sprecher | Mozart | Die Zauberflöte | Deutsche Oper Berlin |
