Ryan McKinny (United States)

Bass-baritone — Collatinus

HGO Appearances: Royal Herald in Lohengrin (2009), Chorus! (2009), Theseus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2009), Don Pedro in Beatrice and Benedict (2008), The Refuge (2008, 2007), Mr. Flint in Billy Budd (2008), Samuel in A Masked Ball (2007), Peter (Father) in Hansel and Gretel (2007, 2006), Ramfis in Aïda (2007), Badger in The Cunning Little Vixen (2007), Death in Der Kaiser von Atlantis (2006), Masetto in Don Giovanni (2006), Pietro in Simon Boccanegra (2006), Figaro in The Marriage of Figaro (2006), Mercury/Lictor/Consul in The Coronation of Poppea (2006), Zuniga in Carmen (2006), Innkeeper/Sergeant/Captain in Manon Lescaut (2006), Nikitch/Police Officer in Boris Godunov (2005). Studio artist (2005 – 08).

About the Artist: This season, McKinny will make his Metropolitan Opera debut as Lieutenant Ratcliffe in Billy Budd, his role debut as Jochanaan in Salome at New Orleans Opera, and return to Oper Leipzig as Hercules in Alceste. As a member of the ensemble at Deutsche Oper Berlin, he will perform in Hänsel und Gretel, Carmen, a new production of Don Carlos, Lucia di Lammermoor, a staged version of Verdi’s Messa da requiem, and in Il barbiere di Siviglia. McKinny will also return to the Los Angeles Philharmonic to sing Veselchak in the world premiere of Shostakovich’s uncompleted opera Orango. Future seasons include performances at the Metropolitan, Los Angeles, and English National operas; Theater Basel; Deutsche Oper Berlin; and Canadian Opera Company. In recent seasons, McKinny has appeared at the English National, Hamburg State, Wolf Trap, and Los Angeles operas, as well as Semperoper Dresden, Oper Leipzig, the Chicago and National symphony orchestras, and Los Angeles Philharmonic, among others. In addition to his Houston Grand Opera roles, McKinny has performed in productions including Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex, Verdi’s Otello, Rossini’s Le comte Ory, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, among others, and with esteemed artists including Michael Tilson Thomas and Peter Sellars. He has performed at the Ravinia, Spoleto, Aspen Music, and Sydney festivals, and in New York’s Carnegie and Alice Tully halls. He was recently named the first recipient of the Birgit Nilsson Prize at Plácido Domingo’s Operalia Competition. He represented the United States in the 2007 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, where he was a finalist in the Rosenblatt Recital Song Prize. McKinny was a Grand Finalist in the 2007 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and was featured in the film The Audition recently released by Decca on DVD.