CHRISTOPHER
BESCH
BASS-BARITONE
Performer, Pedagogue,
& Vocal Scientist
Bass-baritone Christopher Besch is proud to have performed in eight countries on three continents with such conductors as Lorin Maazel, Leonard Slatkin, and Jeffrey Thomas. His “commanding stage presence and rich resonance of deep bass sound” (DC Theatre Scene) has been heard in over 80 works running the gamut of musical styles such as early music, grand opera, and modern art song. Notable engagements have included Maxwell Davies’ Eight Songs for a Mad King with the Classical Music Institute of San Antonio, Samuel in Pirates of Penzance with OPERA San Antonio, Apollo in Anthony Brandt’s Kassandra (recently released on the Navona Records label,) Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro with Opera Colorado, Frederik in Sondheim’s A Little Night Music with the Castleton Festival, Ashby in Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West with Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, and many others. As a frequent performer of concert repertoire, his recent performances have included Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Symphony of the Hills, Verdi’s Requiem with the Green Bay Civic Symphony, Haman in Handel’s Esther with Ars Lyrica. Additionally, he is a frequent soloist with Bach Society Houston, appearing with them at both the 2023 and 2017 Leipzig Bach Festivals in Leipzig, Germany.
“The St Matthew may be less dramatically pointed than the St. John Passion, yet the exchanges between Spears and Besch crackled with a tension that was almost theatrical in intensity."
St Matthew's Passion
"But the best singing of the cast came from the lanky Christopher Besch as Don Basilio. His buffo aria, “La calunnia,” hit all the right points, and he used his height and wingspan to comic advantage."
Il Barbiere di Siviglia
"Bass-baritone Christopher Besch was a strong, upstanding Fredrik, carrying his part with a kind of befuddled grace as his romantic interests whirled out of control."
A Little Night Music
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