American baritone Edward Nelson is an alumnus of the Merola Opera Program and Adler Fellowship at San Francisco Opera. Winner of the 2020 Glyndebourne Opera Cup and named among OperaWire's Top Ten Rising Stars of 2025, he made his Metropolitan Opera debut in Terence Blanchard's Champion, which won the 2024 Grammy® Award for Best Opera Recording. A native of California, Nelson is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and received further training at the Tanglewood Music Center.

Last season Nelson made a memorable return to the Metropolitan Opera as Tracy Bacon in the Met premiere of Mason Bates' The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. He also made notable company debuts at Houston Grand Opera as Ponchel in Kevin Put's Silent Night; Opéra Royal de Wallonie creating the title role in the world premiere of Benoît Mernier’s Bartleby the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street; Festspielhaus Baden-Baden as Dandini in Rossini’s La Cenerentola; and at Teatro Colón A Coruña as Pelléas in Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande.

In 2026/27, Nelson makes his Atlanta Opera debut as Ponchel Silent Night and returns to Houston Grand Opera as Gaylord Ravenal in Kern & Hammerstein II's Show Boat. He sings the title role in Philip Glass's Orphée in a new production for Des Moines Metropolitan Opera, and appears with the BPO in the world premiere of Richard Danielpour’s oratorio Francis, conducted by JoAnn Falletta. He also gives a recital at Laguna Beach’s Pacific Vocal Series. European engagements include Orff’s Carmina Burana in Edinburgh and Glasgow with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by James MacMillan.