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Alexander Birch Elliott
Baritone

Baritone Alexander Birch Elliott continues to garner praise for his “heated intensity and beguiling timbre of mahogany” (The New York Times). This season, he makes an exciting role debut with Houston Grand Opera as Captain Von Trapp in the beloved The Sound of Music, and returns to the Metropolitan Opera, singing Papageno in the holiday presentation of The Magic Flute and covering Schaunard in La bohème. The baritone also makes two notable role reprisals, singing Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Arizona Opera and Des Moines Metro Opera, and Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor with New Orleans Opera. With the Grand Teton Music Festival, he will sing Papageno under the baton of Donald Runnicles, and he also joins the Cincinnati May Festival for Haydn's The Creation.

Elliott began the 2022-23 season with an anticipated role and house debut as Enrico in Simon Stone’s production of Lucia de Lammermoor with Los Angeles Opera. In December 2022, he returned to Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra as the baritone soloist in Mozart’s Great Mass and Handel’s Messiah, while the spring of 2023 brought a return to the Metropolitan Opera to cover both the title role in Don Giovanni and Schaunard in La bohème.

A frequent guest at Des Moines Metro Opera, Elliott returned in summer 2022 to sing the role of Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. His 2021-22 season began with his return to the Metropolitan Opera singing Schaunard in La bohème, followed by performances as the title role in Eugene Onegin at Opera Omaha. In the 2020-21 season he was seen as Marcello in La bohème for his debut at San Diego Opera, Escamillo in Carmen with Opera Santa Barbara, and his return to Des Moines Metro Opera as Prince Yeletsky in Pique Dame as well as the role of Momus in Platée. The same season he was scheduled to perform the role of Jan in Missy Mazzoli’s Breaking the Waves with both Los Angeles Opera and Houston Grand Opera (cancelled due to COVID). 

Recent seasons have seen major debuts for Elliott, including at both the Metropolitan Opera and Houston Grand Opera singing the role of Zurga in Les pêcheurs de perles. He made his Carnegie Hall debut with the American Symphony Orchestra for Elgar’s The Kingdom as well as with New York’s PROTOTYPE Festival as Lucifer in Rev 23, directed by James Darrah and conducted by Daniela Candillari. He recently returned to Tulsa Opera for performances of Escamillo in Carmen, as well as to the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra as Don Fernando in Fidelio

Elliott made two significant festival debuts in the summer of 2018, both in celebration of Leonard Bernstein’s centennial. He appeared with the Ravinia Festival in June under the baton of Marin Alsop as a Street Singer in Bernstein’s MASS, followed by performances of Maximilian, the Sea Captain and the Grand Inquisitor in Candide at the Tanglewood Festival. Recent operatic appearances include Sonora in La fanciulla del West in his debut with New York City Opera, Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Opera Santa Barbara, Anthony in Sweeney Todd and the title role of Eugene Onegin with Portland Opera, and as Guglielmo in Così fan tutte and Silvio in Pagliacci with Opera Omaha. A proponent of contemporary works, he appeared as John Brooke in Little Women with Madison Opera and Annapolis Opera, Edward Kynaston in Carlisle Floyd’s Prince of Players with the Florida State Opera, and covered the role of Doug Hansen in Joby Talbot’s Everest at Dallas Opera. A frequent performer on concert stages around the United States, Elliott made his debut with the Cleveland Youth Orchestra for Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs, and he has returned to Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in performances as Brander in Berlioz’s La damnation de Faust and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra for Bruckner’s Te Deum.

On the concert stage, Elliott has appeared with The Knights for Master Peter’s Puppet Show at the Brooklyn Academy of Music; Marcello in La bohème and Escamillo in Carmen with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra; Marcello with the Greater Bridgeport Symphony; Papageno in Die Zauberflöte with the Orlando Philharmonic; Haydn’s The Creation, Handel’s Messiah and Bach’s St. John Passion with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra; and in a concert of operatic and holiday duets with acclaimed soprano Leona Mitchell under the auspices of the Tulsa Opera

As a young artist with Portland Opera he performed the roles of Belcore in L’elisir d’amore, Le Dancaïre in Carmen, Frank in Die Fledermaus and Sam in Pirates of Penzance. Other young artist performances include Il barbiere di Siviglia as Figaro and Rorem’s Our Town as Frank at Central City Opera, as well as the Captain in Eugene Onegin and Périchaud in La rondine at Des Moines Metro Opera. In the 2013-14 season Elliott made his principal artist debut as Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro with Tulsa Opera, having previously sung the roles of the Corporal in La fille du régiment and the Postman in Loesser’s Most Happy Fella as a 2012-13 studio artist. 

Elliott is a graduate of the prestigious Merola Opera Program at the San Francisco Opera and is the recipient of the 2013 John Moriarty Award for his outstanding contribution to Central City Opera.  

A native of Florence, South Carolina, Elliott attended Florida State University, where he studied with David Okerlund.

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