Washington, D.C. native Christian Simmons, bass-baritone,
was a winner in the 2023 Metropolitan Opera Eric and
Dominique Laffont Competition. Mr. Simmons makes his
European debut with Deutsche Oper Berlin for the 2023/24
season, as a winner in the Opera Foundation’s 37th Annual
Scholarship Competition.
In the summer of 2024, Mr. Simmons performed with the
National Symphony Orchestra in Otello (Lodovico). He then
performs in La bohème (Colline) with both Opera Baltimore
and Opera Carolina. He also makes his Florentine Opera debut
in Carmen (Zuniga).
With Deutsche Oper Berlin, Mr. Simmons was seen in Carmen
(Zuniga), Anna Bolena (Lord Rochefort), Tosca (Sciarrone), Gianni Schicchi (Betto di Signa),
Nabucco (High Priest of Babylon), Die Zauberflöte (2nd Armored Man), Madama Butterfly
(Commissioner), Lohengrin (3rd Noble), La traviata (Messenger), and La bohème (Sergeant). Also
in the 2023/24 season, Mr. Simmons made his Atlanta Opera debut in La bohème (Colline) and
joined the Santa Fe Opera as an Apprentice Artist, covering Vodnik in Rusalka.
As a member of the Cafritz Young Artists of the Washington National Opera, Mr. Simmons covered
in Il trovatore (Ferrando) and La bohème (Colline), and performed in Blue (Policeman). Other
appearances with Washington National Opera include the documentary film and studio recording of
Jeanine Tesori and Tazewell Thompson’s Blue and the young artist performance of Carmen (Zuniga).
In the 2021/22 season, Mr. Simmons was a featured soloist with Maestro Gianandrea Noseda and the
National Symphony Orchestra, performing the bass soloist in Mozart’s Requiem and concert aria
“Per questa bella mano” at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. During the summer he performed with
Barnard College in Southern Crossings (January) and Annapolis Opera in La bohème (Colline).
Mr. Simmons has performed with various festivals and companies around the world including the
Morgan State University Theater, Bel Cantanti Opera Company, Washington Opera Society,
Castleton Music Festival, Amalfi Coast Music Festival, Berlin Opera Academy, Bare Opera
Company, and the Maryland Opera Studio. Performance highlights include Le nozze di Figaro
(Figaro), Aida (King), Rigoletto (Sparafucile), L’incoronazione di Poppea (Seneca), Roméo et Juliette
(Duke), La finta giardiniera (Nardo), The Wiz (Lion), and The Devil and Daniel Webster (Jabez
Stone). Mr. Simmons has also been featured as the bass soloist in such works as G.F. Handel’s
Messiah, J.S. Bach’s Magnificat, Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem, Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem, and Franz
Schubert’s Mass in G Major.
A graduate of Morgan State University and the Maryland Opera Studio, Mr. Simmons is a proud
member of the nation’s first and largest music fraternity, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of
America. His inspiration for singing comes from a quote from the late Dr. Nathan M. Carter, “Music
is ministry: it has to go beyond the page; it must inspire.”