About this Artist

American bass-baritone Michael Sumuel, lauded as having “vocals that are smooth and ingratiating” (Daily Camera), in 2021/22 makes his debut as Jesus in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with LA Opera in a semi-staged production conducted by James Conlon with choreography by John Newmeyer performed by the Hamburg Ballet; returns to Seattle Opera as Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro; debuts with the Santa Fe Opera as Escamillo in Carmen; opens the Dallas Opera season with a concert of arias; and sings the roles of the King in an English-language version of Massenet’s Cinderella with the Metropolitan Opera, of Leporello in Don Giovanni with Opera San Antonio, and Escamillo with Chicago Opera Theater. On the concert stage, the artist returns to the Los Angeles Philharmonic to sing in Mozart’s Mass in C minor with Zubin Mehta at Walt Disney Concert Hall, Bach’s Easter Oratorio with Music of the Baroque, and Mozart’s Requiem with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. In the 2022/23 season, he will sing the roles of Belcore in L’elisir d’amore with the Metropolitan Opera, the Father in Blue with English National Opera, Peter in Hansel und Gretel with New Orleans Opera, and Elviro in Xerxes with Detroit Opera.

In the 2020/21 season, Michael Sumuel made his role and house debut at the Seattle Opera, performing Leporello in Don Giovanni, participating in a concert of arias with Opera Philadelphia at the Mann Center, singing in Bach’s “Ich habe genug” with Music of the Baroque in Chicago, and giving a solo recital of Schubert lieder with the Schubert Club in Minneapolis.

The artist’s competition accolades include being awarded a Richard Tucker Career Grant, being named Metropolitan Opera National Council audition Grand Finalist and winner of the Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition. A Texas native, he is an alumnus of the Houston Grand Opera Studio, Merola Opera Program at San Francisco Opera, and the Filene Young Artist program at Wolf Trap Opera. He currently resides in San Francisco with his wife and baby son.