Meet the Artist

"...a commanding presence."   Chicago Sun-Times

American bass-baritone John Marcus Bindel has rapidly made a name for himself on both sides of the Atlantic. His European debut led the Altenburger Landeszeitung to exclaim, "this young man's voice has been kissed by God - twice." Opera News recently declared that "he displayed a rich, burnished bass."  

The combination of John Marcus Bindel's vocalism, musicality and acting skills makes him "a real presence on stage" (The Denver Post) at such theatres as the WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA, LYRIC OPERA OF CHICAGO, FLORIDA GRAND OPERA, NASHVILLE OPERA, FLORENTINE OPERA, NEW YORK CITY OPERA, SPOLETO FESTIVAL and many more.  His already vast repertoire of 60 roles includes Don Giovanni in Don Giovanni, Ramfis in Aïda, Claggart in Billy Budd, Escamillo in Carmen, Zaccharia in Nabucco, Iago in Otello, Ferrando in Il Trovatore, Blitch in Susannah,  Jochanaan in Salome, Hagan in Götterdammerung, Klingsor in Parsifal, and Hunding in Die Walküre.

Some upcoming highlights for the 2007-08 season include debuts at DALLAS OPERA and BALTIMORE OPERA as Lord Cecil Maria Stuarda, HAWAII OPERA THEATER as Frère Laurent in Romeo et Juliette, and NEW ORLEANS OPERA as Monterone in Rigoletto.

Highlights for the 2006-07 season included Aïda with NASHVILLE OPERA and Rigoletto with the MADISON OPERA.

Engagements for the 2005-06 season included Vespri i Siciliani and Trilogy with the WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA, Salome with TEATRO DE LA MAESTRANZA DE SEVILLA, Das Rheingold with the WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA, and Aïda with the FLORENTINE OPERA.

Engagements for the 2004-05 season included Billy Budd and Andrea Chenier  with the WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA, Il Trovatore with the FLORENTINE OPERA, Simon Boccanegra with the SAN DIEGO OPERA, and Tosca with the WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA.

Engagements for the 2003-04 season included Die Walküre with the WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA, Romeo et Juliette with FLORIDA GRAND OPERA, Salome with NASHVILLE OPERA, Carmen with CLEVELAND OPERA, as well as Ariadne auf Naxos with the SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA.

Since his debut at the WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA  in 1995, the critically acclaimed bass-baritone returned there many times to perform in Aida, Carmen, Rigoletto, The Crucible, Il Trovatore, Simon Boccanegra, Don Giovanni, I Puritani, Boris Gudonov, Parsifal, Salome, Pique Dame, The Consul, I Vespri Siciliani, and Trilogy.  He also joined the WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA on their tour in Japan during the summer of 2002, singing in Sly and in Tosca.   

John Marcus Bindel made his NEW YORK CITY OPERA debut in the 1999-2000 season in The Magic Flute and since then has returned in Dead Man Walking, Don Giovanni, La Bohème, I Capuleti e i Montecchi,  Rigoletto, and The Ballad of Baby Doe.

Internationally, he made his European debut with Oper Altenburg and has performed Il Trovatore with the Opera de Bellas Artes in Mexico City.  In the summer of 2001 John Marcus Bindel sang in The Saint of Bleecker Street with the SPOLETO FESTIVAL in Spoleto, Italy, which was recorded on the Chandos label, and received a Grammy Award Nomination in 2002.  Additional previous engagements have included Don Giovanni and Carmen with OPERA COMPANY OF PHILADELPHIA, Die Zauberflöte and La Bohème with CLEVELAND OPERA, Carmen with OPERA COLORADO, Don Giovanni with CHICAGO OPERA THEATER, Samson et Dalila with PALM BEACH OPERA, and Burning Bright with OPERA FESTIVAL OF NEW JERSEY.  He made his LYRIC OPERA OF CHICAGO debut in 1996 in Don Carlo.

The outstanding performer made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2002, as the bass soloist in the Messiah. His orchestral repertoire includes the Requiems of Verdi, Fauré,  and Duruflé; Handel's Messiah; Schubert's Mass in G; Brahms' Neue Liebeslieder Walzer; Handel's Utrecht Te Deum and Jubilate; Dubois' The Seven Last Words of Christ; and Richard Einhorns Voices of Light which he performed with the National Symphony Orchestra.   

John Marcus Bindel was a regional finalist in the 1995,1997, 1998, and 1999 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. In 1999, Mr. Bindel was a semi-finalist in Placido Domingo's Operalia Competition in Puerto Rico. He is a graduate of Southwest Texas State University, received his Masters in Music from Northwestern University and was an apprentice with Santa Fe Opera, where he appeared in their productions in 1995 and 1996.

{updated 2/16/2008}