This season, Iowa-born baritone Ben Schaefer will return to the Curtis Institute of Music to complete his Artist's Diploma.  While there he has performed the roles of Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia and Sid in Albert Herring. In the summer of 2020 he joins the Santa Fe Opera as a member of their Apprentice Artist Program.  In 2019 he made his European debut at L'Opéra Royal in Versailles as Figaro in The Ghosts of Versailles.  He recently was heard performing at The Kimmel Center as Count Almaviva in a concert with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra conducted by maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

As a former member of the Young Artist Program at The Glimmerglass Festival, Ben has been seen as Yeletsky in Francesca Zambello's production of The Queen of Spades, Figaro in The Ghosts of Versailles, and Fiorello in Il barbiere di Siviglia while covering the title role as well as Lieutenant Audebert in Tomer Zvulun's production of Silent Night.  A past member of Palm Beach Opera's Benenson Young Artist Program, he performed the roles of Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus, Barone Douphol in La traviata, and covered both the title role and Masetto in Don Giovanni.  Other roles he has performed include Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, the title character in Gianni Schicchi, and Billy Bigelow in Carousel.  Mr. Schaefer has also taken part in the Aspen Summer Music Festival as a member of their Opera Center and Des Moines Metro Opera's Apprentice Artist Program.