Praised by Opera News as possessing a “smoky-dark baritone” and “remarkable confidence and color,” baritone Samuel Schultz recently made his company and role debuts as Howie Albert in Champion with Washington National Opera, Schaunard in La Bohème with Opera Omaha, and Harlekin in Ariadne auf Naxos with Berkshire Opera Festival. After making his company debut with Utah Opera in La Bohème, Samuel sang his debut performance of Carmina Burana with the Omaha Symphony. Mr. Schultz next looks forward to singing Wagner in Gounod’s Faust with Opera Omaha.

Mr. Schultz can be heard on the album New American Song @ Songfest performing the world premiere recording of Bolcom’s Gettysburg: July 1, 1863. Samuel performed in a concert version of Wozzeck with the Houston Symphony, a concert whose recording recently won a Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording.

Mr. Schultz has appeared with Houston Grand Opera as Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus, Mr. Lindquist in A Little Night Music, Morales in Carmen, The Businessman in The Little Prince, and Perückenmacher in Ariadne auf Naxos. For his Santa Fe Opera debut he performed Wyatt in the world premiere of UnShakeable. He performed Ramiro in Ravel’s L’Heure Espagnole and Don Quichotte with the Houston Symphony. Mr. Schultz sang Berio’s rarely-performed Coro, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, at the Lucerne Festival (Switzerland).

Mr. Schultz is an alumnus of the United States Senate Page Program and The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University.

Dramatic baritone Thomas Hall has become internationally known for his rich, powerful voice, particularly in the heldenbaritone roles of Wagner and Strauss. He made his European debut in 2011 at the Savonlinna Opera Festival as Telramund in Lonhengrin, a role that he later reprised at the Hong Kong Arts Festival, Polish National Opera Warsaw, and Korea National Opera. He returned to Savonlinna in the title role of Der Fliegende Hollaender, and went on to head other productions with Opera Hong Kong, Teatro Regio di Torino, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Circuito Lirico Lombardo, and Opera po Skaret in Sweden. He added the three Wotan/Wanderer roles in Wagner’s Ring des Nibelungen to his repertoire with three complete cycles for Theater Kiel, Die Walkure at Grange Park Opera, Das Rheingold and Siegfried in the Staatstheater Wiesbaden Maifestspiele, and Siegfried at Oldenburgisches Staatstheater.
Most recently Mr. Hall was seen as Jochanaan in Salome at Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, a role which he had previously performed at the Pfalztheater Kaiserslaurtern, Tiroler Landestheater Innsbruck, Opera Australia, Norwegian Opera and Balet Oslo, and Royal Danish Opera Copenhagen. Other Strauss roles include Kunrad in Feurersnot at Teatro Massimo Palermo, Orest in Elektra for Teatro Comunale di Bologna, and Barak in Die Frau Ohne Schatten at Theater Kiel.
Upcoming engagements include a return to Karlsruhe for additional performances of Jochanaan, as well as the title role in a new production of Der Fliegende Hollaender. He will also be joining the roster of the Metropolitan Opera in productions of Lohengrin and Der Fliegende Hollaender.
Other roles include Scarpia in Tosca, the Villains in Les Contes D’Hoffmann, and Amonasro in Aida. Concert repertoire includes Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and Puccini’s Messa di Gloria. Beginning his music career as a horn player, Mr. Hall changed to singing at the age of 27.