“The most commanding voice on stage was Ben Edquist playing Gleb, the reluctant villain.”
-Broadwayworld.com
Baritone Ben Edquist is sought after for his work in contemporary opera, musical theatre, and Mozart. Ben just recently ended his time with the Anastasia North American Tour as Gleb Vaganov, and just joined the Air Force Band to perform with the Singing Sergeants.
Most recent performances include Georg Novak in She Loves Me with Madison Opera, Anthony Hope in Sweeney Todd with Des Moines Metro Opera and, in his Lincoln Center debut, Virgil/Alexios in Courageous Women of Antiquity.
As a former member of the Houston Grand Opera Studio he originated numerous roles including Edward Kynaston in Carlisle Floyd’s final opera, Prince of Players. Other highlights with Houston Grand Opera include: Belcore in L’elisir d’amore, the Pilot in The Little Prince, Jigger Craigin in Carousel, the Count in Le nozze di Figaro, and Older Thompson in Tom Cipullo's Glory Denied.
Since leaving the Studio, Ben has built close relationships with modern day composers perfoming in three other world premieres, portraying Mayo Buckman in Tom Cipullo’s newest opera Mayo, the role of Manfred in Jake Heggie's Out of Darkness: Two Remain with Atlanta Opera, and, in his European debut, the role of Remo in The Skating Rink by David Sawer with Garsington Opera.
Before the pandemic, Mr. Edquist shared performances of Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia(role debut), and Hawkins Fuller in Fellow Travelers with Madison Opera. Most recently,
Mr. Edquist spent his summers performing with the Glimmerglass Festival and Wolf Trap Opera. After a season with the Wolf Trap Opera Studio in which he sang the role of Antonio in Il viaggio a Reims, he returned as a Filene Young Artist to perform the roles of William in The Fall of the House of Usher and the Father in The Juniper Tree, then again to sing Kaiser in Der Kaiser von Atlantis and Pierrot in L'île de Merlin. Mr. Edquist made his Glimmerglass Festival debut in 2014 as Jigger Craigin in Carousel, and returned to the festival the following season to perform Papageno in a new production of The Magic Flute. Other roles of note include Sid in Albert Herring, Antonio in Le nozze di Figaro, Charlie in Jake Heggie's Three Decembers, and Guglielmo in Così fan tutte.
A native of Lake Jackson, Texas, he received his Master of Music from Rice University in 2015 and his Bachelor of Music from Vanderbilt University in 2013.
Mr. Edquist has been named a top prize winner in the William Matheus Sullivan Competition, first place winner of the Lotte Lenya Competition, and a finalist in both the Meistersinger Competition in Graz and the HGO Eleanor McCollum Competition & Concert of Arias.