Benjamin Taylor, baritone
Benjamin Taylor was a second-year Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist in 2018-2019. He performed Prince Yamadori/Madama Butterfly, Older Thompson/Glory Denied, and Schaunard/La bohème. In 2017-18 he performed Sciarrone/Tosca, Brian/The Long Walk, and Captain Gardiner/Moby-Dick.
Mr. Taylor received his Master of Music from Boston University, where he also earned his Performer’s Certificate with Boston University’s Opera Institute. While at BU, He performed the roles of Demetrius/Midsummer Night’s Dream, Guglielmo/Cosí fan tutte, Escamillo/La Tragédie de Carmen, Prior Walter/Angels in America, Alvaro/Florencia en el Amazonas, Coyle/Owen Wingrave, and Des Grieux/Le Portrait de Manon.
For the past three summers Mr. Taylor has been a Gerdine Young Artist (2015,2016) and Richard Gaddes Festival Artist (2017) at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis where he performed Fiorello/The Barber of Seville, Cowardly Giant/Shalimar the Clown, and Yamadori/Madame Butterfly, and covered Figaro/The Barber of Seville, Marcello/La bohème, Musik Teacher/Ariadne auf Naxos, Sharpless/Madame Butterfly, and Lawyer Huld and various roles/The Trial. In 2016, Mr. Taylor also performed as Marcello with Crested Butte Festival, and Yamadori in Berkshire Opera Festival’s inaugural season.
Mr. Taylor received his Bachelor’s of the Arts at Morgan State University where he sang Tom/Blue Monday with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, as well as various roles around the Maryland area.
Visit Mr. Taylor’s personal website.
Mr. Taylor’s residency was sponsored by Jean Anne Hattler.
Video clips
In this excerpt of “Teflon cookware” from Glory Denied, a disillusioned Older Thompson (Ben Taylor) recites a litany of ways that America has changed during his nine years as a Prisoner Of War in Vietnam.
In this excerpt from Glory Denied, Older Thompson (Ben Taylor) returns to his boyhood church following his nine years as a Prisoner Of War in Vietnam.
In this excerpt from Glory Denied, Older Thompson (Ben Taylor) recalls how he passed the time during his captivity (Younger Thompson/Terrence Chin Loy) by imagining the dream house he would build upon his release and return home to his wife Younger Alyce (Ashley Fabian).
In this excerpt from The Long Walk, former bomb-disposal officer Brian Castner (Artist Ben Taylor), who is struggling to adjust to his home-life in Buffalo after a traumatic deployment to Iraq, prepares to arm his minivan with a gun to keep his children safe on the drive to school.