Irish-American baritone John Allen Nelson is known for his “deliciously hearty sound” with “uniformity from top to bottom” paired with his clean musicality. His “full body approach” to acting always makes him an audience favorite.       

      This season, Mr. Nelson debuted with Opera in the Heights as Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor and joins the New West Symphony in Thousand Oaks, CA as a soloist in their Carmen & Bohemian Rhapsody concerts. He makes his anticipated return to Odyssey Opera as Senator Norton in Ulysses Kay’s Frederick Douglass in June. In the 2023/24 season, Mr. Nelson returned to Pacific Symphony as Schaunard in La Bohème after his debut the season prior. He made his Carnegie Hall debut as the Bass soloist in Mozart’s Coronation Mass and debuted with Bel Cantanti Opera as the title role in Aleko. In the 2022/23 season, Mr. Nelson jumped in to the title role of West Bay Opera's Don Giovanni and debuted with the Pacific Symphony as Marullo in Rigoletto and with Northern Lights Music Festival as Marcello in La Bohème. He also returned to the Spoleto Festival as Nicholas in Barber’s Vanessa and reprised one of his signature roles of Escamillo in The Tragedy of Carmen with Seaglass Theater Company. In 2022, Mr. Nelson made his company debuts with Opera Ithaca as Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro, with the Spoleto Festival as Alcindoro in La Bohème, and with Lubbock Symphony as Imperial Commissioner and Sharpless cover in Madama Butterfly. He also returned to the Bar Harbor Music Festival where he sang Schaunard in La Bohème. In 2021, he appeared as Guglielmo in Così fan tutte with the Bar Harbor Music Festival and made his company debut as the Ufficiale and Figaro cover in Il Barbière di Siviglia with Finger Lakes Opera.