Grammy-nominated tenor Barry Banks will join the Peabody Conservatory’s Vocal Studies faculty beginning in the 2023-24 academic year.
Banks has performed leading roles in the major opera houses throughout the world. In his core repertoire of bel canto and Classical roles, highlights include Don Narciso (Il turco in Italia) and the title role in Mitridate, re di Ponto at the Bayerische Staatsoper; Ernesto (Don Pasquale) at the Royal Opera House; Count Almaviva (Il barbiere di Siviglia) at Staatsoper Unter den Linden (Berlin); Idreno (Semiramide) at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples; Arnold (Guillaume Tell) at Welsh National Opera; Tamino (Die Zauberflöte) at the Salzburg Festival; and the title role of Candide at Chicago Lyric Opera for his US debut. He has performed more than 20 roles with the Metropolitan Opera, including Hades in Matt Aucoin’s Eurydice. His concert career has included performances with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Münchner Philharmoniker, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, among others. He has a large discography including three recordings of Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 and a solo album of bel canto arias.
At Peabody, Banks joins a distinguished faculty of world-class performers, teachers, and thought leaders at the forefront of the local, national, and international arts communities. The Vocal Studies Department provides expert vocal and musical coaching, technical training, study of language and diction, and special insights into the interpretation of vocal music of all periods, with a strong commitment to the music of the 20th century.
