Award-winning baritone Corey McKern is earning attention and acclaim in his young career. As Marcello in La Bohème at the Santa Fe Opera, the Santa Fe New Mexican said, “Corey McKern’s resolute, robust-voiced and rambunctious Marcello, a perfect picture of a wannabe Parisian painter, was one of the best I’ve ever heard.”

Upcoming engagements include a return to the Santa Fe Opera as Marcello, his Opera Hong Kong and Michigan Opera Theatre debut as Marcello, the Count in Le Nozze di Figaro with the Nashville Opera and Opera Columbus, and Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor in a return to Opera Birmingham. During the summer 2010, he performs The Count/Rudolf in Schreker’s Der Ferne Klang in his debut with BARD Summerscape, and John Rutter’s Mass of the Children and Mozart’s Requiem at Carnegie Hall.

Noted engagements from the past few seasons include a return to the Santa Fe Opera in 2009 performing Masetto in Don Giovanniand covering Belcore in L’Elisir d’Amore; Papageno in Die Zauberflöte with the Arizona Opera and Tulsa Opera; Harlequin in Ariadne auf Naxos at the Indianapolis Opera; Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figarowith Opera Cleveland and Opera Birmingham; Valentin in Faustwith Opera Carolina; Marcello in La Bohème with the Nashville Opera; Pish-Tush in The Mikadowith Arizona Opera; Ping in Turandot and Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Opera Birmingham; and Morales in Carmen and Silvio cover in I Pagliacci in his New York City Opera debut.

Additional noted engagements include Marcello, Pallante in Agrippina and Shepherdin Daphne at the Santa Fe Opera; Silvio in I Pagliacci with Arizona Opera and Central City Opera; Pilot in The Little Princewith Tulsa Opera; and Papageno in Die Zauberflöte with Nevada Opera. As house favorite at Opera Omaha, Mr. McKern has performed the roles John Brooke in Little Women, Ping in Turandot,and Morales in Carmen. As former member of the Seattle Young Artist Program, Mr. McKern performed his first Papageno and Marcello.

An active concert performer, Mr. McKern recently made his Carnegie Hall debut as the baritone soloist in the Faure Requiem, as well as Mahler’s Ruckert Lieder with the Missoula Symphony, and performances with the New Choral Society in Handel’s Messiah, Brahms’ Requiem and Orff’s Carmina Burana,which he also performed with the Yakima Symphony Orchestra. His oratorio credits include Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacemand a concert of operetta highlights with the Indianapolis Symphony.

Mr. McKern is a former grant recipient from the Sullivan Foundation, as well as the first place winner of Opera Birmingham, Shreveport Opera, and Mobile Opera competitions of 2005. He holds a Master of Music degree from Indiana University, and Bachelor of Music Education from Mississippi State University.