About

With a voice described by Bachtrack as “gloriously lyrical”, Australian baritone Samuel Dale Johnson has established a reputation as one of the leading young baritones of today. In the 2023 - 2024 season, Mr. Johnson returns to Scottish Opera to perform Figaro in a new production of Il barbiere di Siviglia, and to the Deutsche Oper Berlin for numerous roles including the Father in Hänsel und Gretel, Ping in Turandot and Angelotti in Tosca. In concert, Mr. Johnson will make his debut with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra for Messiah, and appears again with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for Beethoven’s Symphony no. 9.

From 2017 - 2023, Mr. Johnson was a member of the ensemble of the Deutsche Oper Berlin where his recent roles included Escamillo in Carmen, Figaro in Il barbiere, the title role in Don Giovanni, Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Marcello in La bohéme and Angelotti in Tosca. Other recent highlights include house debuts with Opéra de Rouen Normandie and the Glyndebourne Festival, both as Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and a concert debut with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland for Carmina burana. 

Previous highlights of recent seasons include Mr. Johnson’s US debut as the Count in Le nozze di Figaro at the Santa Fe Opera, Belcore in L’elisir d’amore with both the Bordeaux Opera and Zurich Opera, the title role in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin for Opera Holland Park and Scottish Opera, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte for Northern Ireland Opera and Mr. Johnson’s Japanese debut as the Count Le nozze di Figaro at the Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival.

Mr. Johnson is an alumnus of the renowned Jette Parker Young Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House, where his numerous roles included Moralès in Carmen, Silvio in Pagliacci, Albert in Werther, Leuthold in Guillaume Tell, and Baron Duphol in La traviata. While at Covent Garden, Mr. Johnson made his London Symphony Orchestra debut in Tom Ades’ orchestral work Brahms, conducted by the composer.

Mr. Johnson graduated with a Master of Music from the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, where he was a recipient of the RJ Hamer Opera Scholarship with the Dame Nellie Melba Opera Trust. In 2013 he was awarded 1st Place in the prestigious German Opera Award from the Australian Opera Foundation. Other awards include the Dr Francesco Castellano Operatic Italian Award and the Mostyn Hanger Award for an Outstanding Performance in an Operatic Production (Saul, Gianni Schicchi).

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