Ryan McKinny

Recognized by Opera News as “one of the finest singers of his generation,” American bass-baritone Ryan McKinny has earned his reputation as an artist with something to say. His relentless curiosity informs riveting character portrayals and beautifully crafted performances, reminding audiences of their shared humanity with characters on stage and screen.

This season, McKinny brings his commanding bass-baritone to Hans Vollman in the world premiere of Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek’s Lincoln in the Bardo at the Metropolitan Opera, with Yannick Nézet-Séguin on the podium. He returns to the Met later this season as Lieutenant Horstmayer for the house premiere of Silent Night, following a critically acclaimed performance at Houston Grand Opera, where Texas Classical Review said his “resonant singing brought Horstmayer’s battlefield brusqueness to the fore,” while “displaying the officer’s compassionate side with gentler and mellower singing.” Elsewhere, he appears at Cincinnati Opera as Escamillo in Carmen, Aspen Music Festival in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and Kansas City Symphony in Vaughan Williams’ Sea Symphony. In his growing work as a stage director, he also creates a new production of Tosca at Wolf Trap Opera with co-director Tonya McKinny and a double bill of Jake Heggie’s Before It All Goes Dark and Another Sunrise for Piedmont Opera’s 50th Anniversary Season.

He has recently appeared as the title character in Don Giovanni (Washington National Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Boston Symphony Orchestra), Bluebeard’s Castle (Boston Lyric Opera, Omaha Symphony, Gürzenich Orchestra), Der fliegende Holländer (Staatsoper Hamburg, Glimmerglass Festival, Ópera National de Chile), Dead Man Walking (Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago), and Mozart’s Figaro (Washington National Opera, Seattle Opera, Metropolitan Opera). He also created the role of Mac in the world premiere of Jake Heggie’s Before It All Goes Dark, which was released on Warner Classics and subsequently nominated for a 2026 Grammy® Award.

McKinny has appeared with major orchestras including Chicago Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, National Symphony, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and the Philadelphia Orchestra, under the batons of conductors such as Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Gustavo Dudamel, and Marin Alsop. In 2024, he was featured on commercial recordings with both the National Symphony and LA Philharmonic.