Christian Thurston
New Zealand baritone Christian Thurston is a recent graduate of the Minnesota Opera Resident Artist Program. He has been praised as a “rich baritone sounding more than ready for prime time”. In the 2020 season, Thurston returns to Minnesota Opera to sing the Steward in Flight, makes his Theatre Latté Da debut as Marcello in La Bohème and returns to New Zealand to sing the title role in Don Giovanni.
In the 2018-19 season he performed the roles of Maggiordomo in La Rondine, Gordon in Silent Night, Emilio in The Italian Straw Hat and the Marquis in La Traviata.
In the 2017-18, he performed the roles of Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, Marullo in Rigoletto and Nicias’ servant in Thaïs. He is a graduate of the New Zealand School of Music and the prestigious Manhattan School of Music. At MSM, he performed the roles of Count Homonay in Strauss’ Der Zigeunerbaron, Harasta in Janacek’s The Cunning Little Vixen, Pandolfe in Massenet’s Cendrillon, Azolan in Susa’s Les Liaisons dangereuses and Miller in Verdi’s Luisa Miller.
In New Zealand he sang the role of the Imperial Commissioner in Madama Butterfly with New Zealand Opera, as well as covered Dandini in La Cenerentola. At the New Zealand School of Music he performed Snug in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Pasha Seid in Verdi’s rarely performed Il Corsaro. He has also sung Chichibio in Mozart’s rarity L’oca del Cairo and performed Don Polidoro in Cimarosa’s L’Italiana in Londra.
The baritone, a third place winner in the Lexus Song Quest with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, has also been seen in concert as a soloist singing in Celebrating Lilburn with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Fantasia on Christmas Carols with Kapiti Orchestra and concert performances of Viktor Ullmann’s Der Kaiser von Atlantis and Richard Fuch’s Vom Judischen Schicksal. Christian Thurston was a Connecticut district finalist in the Metropolitan National Council Auditions, a winner of the Alan M. and Joan Taub Ades Vocal Competition and was a Dame Malvina Major New Zealand Opera Emerging Artist.
