Press Kit

Christian Sanders has been hailed as a "...voice whose color belies his age. Someone to watch!" (Bill Eadie, SanDiego.com). His operatic repertoire encompasses Tom Rakewell in The Rake's Progress, the title character in Albert Herring, Fenton in Falstaff, Laurie in Little Women, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi, and Prince Charmant in Cendrillon, as well as a broad range of modern opera and work by living composers. Last season brought numerous exciting engagements for Christian including Tobias Ragg in Sweeney Todd with Utah Opera, Vain Man/Snake in The Little Prince with Pacific Opera Victoria, Philip Hirschkop in the new opera Loving vs. Virginia with Virginia Opera, Flute in A Midsummer Night's Dream at Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and Sellem in The Rake's Progress at Des Moines Metro Opera. This season, Christian returns to Utah Opera to sing Stuart Ullman and Delbert Grady in The Shining, makes his house début at Opera Omaha as Little Bat in Susannah, and returns to Pacific Opera Victoria to sing Orpheus in Orpheus and Eurydice.

Christian's 2023-2024 season featured significant performances including his début as Rodolfo in La bohème with Minnesota Opera, Sam Kaplan in Street Scene with Central City Opera, and the Vain Man/Snake in The Little Prince with Utah Opera. The previous season brought engagements such as Dorvil in Rossini's La scala di seta, reprising his highly acclaimed Tobias Ragg in Sweeney Todd with Austin Opera, Beppe in Pagliacci with the Sacramento Philharmonic, Loge in Das Rheingold with Dayton Opera, and returning to the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as Little Bat in Susannah by Carlisle Floyd.

In the 2021-2022 season, he made his company début with Opera Santa Barbara singing The Song Seller in Il Tabarro, covered Miles Zegner in Proving Up with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, performed Donald Trump in The Central Park Five with Portland Opera, appeared as the title role in Orpheus in the Underworld with Madison Opera, and joined Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as Monostatos in The Magic Flute. The 2020-21 season featured his return to Des Moines Metro Opera as Tobias Ragg in Sweeney Todd and Timothy in Fellow Travelers, as well as workshops for new pieces with American Lyric Theatre and Beth Morrison Projects.

Christian was a Resident Artist with Minnesota Opera for two seasons, performing roles such as Bill in Jonathan Dove's Flight, the Young Servant in Strauss' Elektra, Prunier in La rondine, and Jonathan Dale in Kevin Puts' Silent Night, which was recorded by Pentatone. He has appeared as the Prison Chaplain in the world premiere of Theodore Morrison's Oscar with the Santa Fe Opera and has sung the title role in The Picture of Dorian Gray at the Aspen Music Festival.

As a member of the Utah Opera Resident Artist Program, Christian performed as Il Messaggero in Aïda, Don Curzio in Le nozze di Figaro, Remendado in Carmen, the Padre in Man of La Mancha, Normanno in Lucia di Lammermoor, and Castleman in Beck's The Long Walk. He has also been part of Young Artist programs at Des Moines Metro Opera and The Glimmerglass Festival, where he sang Jonathan Dale in Silent Night and stepped in as Tony in West Side Story. Christian joined The Glimmerglass Festival again to sing Bégearss in The Ghosts of Versailles by Corigliano and reprised the same role in November 2019 with Château de Versailles Spectacles in France.

On the concert stage, Christian has been the tenor soloist in works including Handel's Messiah, Bach's Magnificat, Beethoven's Choral Fantasy, and Orff's Carmina Burana. He was a finalist in the Rocky Mountain Region of the Metropolitan National Council Auditions in 2012. Christian received his Master of Music degree in Operatic Performance from Rice University and holds a Bachelor of Arts Magna Cum Laude in Music with a minor in Cell and Molecular Biology from Point Loma Nazarene University. He currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia.

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