Ben Wager, Bass-baritone

ArtSmart Fundraiser. With Richard Raub.

ArtSmart fundraiser with friends from the good ol’ AVA days.

This evening! I’ll be singing with some incredible colleagues. AND it’s to benefit this great organization which I’ve been working with for over five years!

OneCause

Singing with some old friend in Philly!

ArtSmart staff and Philly mentors are joining forces for The Power of Music on Oct 18. 🎼🎟 onecau.se/powerofmusic

Join us for good food and an an exciting program of beloved opera classics and popular songs standards. Help us spread awareness of ArtSmart's mission and support the work ArtSmart does for students in Philly and beyond.

This concert will feature:
Michael Fabiano
John Viscardi
Andrew Monath
Ben Wager, Bass-baritone
Danielle Bavli
Erin Alcorn, soprano
Jade Blocker
Jasmine Jahwula Seapoe
Lisa Gwyn Daltirus
Lucas DeJesus
Paul Giess
Sinnia Brown (aka Queen Maya Lassiter)

Season 5 with ArtSmart!

⭐ Introducing the 2023-24 ArtSmart Mentors! ⭐

ArtSmart mentors, new and returning, across the country gathered together on Zoom this weekend to kick-off the 2023-24 academic year.

We are so excited to see all of our students in person soon and cannot wait to get to music-making! 💙🎼

Opening night for my voice students. Toi toi toi!

In Baltimore for a Bel Canto “Best of…” production. VERY fun repertoire with an immensely talented cast of colleagues.

Maryland Opera Opera is a timeless and exciting experience, especially when presented with Maryland Opera’s innovative artistry at unique venues across the state of Maryland. This is the essence of Maryland Opera.

𝑴𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑫𝒐𝒏 𝑮𝒊𝒐𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒊
Ben Wager is a graduate of the University of Delaware, where he studied criminology, and the prestigious Academy of Vocal Art, as well as an alumnus of the Merola Opera Program at San Francisco Opera.
Mr. Wager’s 2022-23 season features concert appearances with the Springfield Symphony and Topeka Symphony. Last season included a return to his hometown company Opera Philadelphia as Monterone in Rigoletto, while during the COVID-19 impacted 2020-21 season, the bass again returned to Opera Philadelphia for a concert at the Mann Center in place of Tosca, in which he was slated to sing Angelotti.

A former member of the ensemble at the Deutsche Opera Berlin, his roles performed in the prestigious house include Escamillo in Carmen, Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, Panthus in Les Troyens, Angelotti in Tosca, Der Steuermann in Tristan und Isolde, Doctor Grenville in La traviata, and Johann in Werther.

Mr. Wager created the role of General Audebert in the critically acclaimed world premiere of Silent Night with Minnesota Opera, with whom he has also performed Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Hindley Earnshaw in Wuthering Heights, and the Bass Roles in the North American Premier of Jonathan Dove’s Adventures of Pinocchio. He has also enjoyed multiple performances with Opera Delaware as the Commentator in Scalia/Ginsburg, the Warden in Dead Man Walking, the Usher in Trial by Jury, Lo Spettro and Luciano in Amleto, and the Bass soloist in Rossini’s Petite messe solennelle; Farfarello in Love for Three Oranges with Opera Philadelphia; Edwin Cheney in Shining Brow with UrbanArias; Blitch in Susannah with Baltimore Concert Opera; Escamillo with Den Norske Opera; the Hotel Manager in Powder Her Face with Odyssey Opera and the Opera Company of Philadelphia; Taddeo in L’italiana in Algeri, the Police Sergeant in Pirates of Penzance, Colline in La boheme, and Angelotti in Tosca with Lyric Opera of Kansas City; Il Re in Aida with Dallas Opera; the title role in Don Giovanni with Kentucky Opera; Julian Pinelli in Die Gezeichneten with Los Angeles Opera; Count Rodolfo in La sonnambula with Washington Concert Opera; and Nourabad in Les pêcheurs de perles with Nashville Opera and Opera Cleveland.

Equally at home on the concert stage, Mr. Wager has been heard with the Oregon Symphony in Rossini’s Stabat Mater and Haydn’s The Creation; the Albany Symphony and the Oratorio Society of New York for Dvořák’s Stabat Mater; the Mozarteum of Salzburg for Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony; the Grant Park Music Festival for Haydn’s Seasons; and in a solo recital with the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society.

During the 2008-2009 season, he concluded his residency at the Academy of Vocal Arts, where engagements included Enrico in Anna Bolena, Il Vescovo in La fiamma, Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Kaspar in Der Freischütz, Gremin and Zaretsky in Eugene Onegin, Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and the bass soloist in Mozart’s Mass in C Minor.

Singing some Bel Canto favorites this Spring with Maryland Opera!

Bravissimo Bel Canto | Maryland Opera Favorite scenes from Lucia di Lammermoor, I Puritani, & Norma.

“Wotan’s Farewell.” I’ve been itching to sing this beast of an aria ever since I began this adventure all those years ago!!!

Relationship Status: It's Complicated | Springfield Symphony Relationship Status: It’s Complicated Our season of love starts with the kind of love that only a Norse God could fathom—a love so deep (and possibly misguided) that it drives a father to put his Walkyrie daughter in a time-out circle made of fire until a hero comes to rescue her. We will also p...

At the final performance of Opera Philadelphia’s ‘Rigoletto,’ a debut tenor got down on one knee Joshua Blue, who made his debut with Opera Philadelphia playing the Duke in Rigoletto, had some unfinished business on Sunday after the singers took the final bow.

We're back for another round. Catch the second performance of Rigoletto today at 2pm!

operaphila.org/rigoletto

Philadelphia is bursting with opera this spring! In addition to our upcoming La bohème performances, you can catch even more of AVA at Opera Philadelphia. AVA alumni Kara Mulder Goodrich, Soprano and Ben Wager, Bass-baritone will both appear in Opera Philadelphia's production of Rigoletto!

https://www.operaphila.org/whats-on/on-stage-2021-2022/rigoletto/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwxtSSBhDYARIsAEn0thSK_ylGdCpd6r3FEJ0QU7jn6ABdchKl1PKS6ENLOeTRGenPOnx9rRwaAiCCEALw_wcB

Back at it with this terrific cast!

This morning we held our first meet and greet in over two years to welcome the Rigoletto cast to Opera Philadelphia! This amazing group of artists, including many making their company debuts, will take the stage later this month at the Academy of Music.

operaphila.org/rigoletto

Wordle 211 3/6

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