Peixin Chen
About this Artist
Peixin Chen is recognized for his majestically resonant bass voice and for a keen dramatic instinct that he brings to a wide range of roles on the international opera stage. His repertoire spans from the comic parts of Donizetti, Mozart, and Rossini to the strong and serious roles of Puccini, Verdi, and Wagner. Peixin Chen has worked with an illustrious array of conductors and directors including Harry Bicket, James Conlon, Sebastian Lang-Lessing, Lorin Maazel, Enrique Mazzola, Zubin Mehta, Giancarlo del Monaco, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Michel Plasson, David Pountney, James Robinson, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Patrick Summers, Krzysztof Urbański, and Francesca Zambello.
Performances of the 2022-23 season include Sarastro in The Magic Flute at the Metropolitan Opera, Fasolt in Das Rheingold at The Dallas Opera, a return engagement with Washington National Opera as Colline in La bohème, and Philippe (cover) at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in the company’s Sir David McVicar new production premiere of the French, five act version of Verdi's Don Carlos.
Last season he joined The Metropolitan Opera in productions of The Magic Flute and Boris Godunov, bowed as The King of Egypt in Aida for Los Angeles Opera and Cincinnati Opera, and appeared with his home company, Houston Grand Opera, as Timur in Turandot conducted by Principal Guest Conductor Eun Sun Kim. The bass’s concert scheduled included performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Rafael Payare and the San Diego Symphony and with Michael Stern leading the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra.
Highlights of recent seasons include a European debut at the Festival d’Aix en Provence in Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen in a new production by Ivo van Hove, a Metropolitan Opera debut as Sarastro in The Magic Flute conducted by Harry Bicket and later performances as Masetto in Don Giovanni led by Cornelius Meister, and a return to Opera Philadelphia as Colline in La bohème conducted by Corrado Rovaris. He has sung the Verdi Requiem with the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Music Director Patrick Summers and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Leonard Slatkin and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra as well as with Andrés Orozco-Estrada and the Houston Symphony.
Peixin Chen has sung Sparafucile in Rigoletto at Santa Fe Opera and the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte with Opera Philadelphia, Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore at Washington National Opera, and the Patriarch of Moscow in Dvořák’s Dmitrij at the Bard Music Festival in a new production directed by Anne Bogart. With Houston Grand Opera, he has bowed as Don Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Oroveso in Norma, The King of Egypt in Aida, Ferrando in Il trovatore, Sarastro in The Magic Flute, and as Hunding in Die Walküre. As a member of the Merola Program under the auspices of San Francisco Opera, he appeared as Basilio in performances of Il barbiere di Siviglia.
Le nozze di Figaro has featured prominently in the bass’ career assaying the title role in a new production by David Paul for Opera Saratoga and bowing as Bartolo at the Houston Grand Opera conducted by Harry Bicket in the company’s acclaimed production by Michael Grandage, at Beijing’s National Center for the Performing Arts, and in fully-staged performances with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra led by Edo de Waart.
He is a graduate of the Houston Grand Opera Studio and a student of Dr. Stephen King.