Philip Cokorinos
Hailed by Opera News for his “comedic high jinks” and “first-rate singing,” Philip Cokorinos was winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 1985 and went on to sing his début during the Met’s 1987-1988 season. Since then, he appeared in more than 400 performances of 40 operas at The Met, including “Live from The Met” telecasts of Don Giovanni; the world première of The Ghosts of Versailles; and The Met’s premières of Sly, Cyrano de Bergerac, The Gambler, and Shostakovich’s verismo expressionist opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk, to name a few. He appeared many times in their productions of the standard repertoire, including Tosca, La bohème, La fanciulla del West, La traviata, Adriana Lecouvreur, La rondine, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Macbeth, Manon, Don Carlo, Tosca, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Gianni Schicchi, Manon Lescaut, and Le nozze di Figaro, under the baton of Maestro James Levine. The Metropolitan Opera Live in HD broadcasts have included Manon, La fanciulla del West, The Nose, Werther, Manon Lescaut, Le nozze di Figaro, La bohème and Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk.
Mr. Cokorinos’s tenure at the Metropolitan Opera continues this season with engagements such as Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, La bohème, and Tosca. Cokorinos will also perform Tosca at the Los Angeles Opera in the role of Sacristan, and Benoit/Alcindoro in La bohème at the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy, in addition to joining San Diego Opera’s long-awaited Gianni Schicchi as Simone. Last season, Cokorinos’s engagements at the Metropolitan Opera comprised La bohème, Le nozze di Figaro, Elektra, and Ariadne auf Naxos, whilst also assisting the opera house in the workshop for a new opera. He returned to the Los Angeles Opera for Tannhauser and Il Trovatore in the role of Bitterolf.
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Oct 21
New York, New York
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New York, New York
Artist Bio
Hailed by Opera News for his “comedic high jinks” and “first-rate singing,” Philip Cokorinos was winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 1985 and went on to sing his début during the Met’s 1987-1988 season. Since then, he appeared in more than 400 performances of 40 operas at The Met, including “Live from The Met” telecasts of Don Giovanni; the world première of The Ghosts of Versailles; and The Met’s premières of Sly, Cyrano de Bergerac, The Gambler, and Shostakovich’s verismo expressionist opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk, to name a few. He appeared many times in their productions of the standard repertoire, including Tosca, La bohème, La fanciulla del West, La traviata, Adriana Lecouvreur, La rondine, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Macbeth, Manon, Don Carlo, Tosca, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Gianni Schicchi, Manon Lescaut, and Le nozze di Figaro, under the baton of Maestro James Levine. The Metropolitan Opera Live in HD broadcasts have included Manon, La fanciulla del West, The Nose, Werther, Manon Lescaut, Le nozze di Figaro, La bohème and Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk.
Mr. Cokorinos’s tenure at the Metropolitan Opera continues this season with engagements such as Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, La bohème, and Tosca. Cokorinos will also perform Tosca at the Los Angeles Opera in the role of Sacristan, and Benoit/Alcindoro in La bohème at the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy, in addition to joining San Diego Opera’s long-awaited Gianni Schicchi as Simone. Last season, Cokorinos’s engagements at the Metropolitan Opera comprised La bohème, Le nozze di Figaro, Elektra, and Ariadne auf Naxos, whilst also assisting the opera house in the workshop for a new opera. He returned to the Los Angeles Opera for Tannhauser and Il Trovatore in the role of Bitterolf.
Outside of the MET, recent engagements for Mr. Cokorinos have included performances of Cappadocia, Slave, and 2nd Nazarene in Salome with Spoleto Festival USA and for the Atlanta Opera, Sacristan in Tosca with Opera San Antonio, and Grandfather in the US premiere of Martinů’s Julietta with American Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. 2020 engagements were to include Simone in Gianni Schicchi with the San Diego Opera, and a return to the Metropolitan Opera for their productions of La bohème, Tosca singing the Sacristan and Werther singing Johann. In the spring of 2021, he returned to the stage as Sacristan in Tosca with Austin Opera.
A house favorite with Los Angeles Opera, he’s appeared many times with the revered opera house. In past seasons, he made a triumphant return to the company for their “Beaumarchais Trilogy,” singing Bartolo in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia, Antonio in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, and Pasha in Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles, all under Maestro James Conlon. He later returned as Betto di Signa in their production of Gianni Schicchi/Pagliacci. He also appeared in a variety of roles with the house including Benoit/Alcindoro in La bohème, Baron Duphol in La traviata, Sacristan in Tosca, Zaretsky in Eugene Onegin, Duke of Verona in Roméo et Juliette, Zuniga in Carmen, and Ser Amantio di Nicolao in Gianni Schicchi with director Woody Allen.
Elsewhere in later seasons, he performed the title role in Don Pasquale with Opera Santa Barbara and Anchorage Opera. Additionally, Mr. Cokorinos performed the roles of Archibaldo in L’amore dei tre re and the Priest in La campana sommersa, and débuted the role of Riolobo in Florencia en el Amazonas, all with New York City Opera. He sang Daland in Der fliegende Holländer with Lyric Opera of Kansas City; and added Swallow in Peter Grimes to his many roles with Chautauqua Opera, which include Méphistophélès in Faust, Oroveso in Norma, The Forester in The Cunning Little Vixen, and Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor. With Opera Colorado, he sang Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola and Sacristan in Tosca; with the Spoleto Festival USA, Coley in Flora and Capellio in Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi; and with Central City Opera, Don Marco in The Saint of Bleecker Street, Pandolfe in Cendrillon, and his most frequently performed role: Leporello in Don Giovanni.
Additional North American engagements include Frère Laurent in Roméo et Juliette with Opera Carolina and Nashville Opera; Rocco in Fidelio with Palm Beach Opera; and Timur in Turandot with Florida Grand Opera. Canadian appearances include Banquo in Macbeth with Edmonton Opera and Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Calgary Opera and Opera Lyra Ottawa; Don Alfonso in Cosí fan tutte with Atlanta Opera, and multiple productions with Glimmerglass Opera, including Il matrimonio segreto, Le comte Ory, Il barbiere di Siviglia, and La finta giardiniera.
On the concert stage, Mr. Cokorinos’ notable symphonic appearances include Haydn’s Creation and Händel’s Messiah at Carnegie Hall, Herod in Berlioz’ L’enfance du Christ telecast with NHK Symphony in Tokyo. He appeared in concert with the Minnesota Orchestra; Cincinnati May Festival; Spoleto Festival USA; Spokane Symphony; The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra; Jacksonville Symphony; The Little Orchestra Society of New York; and in several performances with Opera Orchestra of New York including Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola, Raimondo in Wagner’s Rienzi, Rochefort in Anna Bolena, Astarote in Armida, Cardinal de Brogni in La Juive, the Prefect in Linda di Chamounix, Capellio in I Capuleti e i Montecchi, and Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, staged in the Temple of Dendur at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
His discography includes two works of Hector Berlioz with the Montreal Symphony under Charles Dutoit: Herod in L’enfance du Christ and Wagner in Huit Scenes de Faust, both released on DECCA. He can also be heard on the world-première recording of Stephen Paulus’ oratorio To Be Certain of the Dawn with the Minnesota Orchestra under Osmo Vanska, and the Grammy Award winning recording of Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles with Los Angeles Opera.
Updated July 23, 2022
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Press
"...first-rate singing..." – Opera News
La Cenerentola – “With his double takes and well-handled comedic high jinks, not to mention first-rate singing, bass-baritone Philip Cokorinos could hardly have been stronger as [Don] Magnifico.”
"...authoritative and compelling..." – Opera News
Florencia en el Amazonas – “Bass-baritone Philip Cokorinos was authoritative and compelling as Riolobo, the boatswain/river god.”
"...rolling, commanding baritone..." – Opera Today
The Cunning Little Vixen – “Surpassed by a tremendous performance from Philip Cokorinos as “Bartos, the Forester.” Mr. Cokorinos’ rolling, commanding baritone; his heartfelt outpouring of thoroughly internalized text; and his sympathetic demeanor didn’t just merely touch me, but rather became the heart of the piece, making the opera work for me in a way that no previous mounting had.”
"...stood out from the fine cast..." – Opera News
L’amore dei tre re – “Philip Cokorinos, as the blind Archibaldo, who strangles his faithless daughter-in-law, stood out from the fine cast for his commanding voice and strong projection of character.”
"...shines as the gem in the cast..." – The Emory Wheel
Don Giovanni – “Vocally, Philip Cokorinos shines as the gem in the cast as Leporello.With rich, ringing baritone notes, he often outshines his master in vocal abilities.He has fine acting chops as well, easily milking laughs from his often laughable character.”