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DANIEL RICH
BARITONE
BIOGRAPHY
Baltimore-born baritone Daniel Rich is a recent graduate of The Metropolitan Opera’s prestigious Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. In the 2025-2026 season, Mr. Rich will make his début in the role of Amonasro in Aida with Anchorage Opera, return to The Metropolitan Opera for their productions of Arabella and El último sueño de Frida y Diego, and appear with Winston-Salem Symphony for their concert of Handel’s Messiah.
His 2024-2025 season included débuts with Opera Philadelphia as both the Dillon and Paul covers in Mazzoli’s The Listeners, as well as The Atlanta Opera as Raymond in the premiere of Ragland’s Steele Roots. He also returned to The Metropolitan Opera as the 2nd Nazarene cover in Strauss’ Salome, and he débuted with Opera Delaware and returned to Opera Baltimore with his role début of Marcello in La Boheme. Daniel’s concert work included a tour of Angela Rice’s Thy Will Be Done with Compose Arts, Handel’s Israel in Egypt with New Choral Society, and two recitals for Opera Baltimore and Redeemer Westside.
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In recent seasons, he appeared at The Metropolitan Opera as Pâris in Roméo et Juliette and Chester in Terence Blanchard's Fire Shut Up in My Bones. Mr. Rich made his Met début during the 2022–23 season as a Waiter in Der Rosenkavalier and covered the Count of Lerma in Don Carlo. In 2024, he made his company début at Des Moines Metro Opera, where he appeared as the First Nazarene and covered Jochanaan in Salome, and sang Willie McDonald in the premiere of Damien Geter and Lila Palmer’s American Apollo.
Other operatic engagements include Masetto in Don Giovanni at Wolf Trap Opera, Valentin in Faust at Opera Baltimore, and various roles in Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels's Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Omar, including its world premiere at the Spoleto Festival in 2022 and revival at Carolina Performing Arts in 2023. On the concert stage, he has appeared as a featured soloist in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with Alexandria Symphony Orchestra, Brahms’ Requiem with Capitol Singers of Trenton, Orff's Carmina Burana with both the Richmond Symphony and Berkshire Choral International, and a concert of sacred music by Mary Lou Williams and Duke Ellington with the Los Angeles Master Chorale at Walt Disney Concert Hall, among others. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2019 as a soloist in Vaughan Williams's Serenade to Music under the baton of Leonard Slatkin and returned to Carnegie Hall in January of 2025 as a soloist for the premiere of Sir Karl Jenkins’ One World.
In 2025, he was named the third-place winner of the Partners for The Arts Vocal Competition. Other competition wins include second-place winner of Opera Columbus’ Cooper-Bing Competition, first-place winner of the George Shirley Vocal Competition, emerging artist winner of the inaugural Duncan Williams Vocal Competition, second-place winner in Opera Ebony’s Benjamin Matthews Vocal Competition, first-place winner in the Black Brilliance Art Song Competition, and first-place winner in The Mario Lanza Institute Vocal Competition. Daniel has found early success as a concert artist and recitalist performing for organizations such as Baltimore Musicales, Coalition for African Americans in the Performing Arts, and Harlem Opera Theatre to name a few.
In addition to his extensive performance experience, he has worked as a music educator in public schools, and, in the fall of 2025, he will return for his second year as an adjunct professor of voice at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. He holds degrees from Morgan State University and Manhattan School of Music, where he received the Edgar Foster Daniels Scholarship in Voice.
Current as of July 1, 2025
CRITICAL ACCLAIM
"...impressive versatility with contemplative spoken word…” – San Francisco Classical Voice
Will You Be There/Ain’t but the One – Baritone Daniel Rich showed impressive versatility with contemplative spoken word (in Ellington’s “Will You Be There/Ain’t but the One”) and jubilant gospel belts (in Williams’s “The Lord Says”).
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"...Rich was suitably repulsive..." – Bachtrack
Fire Shut Up In My Bone – “In the demanding role of Chester, the malevolent older cousin who molests the seven-year-old Charles, baritone Daniel Rich was suitably repulsive.”
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"...smoothly sung and powerfully manipulative performance..." – Parterre
Fire Shut Up In My Bone – “The traumatic experience that haunts the younger Charles is sexual abuse at age seven by his older cousin Chester (Daniel Rich in a smoothly sung and powerfully manipulative performance).”
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"...Rich’s tone is round and soulful, effortlessly guiding us along with him..." – Charleston City Paper
My Tribute – "Daniel Rich then took the stage with a powerful, tear-jerking rendition of Andrae Crouch’s “My Tribute.” A baritone soloist, Rich’s tone is round and soulful, effortlessly guiding us along with him. Met with raised hands, applause, and “Amens” throughout, his belts received the second standing ovation of the night."
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"...made a burly Masetto..." – Washington Classical Review
Don Giovanni – “Local favorite Daniel Rich, a Baltimore baritone who trained at Morgan State University, made a burly Masetto"
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"...had his finest moments in the floating falsetto..." – Washington Classical Review
Carmina Burana – Baritone Daniel Rich had his finest moments in the floating falsetto roulades of “Dies, nox et omnia.”