A Kansas native, Scott Conner has been lauded by critics and audiences for his appearances on both sides of the Atlantic. Mr. Conner’s warm, flexible voice and elegant stature brings proficiency in a wide range of repertoire, including Mozart, Rossini, Handel, Donizetti and Verdi. He is a graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts, and a Sara Tucker study grant winner from the Richard Tucker Foundation.
Scott Conner begins his 2024-2025 season with a return to The Metropolitan Opera, where he performs One-Armed Brother in Die Frau ohne Schatten, 2nd Armored Man in their holiday presentation of The Magic Flute, and Jose Tripaldi in Ainadamar. He also joins the company to cover Don Fernando in Fidelio and Colline in La bohème. In the spring, Mr. Conner makes his anticipated role and house debut as Ramfis in Aida with Arizona Opera. In concert, he sings Mozart's Requiem with the Jacksonville Symphony, and joins the Defiant Requiem Foundation for Verdi’s Requiem, performed in partnership with the Dallas Symphony.
During the 2023-2024 season, Scott Conner joined The Metropolitan Opera for its production of La bohème, returning to the stage for a performance of Colline. He also bowed with the Jacksonville Symphony in his role debut as Zuniga in Bizet’s Carmen. During the summer, the bass makes a return to Santa Fe Opera as the Police Commissioner in Der Rosenkavalier.
Mr. Conner’s previous season included a number of roles at The Metropolitan Opera, singing the Voice of Neptune in Idomeneo and returning to the role of the Police Commissioner in Robert Carsen’s acclaimed production of Der Rosenkavalier, as well as covering Colline and Creonte in Medea. He made his Canadian Opera Company debut as the 2nd Soldier in Salome, and made his Handel and Haydn debut in a semi-staged Le nozze di Figaro, singing both Bartolo and Antonio. In May 2023, Mr. Conner made his Cleveland Orchestra debut as Ashby in La fanciulla del West before returning to Des Moines Metro Opera for the summer as the King in The Love for Three Oranges.
Mr. Conner made his debut with The Metropolitan Opera in 2017 as the Police Commissioner in Der Rosenkavalier, and has subsequently returned in numerous roles, including: Schwarz in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, covering Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor and Colline in La bohème, singing Pinellino in Gianni Schicchi, and covering Bello in La fanciulla del West.
Other notable U.S. appearances include San Francisco Opera as Tom in Un ballo in maschera, Colline in La bohème and Angelotti in Tosca; San Diego Opera as Escamillo in Carmen; Santa Fe Opera as Mustafa in L’italiana in Algeri and Pistola in Falstaff; Portland Opera as Sparafucile in Rigoletto; Opera Philadelphia as The King in The Love for Three Oranges; Palm Beach Opera as Angelotti in Tosca; Lyric Opera of Kansas City as King Balthazar in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Des Moines Metro Opera as Jupiter in Platée; Bard Summerscape as a Judge in the American Premiere of Korngold's Das Wunder der Heliane and the Spoleto Festival USA as the First Soldier and First Nazarene in Salome. Additionally, he joined the roster of the Lyric Opera of Chicago to cover the role of Mephistopheles in Faust.
Scott Conner began his career in Europe as an ensemble member of Semperoper Dresden, where his roles included Colline in La bohème, Sparafucile in Rigoletto, Masetto in Don Giovanni and Don Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia. He has also appeared with the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and BBC Proms as the Police Commissioner in Der Rosenkavalier, Zürich Opera for Don Profondo in Il Viaggio a Reims, as well as Zoroastro in Orlando under the baton of William Christie; Bayerische Staatsoper singing Tom in Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera, conducted by Zubin Mehta, as well as the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence as Theseus in Robert Carsen’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Cavalli’s Elena; Opéra National de Paris as Nerbulone in Eliogabalo; Opera de Dijon as Jupiter/Vulcano in La finta pazza, led by Leonardo Alarcon; Dutch National Opera as Nerbulone in Eliogabalo and Bernardino in Benvenuto Cellini; Glyndebourne Festival Opera for Zaretsky in Eugene Onegin; and L’Opéra de Lille as Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor.
Mr. Conner was the recipient of the 1st Prize Award in the Gerda Lissner Vocal Competition and the Loren L. Zachary Vocal Competition. Conner attended the University of Missouri, Kansas City for his Bachelor of Music degree.