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BENJAMIN R. SOKOL Wordmark

BENJAMIN R. SOKOL

BASS-BARITONE

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" Benjamin R. Sokol honoured his teacher James Morris with a resonant, beautifully graded and articulated Vodnik"

​Opera News, David Shengold

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Schedule

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Die Zauberflöte

AUG 15

Sarastro

Savannah VOICE Festival

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Ryan Opera Center Performs at Millennium Park

AUG 23

Soloist

Lyric Opera of Chicago/Millennium Park

More Info Coming Soon
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Il Barbiere Di Siviglia

FEB 5-7

Don Basilio

Straz Center's Ferguson Hall at Opera Tampa

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Schedule

Media

Vous Qui Faites L'Endormie from Faust by Charles Gounod
Bottom’s Dream from A Midsummer Night's Dream by Benjamin Britten
Běda! Běda! Ubohá Rusalko Bledá from Rusalka by Antonín Dvořák (Orchestra Version)
Dieu Qui Fis L'Homme À Ton Image from Roméo Et Juliette by Charles Gounod
Il Lacerato Spirito from Simon Boccanegra by Giuseppe Verdi
O Isis Und Osiris from Die Zauberflöte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Bio/About
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About
 
Benjamin R. Sokol, bass-baritone, is a member of the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago, one of the world's leading artist-development programs for emerging operatic talent. Benjamin currently studies voice with Deborah Birnbaum and Julia Faulkner. Originally from the Boston area, Sokol earned his Bachelor of Music, Master of Music, and Professional Studies degrees from Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with legendary bass-baritone James Morris.
Recognized for the depth, resonance, and dramatic authority of his voice, Sokol has quickly established himself as one of the most promising young bass-baritones of his generation. Reviewing the 2024 Merola Grand Finale concert at San Francisco's War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco Classical Voice noted that Sokol "brought some brawny heft to the occasion," highlighting the vocal presence that has become a hallmark of his performances.

His growing list of honors includes the Stan Sesser Career Award, Alexandra Hunt Endowed Vocal Scholarship, Grand Prize in the 2021 Milnes Opera Idol Competition, finalist in the 2022 Opera Index Competition, semifinalist in the 2023 and 2024 Premiere Opera Foundation Competitions, Third Prize in the 2024 Mario Lanza Scholarship Competition, winner of the 2024 Opera Index Competition, winner of the 2024 Philadelphia District Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, First Prize in the 2025 Eisenberg-Fried Concerto Competition, a grant from the 2025 Gerda Lissner Foundation Vocal Competition, semifinalist in the 2025 George and Nora London Foundation Competition, First Prize at Opera Tampa's 2026 D'Angelo Young Artist Vocal Competition, recipient of the 2026 Luminarts Cultural Foundation Classical Voice Fellowship, and recipient of the 2026 Carlisle Floyd Centennial Prize.

Sokol's artistic development has included training with many of North America's most prestigious young artist programs. During the summers of 2022–2024, he was a Young Artist with the Taos Opera Institute, Chautauqua Opera Company and Conservatory, and the Merola Opera Program, while also participating in the Milnes VOICE Programs and the Savannah VOICE Festival. He returns this summer to the Savannah VOICE Festival to reprise one of his signature roles, Sarastro in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte.
Recent engagements include appearances with Lyric Opera of Chicago in Gabriela Lena Frank's El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego and Strauss's Salome. In El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego, critics praised the Ryan Opera Center trio that included Sokol, writing that they were "in great voice" and brought "good comic moments" to the production.

His repertoire encompasses a wide range of dramatic, lyric, and character roles, including Sarastro, Sprecher, and the Zweiter Geharnischer Mann (Die Zauberflöte), Sparafucile and Monterone (Rigoletto), Vodnik (Rusalka), Frère Laurent (Roméo et Juliette), Der Tod (Der Kaiser von Atlantis), Nick Bottom (A Midsummer Night's Dream), Betto di Signa (Gianni Schicchi), L'Arbre (L'Enfant et les Sortilèges), Badger and Parson (The Cunning Little Vixen), Orest (Elektra), Wagner (Faust), Il Commendatore (Don Giovanni), L'Américain (Angélique), Bartender (Speed Dating Tonight!), and both Don Magnifico and Seagull #2 in Michael Ching's A Royal Feast.

Beyond performance, Sokol is deeply committed to preserving and sharing operatic history. Having worked with artists, coaches, and pedagogues connected to many of the most influential singing traditions of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, he has developed a particular interest in operatic lineage, vocal pedagogy, and artistic legacy. His work in this area has led to appearances on classical radio and media outlets including WFMT and WQXR, where he has discussed opera, performance practice, and the transmission of operatic tradition across generations.

Combining a powerful and distinctive bass-baritone voice, major competition success, elite training, and a deep commitment to the art form's history and future, Benjamin R. Sokol is rapidly emerging as an important young artist on the American operatic stage.
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San Francisco Chronicle

Bass-baritone Benjamin R. Sokol brought some brawny heft

"

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