John Holiday

In repertoire encompassing Handel’s Giulio Cesare in Egitto to Dove’s Flight and beyond, countertenor John Holiday’s expressive and richly beautiful voice has made him an increasingly sought after artist, possessing a “vocal instrument that threatens to equal the name artists in his range” (Herald Times). Holiday is the recipient of the Marian Anderson Award from The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Washington National Opera. He began the 2017.18 season with a debut at Opera Philadelphia singing the role of John Blue in the world-premiere of Roumain's We Shall Not Be Moved, a production directed by the award-winning Bill T. Jones that will also be seen at the Apollo Theater in New York. Also this season, he will debut at Florida Grand Opera as Orfeo in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice and debut in Flight as the Refugee at Des Moines Metro Opera. Holiday will make his Kennedy Center recital debut at the Terrace Theater. With the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel, he will sing Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms in Los Angeles and on tour at Carnegie Hall, in Paris at the Philharmonie and in London at the Barbican Centre. Recently, Holiday premiered Huang Ruo’s Paradise Interrupted at the Spoleto Festival USA, Lincoln Center Music Festival and Singapore Arts Festival. On the concert stage, he sang the The Messiah with the Nashville Symphony, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms with the Phoenix Symphony, and Tolomeo in Giulio Cesare with Boston Baroque. In the summer of 2017, he returned to the Glimmerglass Festival to make his debut in the title role of Xerxes.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to pursue a career in music?

“The world needs you and your artistry. I would tell the young artists what I hope they are being told by their parents, mentors and teachers. Each day continue striving to become better at your craft, and keep your eyes on the goal which you’ve set for yourself. There are already many famous singers, far too many to name, so don’t set out trying to be the next anyone. Get about the business of being the best you that you can be.”