American tenor John Osborn has gained international acclaim while performing in leading theaters around the world, including the Opéra National de Paris, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, the Metropolitan Opera, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Royal Opera House, Opernhaus Zürich, Dutch National Opera, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Berlin Staatsoper, Semperoper Dresden, Vienna State Opera, Theater an der Wien, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Teatro Real de Madrid, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Salzburg Festival and many more.
Recent and future highlights include Faust at Wiener Staatsoper and Opéra Royal de Wallonie—Liège, Benvenuto Cellini at Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, Werther and La juive at Oper Frankfurt, Le prophète at Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, I puritani and Hamlet at Teatro Regio in Turin and Rigoletto at Opéra de Marseille.
A native of Sioux City, Iowa, Osborn received his bachelor of music degree in vocal performance from Simpson College and graduated from the Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. Osborn made his European debut in 1997 in Cologne, Germany, as Fenton in Falstaff by Verdi under James Conlon. Osborn has won several prestigious international awards, including Operalia 1996, 2010 Goffredo Petrassi Award (cultural), 2014 Aureliano Pertile Award (tenor), 2014 Bellini d’Oro (bel canto), 2015 Friends of the Dutch National Opera “Prix d’amis” (best performance), 2015/16 Friends of Liceu Critical Award (male singer) for his portrayal of the title role in Benvenuto Cellini, 2021 Friends of the Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia for Tales of Hoffmann and most recently another Abbiati Award (critics) in 2022 for his recording of Robert le diable by Meyerbeer.
June 2025
Please note: Biographies are based on information provided to the CSO by the artists or their representatives. More current information may be available on websites of the artists or their management.
