"Okulitch is in the prime of his vocal life, and the subtlety of his artistry just keeps growing."--Musical Toronto

current performances

2024-25 season highlights

  • Johan in Paola Prestini and Royce Varek’s Silent Light with National Sawdust (Sept ‘24)

  • Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem with Malmö Symphony Orchestra under Pierre Bleuse (Nov ‘24)

  • Johnson/Owens in Rhiannon Giddens and Micheal Abels’ Omar, Alumni Concert, Oberlin Conservatory (Dec ‘24)

  • Handel’s Messiah with Seattle Symphony Orchestra (Dec ‘24)

  • Debut with Canadian Opera Company as Axel Oxenstierna in Julien Bilodeau qnd Michel Marc Bouchard’s La Reine Garçon (Jan/Feb ‘25)

  • Debut with Deutsche Oper Berlin as The Protector in George Benjamin’s Written on Skin (May ‘25)

recent performances

  • Debut with OpernHaus Zürich as Conte Almaviva in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro (June/July 2022)

  • Return to San Francisco Opera as Johnson/Owens in Rhiannon Giddens and Micheal Abels’ Omar (October/November 2023)

  • Debut with Operafest Røykenvik in concert (June 2023)

  • Return to Manitoba Opera as Escamillo in Carmen (April ‘24)

  • Baritone soloist in Rachmaninoff’s Spring Op. 20 with Orquesta y Coro de la Communidad de Madrid (June ‘24)

Career Highlights

  • Mark Rutland in Nico Muhly’s Marnie with the English National Opera, directed by Michael Mayer

  • Ennis del Mar in World Premiere of Charles Wuorinen's Brokeback Mountain with Teatro Real, Madrid, directed by Ivo Van Hove

  • Seth Brundle in World Premiere of The Fly at Le Chatelet and Los Angeles Opera, composed by Howard Shore (Lord of the The Rings, The Hobbit), directed by David Cronenburg (The Fly, Eastern Promises), Libretto by David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly), conducted by Placido Domingo

  • Numerous World Premieres including LBJ in David T Little's JFK with Fort Worth Opera, Willy Wonka in The Golden Ticket (St Louis and Atlanta), Enemies, A Love Story (Palm Beach Opera), Frau Margot (Fort Worth Opera), and Cyrano (Michigan Opera Theater)

  • Canadian Premiere of Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking as Joseph DeRocher

  • Schaunard in Original Broadway cast of Baz Luhrmann's La Boheme at the Broadway Theater

  • Don Giovanni at 16 different houses, including the Bolshoi, New York City Opera, Teatro Colon Buenos Aires, Santa Fe Opera, Vancouver Opera, Portland Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Kansas City Lyric Opera, and Michigan Opera Theater.

  • George London Award Winner, 2nd prize in Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation Competition, Sullivan Foundation Award Winner, Canada Council Artists Grant recipient in 2006, 2008 and 2020.

Critical Acclaim

  • "Okulitch... grounded the entire evening with his voice..." - Schmopera

  • "Mr. Okulitch sang magnificently. " - The New York Times

  • "The rich-voiced bass-baritone Daniel Okulitch gives his all to the role of Ennis. Tall, handsome and an instinctive actor, Mr. Okulitch embodies the character from the moment we first see him, his cowboy hat almost covering his eyes, his stride nervous and halting." -The New York Times

  • "Daniel Okulitch sings Giovanni with an irresistible bass-baritone that helps explain why women would be drawn to an oleaginous sociopath." -New York Magazine

  • "He sings with richness, vigor and subtle lyricism and brings a dark, brooding quality to the character. When not in a scene, he sits to the side, grim and pensive. He conveys his aristocracy through his manner and dress: his elegant suit, stylish haircut and narcissistic preening. All the characters, even the men, seem drawn to him."-The New York Times

  • "Okulitch’s Figaro is the stuff of greatness. He is still young enough to be completely right for the role, and his loose-limbed geniality makes him the irresistible focus of attention every second he’s on stage. When all Figaro’s brash confidence finally sours late in the day, Okulitch musters the dramatic reserve to pull it off with real psychological insight." -Vancouver Sun

  • "Canadian bass-baritone Daniel Okulitch likewise dazzled with his swaggering portrayal of the skirt-chasing Count Almaviva, who petulantly stomps his feet and wields large axes. His robust vocals, as displayed during his Act 3 recitative and aria "Hai già vinta la causa! ... Vedrò, mentr’io sospiro," added brooding gravitas to the comic froth. His truly touching finale, "Contessa perdono!", where he begs his long-suffering wife for forgiveness, added its own grace note to the show." -Winnipeg Free Press

  • "Daniel Okulitch created a delightfully despicable Don Giovanni, singing with character, power and perfect ease...." -Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

  • "In addition to his handsome and statuesque stage presence, Okulitch has a dynamic voice, full of resonating depth but also a brightness in his higher register that is backed up by a lot of power. He brings out all the lyrical beauty of the role, while also maintaining its brooding darkness." -New Orleans Times Picayune

  • "Baritone Daniel Okulitch’s multisided incarnation of Herman was a tour de force, vocally and dramatically..." - Pittsburgh Post Gazette

Biography

Lauded as "flat out brilliant" by Opera News, Canadian bass-baritone Daniel Okulitch is a leading interpreter of Mozart roles, most notably Don Giovanni, Almaviva, and Figaro, which he has performed at New York City Opera, Teatro Colón, Los Angeles Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Moscow Philharmonic, Opera Warsaw, Vancouver Opera, Dallas Opera, New Orleans Opera, Portland Opera, Michigan Opera Theater, Hawaii Opera, Manitoba Opera, and Lyric Opera Kansas City. Okulitch has also equally excelled in creating leading roles in contemporary opera, most notably the roles of Ennis del Mar in Charles Wuorinen’s Brokeback Mountain at Teatro Real in Madrid and New York City Opera; Mark Rutland in Nico Muhly’s Marnie at English National Opera; Seth Brundle in Howard Shore's The Fly at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris and at Los Angeles Opera; Willy Wonka in Peter Ash's The Golden Ticket at Opera Theatre of St. Louis and Atlanta Opera; LBJ in JFK with Fort Worth Opera and Opera de Montreal; and Herman Broder in Ben Moore’s Enemies, A Love Story at Palm Beach Opera.

Engagements this season include performances he sings the role of Johan in the world premiere of Paola Prestini’s Silent Light at National Sawdust in New York, and returns to The Protector in George Benjamin’s Written on Skin with which he makes his debut with the Deutsche Oper, Berlin. In concert, Daniel Okulitch sings Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem with Malmö Symphony Orchestra under Pierre Bleuse, Rachmaninov’s Spring cantata with Orquesta y Coro de la Communidad de Madrid conducted by Music Director Marzena Diakun, and with Cincinnati May Festival in Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem under Stephanie Childress.

Okulitch’s career first garnered national attention in the role of Schaunard in the original cast of Baz Luhrmann's Tony Award-winning Broadway production of La bohème. Other career highlights include his Teatro alla Scala debut as Theseus in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream; his Washington National Opera debut in the role of Swallow in Peter Grimes which he also performed at La Scala; performances as General Groves in a new production of John Adams’ Doctor Atomic at Santa Fe Opera; Creonte in Médée with Opera Genève; his return to Vancouver Opera as Joseph De Rocher in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking; and his role debut as Leporello in Don Giovanni at Opéra de Montréal.

Other recent engagements have included the title role in Handel's Saul with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale at Walt Disney Concert Hall, the title role in Don Giovanni with Manitoba Opera, his debut with the San Diego Symphony as baritone soloist in Puccini's Messa di Gloria, Dead Man Walking (Joseph de Rocher) at Calgary Opera and Fort Worth Opera, the Canadian premiere of Joey Talbot’s Everest (Beck Weathers), Kevin Puts' Silent Night with Opéra de Montréal (Lieutenant Horstmayer), Menotti's The Last Savage (Abdul) with Santa Fe Opera, Carlisle Floyd's Susannah (Olin Blitch) with Boheme Opera, and Mark Adamo's Little Women (Frederich Bhaer) with Fort Worth Opera and Calgary Opera. In concert, he has been heard with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Chicago's Grant Park Festival, Portland Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and MasterVoices in works ranging from Beethoven's 9th to Vaughan Williams' Dona Nobis Pacem and Bach's St. John's Passion.

Okulitch can be heard on the original cast recording of Baz Luhrmann's production of La bohème, Chausson's Le Roi Arthus with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Thomas Pasatieri's Frau Margot, and David DiChiera's Cyrano de Bergerac. His first solo recording, The New American Art Song, featuring the songs of Ricky Ian Gordon, Jake Heggie, Lowell Liebermann and Glen Roven, was released on GPR Records in March of 2011 and is available online at GPR Records and Amazon. He was praised by Gramophone for his “luxuriantly rich and well controlled” voice.

Okulitch is the recipient of numerous awards and prizes, including first prize from the George London Foundation, the Joyce Dutka Arts Foundation, and the Sullivan Foundation, and second prize from the Licia Albanese / Puccini Foundation Competition. He was a previous regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera Grand Council Auditions and additionally has received grants from the Singers Development Fund and from the Canada Council for Professional Musicians, as well as received the Andrew White Memorial Award and a Corbett Award. Daniel Okulitch received an artist diploma in opera from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, and received his Bachelors and Masters of Arts degrees in voice and opera from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.