Biography
Lester Lynch, a baritone, first gained recognition performing in prominent European opera houses before achieving success back in the United States. His extensive repertoire includes a particular focus on works by Verdi and Puccini.
Born during the late 1960s in Elyria, Ohio, close to Cleveland, Lynch spent his childhood on the eastern side of the city. Participation in a church choir led a teacher to single him out during a fourth-grade rehearsal, highlighting his vocal talent. Although his initial ambitions leaned toward piano or flute, involvement as student president of the Elyria High School Choir, combined with additional instruction, shifted his path toward vocal performance. He spent two years at Baldwin Wallace University before pursuing advanced training at the New England Conservatory of Music and the Juilliard School.
Progressing his career proved challenging initially. In a February 28, 2020 interview with Cleveland's Ideastream Radio, Lynch recounted, "I got to a certain point in my career, and people started pointing out to me that I was Black. They kept pointing it out over and over again, and so I hit kind of a ceiling." Opting to pursue opportunities abroad yielded better results, securing leading baritone parts including Scarpia in Puccini's Tosca, Count di Luna in Verdi's Il trovatore, and the central character in Verdi's Rigoletto. His performances took him to La Scala in Milan, Covent Garden in London, and collaborations in concert with the Berlin Philharmonic, among others.
These European achievements drew interest from North American presenters, resulting in engagements at the San Francisco Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, as well as appearances with orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the Houston Symphony. He has made additional trips to Europe, notably for a staging of Puccini’s Manon Lescaut at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden in Germany led by Simon Rattle. While maintaining a frequent schedule of Verdi and Puccini roles, his broader repertoire reaches from Schoenberg's Gurre-Lieder to the role of Crown in Gershwin's Porgy and Bess and includes African American spirituals.
Lynch's recordings appear on the PentaTone label. His solo release On My Journey Now: Spirituals and Hymns came out in 2017. He has also featured in several opera recordings, among them a 2020 release of Puccini's Il tabarro captured at Dresden's Kulturpalast in Germany the year prior.
Born during the late 1960s in Elyria, Ohio, close to Cleveland, Lynch spent his childhood on the eastern side of the city. Participation in a church choir led a teacher to single him out during a fourth-grade rehearsal, highlighting his vocal talent. Although his initial ambitions leaned toward piano or flute, involvement as student president of the Elyria High School Choir, combined with additional instruction, shifted his path toward vocal performance. He spent two years at Baldwin Wallace University before pursuing advanced training at the New England Conservatory of Music and the Juilliard School.
Progressing his career proved challenging initially. In a February 28, 2020 interview with Cleveland's Ideastream Radio, Lynch recounted, "I got to a certain point in my career, and people started pointing out to me that I was Black. They kept pointing it out over and over again, and so I hit kind of a ceiling." Opting to pursue opportunities abroad yielded better results, securing leading baritone parts including Scarpia in Puccini's Tosca, Count di Luna in Verdi's Il trovatore, and the central character in Verdi's Rigoletto. His performances took him to La Scala in Milan, Covent Garden in London, and collaborations in concert with the Berlin Philharmonic, among others.
These European achievements drew interest from North American presenters, resulting in engagements at the San Francisco Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, as well as appearances with orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the Houston Symphony. He has made additional trips to Europe, notably for a staging of Puccini’s Manon Lescaut at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden in Germany led by Simon Rattle. While maintaining a frequent schedule of Verdi and Puccini roles, his broader repertoire reaches from Schoenberg's Gurre-Lieder to the role of Crown in Gershwin's Porgy and Bess and includes African American spirituals.
Lynch's recordings appear on the PentaTone label. His solo release On My Journey Now: Spirituals and Hymns came out in 2017. He has also featured in several opera recordings, among them a 2020 release of Puccini's Il tabarro captured at Dresden's Kulturpalast in Germany the year prior.