Hailed for his “full, exciting lyric baritone” (Opera News) and “elegant lyricism and responsive musicality” (The New York Times), Sean Michael Plumb returns to the Ensemble of the Bayerische Staatsoper in the 2022-23 season where his appearances include performances of La fanciulla del West, Peter Grimes, Boris Godunov, Die Teufel von Loudon, and Tristan und Isolde. Debuts of the season include performances at the Opéra de Lyon as Maximilian in Bernstein’s Candide in a new production by Daniel Fish led by Wayne Marshall, Albert in Werther at Houston Grand Opera conducted by Robert Spano, and Carmina Burana with Music Director Fabio Luisi leading the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. He also performs Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen in two distinct programs with the Ballet de l’Opéra national de Paris under the batons of Mikhaïl Agrest and Patrick Lange. ​ Last season Sean Michael Plumb made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Harlekin in Ariadne auf Naxos led by Marek Janowski and performances on the stage of the Bayerische Staatoper included roles in Die Zauberflöte, The Nose, Der Freischütz, and Die Teufel von Loudun working with such distinguished conductors and directors as Ivor Bolton, Vladimir Jurowski, Lothar Koenigs, Antonello Manacorda, Kirill Petrenko, Kirill Serebrennikov, Simon Stone, and Krzysztof Warlikowski. ​ Highlights to date during his tenure in Munich include successful role debuts as Dandini (La cenerentola), Papageno (Die Zauberflöte), Guglielmo (Così fan tutte), Schaunard (La boheme), Prosdocimo (Il Turco in Italia) and Apollon/Herold (Alceste), among many others. ​ Papageno in Die Zauberflöte is an ideal vehicle for Sean Michael Plumb and the role has served for his debuts with Dallas Opera conducted by Music Director Emmanuel Villaume and in fully staged performances with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra conducted by Krzysztof Urbański. Additional North American highlights include a debut with The Cleveland Orchestra as Melot in fully staged performances of Tristan und Isolde led by Franz Welser-Möst and the world premiere of The Call by German composer, Arnulf Hermann, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. ​ Passionate about Art Song, Sean Michael Plumb has been presented in numerous German venues and most recently, offered programs of R.Strauss, Ives, Barber, and Bernstein under the auspices of the Bayerische Staatsoper, the Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg, and the Heidelberger Frühling Festival. The California native made his Bayerische Staatsoper debut in the 2015-16 season in the world premiere of South Pole, by composer Miroslav Srnka and librettist Tom Holloway, and his devotion to contemporary music continues to yield marvelous results in the world premiere workshop of Jennifer Higdon and Gene Scheer’s Cold Mountain with Opera Philadelphia and Santa Fe Opera, with Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek on Breaking the Waves, in workshop performances in New York and San Francisco, and in Tobias Picker’s An American Tragedy at The Glimmerglass Festival. ​ Mr. Plumb was a member of the Salzburg Festival’s Young Singers Project in 2016 and a young artist at The Glimmerglass Festival, the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, and the Aspen Music Festival. He made his national television debut in the HBO documentary “Renée Fleming: A YoungArts MasterClass” and performed as the youngest soloist at the Grammy Week Salute to Plácido Domingo in 2010. He was honored by President Obama as a United States Presidential Scholar in the Arts at a ceremony at The White House and has garnered a multitude of awards for his singing including the 2022 Richard Tucker Career Grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation, the Grand Prize of the 2016 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Top Prize at the 2016 Gerda Lissner Foundation International Vocal Competition, a 2016 Shoshana Foundation Grant, the 2015 Sullivan Foundation Award from The Sullivan Foundation, Top Prize at the 2015 Opera Index Competition, a 2015 Sara Tucker Grant from The Richard Tucker Foundation, First Prize at the 2015 Gerda Lissner Liederkranz Competition, and the 2015 Theodor Uppman Prize from the George London Foundation. ​ Sean Michael Plumb was graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music where he studied under renowned instructors Mikael Eliasen and William Stone.