Baritone Geoffrey Schmelzer is a third-year Resident Artist at Philadelphia’s Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA), where he studies with Bill Schuman. A native of Skokie, IL, he holds a Master of Music from Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Illinois. Geoffrey’s AVA credits include David in L’amico Fritz, Valentin in Faust, Junius in The Rape of Lucretia, Fiorello in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Figaro in the outreach performance of this production, and two years in the annual sacred music concert, Jubilate! As a 2025 Festival Artist at Opera Saratoga, he sang Le Baron in La Vie parisienne and covered Georg in She Loves Me. Geoffrey was a Young Artist at the 2024 Glimmerglass Festival, appearing in Kevin Puts’ Elizabeth Cree, covering the Major-General in The Pirates of Penzance, and appearing in Pagliacci. He has previously sung Grégorio in Roméo et Juliette at Central City Opera and Guglielmo in Così fan tutte at Finger Lakes Opera. Geoffrey returned to Northwestern to perform Ravel’s Histoires naturelles as a winner of the school’s 2023 Concerto Competition. In the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, Geoffrey has won Encouragement Awards from the Iowa District, the Nebraska District, and the St. Louis District. Geoffrey was a Young Artist Crossover Winner in the 2024 Opera Mississippi John Alexander Vocal Competition.