Praised for his “luxuriant baritone” (San Diego Story), Luke Harnish is quickly establishing himself as a nuanced performer of opera, oratorio, and recital repertoire. Mr. Harnish is a current Apprentice Artist at the Santa Fe Opera, where he is covering the roles of Angelotti (Tosca) and Apollo (L’Orfeo). In the fall he will sing Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Penn Square Opera.

During the 2022 – 2023 season, Harnish completed a residency with Lyric Opera of Kansas City. There, his roles included Zuniga and Escamillo (cover) in Carmen, Dottore Grenvil in La traviata, and King Melchior in Amahl and the Night Visitors. Earlier in 2023, he sang Raphael in a performance of Haydn’s The Creation with Nashville Symphony Orchestra.

In the summer of 2022, Harnish was a Studio Artist with Chautauqua Opera, performing the roles of Jailer in Tosca and Henry B in The Mother of Us All. Other recent roles include Dr. Chillingworth (The Scarlet Letter), Nardo (La finta giardiniera), and Bob (The Old Maid and the Thief), all with Wichita State Opera Theatre. Harnish was an Apprentice Artist with Opera Neo during the 2020 and 2019 summer seasons, where he most recently performed the role of Papageno in the company’s remotely filmed cinematic adaptation of Die Zauberflöte. The previous year he sang the title role in Eugene Onegin, which was lauded as “confident” and “richly modulated” (San Diego Story).

Mr. Harnish enjoyed a close relationship with Nashville Opera throughout the 2019 – 2020 and 2018 – 2019 seasons, taking on several roles with the company, including Professor Trixie and Gus (The Cradle Will Rock), The Imperial Commissioner (Madama Butterfly), and The Page (Amahl and the Night Visitors). At the Blair School of Music, he performed the roles of Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro) and Professor Bhaer (Little Women) with Vanderbilt Opera Theatre.

Harnish’s concert credits include the role of Jesus in a staged production of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with Vanderbilt Choirs and Orchestra, Elijah and Messiah excerpts with Wichita State Choirs and Orchestra, as well as the Baritone Soloist for Serenade to Music with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. In recital, he has presented full performances of Schumann’s Dichterliebe and Schubert’s Schwanengesang.

An advocate for new opera, Harnish created the roles of Walter Beech and Roy McPhetridge in the Lisa DeSpain’s Staggerwing, commissioned by Opera Kansas. He also premiered the role of The Creation in Christopher Bell’s Frankenstein, an avant-garde chamber opera performed in collaboration with members of the contemporary dance ensemble New Dialect. Other premieres include roles in Dale Ramsey’s Mother Noah and Rachel J. Peters’ Sketchbook for Ollie.

A district winner of the 2022 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, Harnish is a recipient of awards from other prestigious competitions including the Loren L. Zachary National Vocal Competition, the Orpheus National Vocal Competition, and the Naftzger Young Artists Auditions.

Mr. Harnish is a graduate of Wichita State University, where he earned an M.M. in Opera Performance while fulfilling duties as a Graduate Teaching Assistant. He also completed an undergraduate degree at Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music and a Master’s of Education from Vanderbilt’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development. Outside of his performing career, Mr. Harnish maintains an active private teaching studio for voice, piano, and music theory lessons. He is also in demand as a church musician, having served multiple congregations in various capacities as a conductor, accompanist, and singer.