Schyler Vargas, Mexican-American baritone, is establishing himself as a versatile young talent, bringing interdisciplinary performances to the operatic, theatrical, and concert stage. Noted as a “distinguished” (Washington Classical Review) and “powerful baritone,” (Washington Post) his recent work in the dramatic song cycle UNKNOWN by Shawn Okpebholo and commissioned by UrbanArias has been featured on PBS News Hour and NPR, among other publications.

In the 2022-2023 season, Schyler will make his Carnegie Hall debut as the romantic lead, Strephon, in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Iolanthe with MasterVoices, conducted and directed by Ted Sperling. He is currently a Marion Roose Pullin Studio Artist at Arizona Opera performing Homecoming Soldier in The Falling and the Rising, Harlekin in Ariadne auf Naxos, Rolf in The Sound of Music, and Papageno in Die Zauberflöte. In the spring of 2022, Schyler made his Holy City Arts & Lyric Opera debut as Cinderella’s Prince and the Wolf in Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods and returned to Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as Morales in Carmen. Previously, he has been seen in main stage roles at The Atlanta Opera, the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, The Glimmerglass Opera Festival, Dayton Opera, and the Château de Versailles Spectacles in France. Schyler’s notable roles include: Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro by W. A. Mozart, Gabriel von Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus by Richard Strauss, Maximilian in Candide, and Riff, Diesel, and Chino in West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein with original Jerome Robbins choreography, and Frank Schultz in Show Boat by Jerome Kern, among others. On the concert stage, Schyler has performed as the baritone soloist for Orff’s Carmina Burana, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solenelle, Schubert’s Mass in Ab, and Mark Hayes’ Requiem.

An award winning performer, Schyler has seen success in competitions with notable awards including: 1st place in Tri-Cities Opera’s Vocal Competition, two time winner of the Rocky Mountain District in the Laffont Competition with the Metropolitan Opera, 2nd place and Audience Favorite in the Harold Haugh Light Opera Competition, 2nd place at the Denver Lyric Opera Guild Aria Competition, and District Winner in the Dorothy Lincoln-Smith Voice Competition. 

Prioritizing new music in his career, Schyler has proudly worked on various commissions for new operas and song cycles with the Houston Grand Opera, Cincinnati Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival, and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Schyler received his Master of Music degree from the renowned University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and his Bachelor of Music with a minor in Business Administration from Colorado State University.