Sean MichaelPlumb
- Baritone


About Sean Michael
Hailed for his “full, exciting lyric baritone” (Opera News) and “elegant lyricism and responsive musicality” (The New York Times), Sean Michael Plumb is one of the most dynamic and compelling baritones of his generation.
The American artist has sung on many of the most important opera and concert stages around the world including The Metropolitan Opera, Bayerische Staastoper, Salzburger Festspiele, Opéra national de Paris, Opéra national de Lyon, Houston Grand Opera, Dallas Opera, Seattle Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, and Heidelberger Frühling.
His broad operatic repertoire includes the title roles of Billy Budd and Il barbiere di Siviglia, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, Frank-Fritz in Die tote Stadt, Dandini in La cenerentola, Harlekin in Ariadne auf Naxos, and Younger Galileo in Glass’ Galileo Galilei.
In the 2025-26 season, Sean Michael Plumb makes a role debut as Marcello in La bohème at Semperoper Dresden and also performs his signature role, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte with the Saxon company. Return engagements of the season include Schaunard in La bohème at the Metropolitan Opera and the title role of Billy Budd for the Opéra national de Lyon in performanes led by Finnegan Downie Dear. On the concert stage he appears with Yannick Nézet-Séguin singing the role of Melot in Tristan und Isolde at the Festival Lanaudiere and joins Gustavo Gimeno and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for performances of Carmina Burana.
Highlights of last season include a South American debut in the title role of Billy Budd at the Teatro Colón, the roles of Frank-Fritz in Die tote Stadt at the Bayerische Staastoper, and repertoire performances of The Magic Flute and La bohème at the Metropolitan Opera. Concert appearances included Schoenberg’s Die Jakobsleiter with Ingo Metzmacher at the Elbphilharmonie, Carmina Burana with Osmo Vänskä and The Cleveland Orchestra, Fauré’s Requiem with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Carnegie Hall, and Melot in the Second Act of Tristan und Isolde with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle.
Recent season standouts include Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia at the Bayerische Staastoper and Seattle Opera, Schaunard in La bohème at the Metropolitan Opera, Maximilian in Candide with Opéra national de Lyon, Harlekin in Ariadne auf Naxos at the Metropolitan Opera and Hong Kong Arts Festival, Albert in Werther at the Houston Grand Opera, and Younger Galileo/Salviati in Galileo Galilei at the Opera Theatre Saint Louis. He was baritone soloist in performances of Carmina Burana with Fabio Luisi and the Philadelphia Orchestra both at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts and Saratoga Performing Arts Center as well as with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, sang Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen with the Ballet de l’Opéra national de Paris, and joined in the Richard Tucker Music Foundation Gala Concert at Carnegie Hall.
The California native made his Bayerische Staatsoper debut in the 2015-16 season in the world premiere of Srnka’s South Pole; he was a valuable and vibrant member of the soloist ensemble of the company for a decade, where his many appearances included performances as Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, Dandini in La cenerentola, Schaunard in La bohème, Shchelkalov in Boris Godunov, and Prosdocimo in Il turco in Italia.
Winner of a 2022 Career Grant from the Richard Tucker Music Foundation, Sean Michael Plumb 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 other awards. He graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music where he studied under renowned instructors Mikael Eliasen and William Stone.
Contact

Nicholas Moloney

Vincent Turp

Ivo Ivanov
Representation
European Management with Askonas Holt
General Management with Étude Arts
Season Highlights
Selected Repertoire
Adams
Nixon in China (Chou-En Lai)
Berlioz
Béatrice et Bénédict (Claudio)
Bernstein
Candide (Maximilian) • West Side Story (Riff)
Bizet
Les Pêcheurs de perles (Zurga)
Britten
Albert Herring (Sid) • Billy Budd (Billy Budd) • A Midsummer Night's Dream (Demetrius) • Owen Wingrave (Owen Wingrave) • Peter Grimes (Ned Keene)
Debussy
Pelléas et Mélisande (Pelléas)
Donizetti
Don Pasquale (Malatesta) • L’elisir d’amore (Belcore)
Gluck
Iphigénie en Tauride (Oreste)
Gounod
Faust (Valentin) • Roméo et Juliette (Mercutio)
Heggie
The End of the Affair (Maurice Bendrix) • It’s a Wonderful Life (Harry Bailey)
Korngold
Die tote Stadt (Frank-Fritz)
Massenet
Manon (Lescaut) • Thaı̈s (Athanaël) • Werther (Albert)
Mazzoli
Breaking the Waves (Jan)
Mozart
Cosı̀ fan tutte (Guglielmo) • Le nozze di Figaro (Conte Almaviva) • Die Zauberflöte (Papageno)
Mussorgsky
Boris Godunov (Andrey Shchelkalov)
Picker
An American Tragedy (Clyde Griffiths)
Poulenc
Les mamelles de Tirésias (Theatre Director)
Puccini
La bohème (Marcello / Schaunard) • Manon Lescaut (Lescaut)
Purcell
Dido and Aeneas (Aeneas)
Ravel
L’heure espagnole (Ramiro)
Rossini
Il barbiere di Siviglia (Figaro) • La cenerentola (Dandini) • Le comte Ory (Raimbaud) • L’italiana in Algeri (Taddeo) • Il turco in Italia (Prosdocimo)
Spears
Fellow Travelers (Hawkins Fuller)
Strauss, J.
Die Fledermaus (Frank)
Strauss, R.
Ariadne auf Naxos (Harlekin) • Capriccio (Olivier)
Szymanowski
King Roger (King Roger)
Tchaikovsky
Eugene Onegin (Onegin) • The Queen of Spades (Yeletsky), Iolanta (Robert)
Tesori
Grounded (Sensor)
Ullmann
Der Kaiser von Atlantis (Emperor Überall)
Verdi
Don Carlos (Rodrigue)
Wagner
Tristan und Isolde (Melot)
News
Press
Britten - Billy Budd (Billy Budd)
Teatro ColonJul 2025Plumb gave us a youthful Billy. His baritone is in excellent shape, so handsome in tone, with a rich, full bottom, a middle firm of tone, and a seemingly unlimited top. There was a wide-eyed innocence to his singing, that freshness of tone making Billy sound impetuous and full of life. Yet Plumb also found an introspection to his Darbies aria, founded on a smooth, even legato that gave a great amount of pleasure. This was a role debut for Plumb and, with the handsomeness of the tone and enthusiastic stage presence, it’s a role he was undoubtedly born to sing. A notable debut from this genuine and generous artist.
Extraordinario fue el Billy del barítono Sean Michael Plumb, perplejo y seguro a la vez, de timbre satinado, se diría; en “Look! Through the port comes the moon-shine astray!”, su preciosa aria del final, fue indecidible dónde terminaba la resignación y empezaba la esperanza. Extraordinary was baritone Sean Michael Plumb's Billy, at once perplexed and confident, satin-toned, one might say; in "Look! Through the port comes the moon-shine astray!", his beautiful aria at the end, it was undecidable where resignation ended and hope began.
- Pablo Gianera, La Nacion
- 03 July 2025
Puccini - La Bohème (Schaunard)
The Metroplitan OperaMay 2025Sean Michael Plumb seized every moment available to Schaunard with added comic bits while his blank despair in the final scene was touching.
- Eli Jacobsen, Parterre Box
- 28 May 2025
Puccini - La Bohème (Schaunard)
The Metropolitan OperaJan 2025 - Jan 2025Sean Michael Plumb was a vibrant presence as Schaunard, enlivening the ensemble with his humour.
- Kathryn Felt, New York Classical
- 12 January 2025
Tristan und Isolde (Act II) - Melot
MunichNov 2024 - Nov 2024Enfin, Sean Michael Plumb ne bénéfice que de quelques répliques de Melot (et une de Kurwenal), mais il y fait entendre une voix de baryton aigu très intéressante, à la projection aisée, qui s’inscrit parfaitement dans l’excellence générale.
- Pierre Venissac, Forum Opera
- 03 November 2024
Ein „Heimspiel“ als Ensemblemitglied der Bayerischen Staatsoper hat Sean Michael Plumb, in der Doppelrolle als Melot und Kurwenal agiert er solide.
- Oliver Bernhardt, Klassik.com
- 04 November 2024
Die Tote Stadt (Frank and Fritz)
Bayerische StaatsoperOct 2024Das war eine ganz große Leistung! Nicht minder zu begeistern wusste der Bariton Sean Michael Plumb, der den Frank und den Pierrot Friz mit ebenfalls phantastischer italienischer Gesangstechnik und sonorem hellem Timbre wunderbar auf Linie und ungemein ausdrucksstark sang. Sein sehr inbrünstig dargebotenes Lied Mein Sehnen, mein Wähnen, geriet zum Höhepunkt des Abends!
- Ludwig Steinbach, Der Opernfreund
- 06 October 2024
Sean Michael Plumb gab den Frank und Fritz mit einem klangschönen Bariton, sodass das Lied des Pierrot ebenfalls zu einem kleinen Höhepunkt wurde.
- Klaus Billand, Der Opernfreund
- 07 October 2024
Notevole anche Sean Michael Plumb nel ruolo di Frank/Fritz e la sua interpretazione del lied di Pierrot “Mein Sehnen, mein Wähnen”, nostalgica al punto giusto.
- Susanne Krekel, L'Ape musicale
- 11 October 2024
Sean Michael Plumb präsentiert auch in der Doppelrolle Frank/ Fritz seinen kräftigen Bariton in dunkler Färbung, den er facettenreich einsetzt. Seine bekannte Arie "Mein Sehnen mein Wähnen" gelingt ihm mit Gefühl und guter Intonation.
- Helmut Pitsch, Opera Online
- 11 October 2024
Seattle Opera - The Barber of Seville (Figaro)
Seattle OperaMay 2024From his charismatic entrance, accompanied by the famous cavatina "Largo al factotum", and recalling the aura of a real rock star like Elvis Presley, the Figaro played by Plumb immediately conquered the audience with his energy and audacity, sparking thunderous applause among the spectators. Plumb demonstrated good mastery of rapid syllables, with full, timbred centers and high notes and good homogeneity across the entire vocal range.
- Opera Click
- 07 May 2024
Rossini - Il barbiere di Siviglia (Figaro)
Bayerische StaatsoperNov 2023 - Nov 2023Sean Michael Plumb ofrece un Fígaro bien timbrado, con un centro potente y dúctil, así como con luminosos agudos. La línea de canto es limpia, clara, con rica dinámica y siempre debidamente expresiva: un barbero como debe ser. Sean Michael Plumb delivers a well-toned Figaro, with a powerful and ductile centre, as well as luminous trebles. The singing line is clean, clear, richly dynamic and always suitably expressive: a barber as it should be.
- J.G. Messerschmidt, Mundo Clasico
- 28 November 2023
Puccini - La Bohème (Schaunard)
The Metropolitan OperaOct 2023 - Nov 2023an … assertive, stylish Schaunard from the young baritone Sean Michael Plumb,
- Zachary Woolfe, The New York Times
- 22 October 2023
American baritone Sean Michael Plumb as Schaunard was jovial and a perfect member of this season’s cast. His voice is full of life and character as he sings. His eyes glistened and his facial expressions matched the tone. [Plumb recently debuted at the Met last year, 2022, as Harlekin in “Ariadne auf Naxos” led by Marek Janowski.] He is definitely a singer on the rise!
- Jennifer Pyron, Operawire
- 15 October 2023
Sean Michael Plumb’s Schaunard was a standout, with a warm, elegant baritone that projected easily through the auditorium. He also has an engaging stage presence, dispatching the physical comedy of the final act with a youthful naturalness.
- Kevin W. Ng, BachTrack
- 11 October 2023
Plumb displayed an impressive baritone and a ready smile, who can steal a scene with the best of them.
- Rick Perdian, Classical Review
- 11 October 2023
Mussorgski- Boris Godunov (Andrej Schtschelkalow)
Bayerische StaatsoperJul 2023Sean Michael Plumb a repris avec une belle réussite le rôle de Chtchelkalov, timbre suave, beau phrasé, tenu à la création de la production par l’alors jeune Igor Golovatenko qui a fait du chemin depuis. Sean Michael Plumb has successfully taken on the role of Shchelkalov, with his suave timbre and beautiful phrasing, played at the production's premiere by the then young Igor Golovatenko, who has come a long way since then.
- Guy Cherqui, Wanderer
- 16 July 2023
Tant le Chtchelkalov de Sean Michael Plumb que le Grigori de Dmytro Popov font montre d’un chant irréprochable et d’une belle présence dramatique. Both Sean Michael Plumb's Shchelkalov and Dmytro Popov's Grigori display impeccable singing and a fine dramatic presence.
- Thomas Deschamps, Alta Musica
- 06 July 2023
Britten - Peter Grimes (Ned Keene)
Bayerische StaatsoperSep 2022Dans les rôles secondaires, Sean Michael Plumb (Ned Keene) se fait remarquer grâce à sa liberté et sa puissance vocales, qu’il emploie stratégiquement pour expliciter le côté tantôt comique, tantôt pervers de son personnage. In the supporting roles, Sean Michael Plumb (Ned Keene) stands out for his vocal freedom and power, which he uses strategically to make his character's comic and perverse sides clear.
- Vinda Sonata Miguna, Olyrix
- 01 September 2022
Strauss - Ariadne auf Naxos (Harlekin)
The Metropolitan OperaMar 2022Sean Michael Plumb, in his Met debut, was a frisky Harlequin with an impressive voice.
- Rick Perdian, New York Classical Review
- 02 March 2022
Plumb has an appealing baritone that has a rich warm sound that in a larger role will definitely shine when he returns to the Met. In his short song, “Lieben, Hassen, Hoffen, Zagen,” his voice displayed roundness and gorgeous legato.
- Francisco Salazar, Operwire
- 06 March 2022
Mozart - Così fan tutte (Guglielmo)
Bayerische StaatsoperNov 2018beindruckend lässiger Eleganz vorgetragener Bariton überzeugt von Beginn an mit unglaublichem Facettenreichtum. Da entsteht eine bunte bergige Herbstlandschaft, die durch fantastisches Detailreichtum zu überzeugen weiß. Feine Verzierungen werden mit höchster Hingabe gesungen, alles wirkt dennoch aus einem Guss und mit goldenem Glanze veredelt. Toll!" The baritone's impressively casual elegance is convincing from the outset with an incredible wealth of facets. A colourful, mountainous autumn landscape is created, which impresses with its fantastic wealth of detail. Delicate ornaments are sung with the utmost dedication, yet everything seems to be cast from a single mould and refined with a golden sheen. Great!"
- Andreas Schmidt, Klassik Begeistert
- 03 December 2018
Sean Michael Plumb was a very fine Guglielmo. The voice full of youthful sheen, sung off the text, in a warm, handsome baritone. He pulled out a lovely legato in ‘il core vi dono’ and his ‘donne mie’ was sung with wit, charm as well as frustration brought out through the words.
- Operatraveller
- 02 December 2018