Jarrett Ott

Baritone

Biography

American baritone Jarrett Ott, one of Opera News’ twenty-five “Rising Stars,” and called “a man who is seemingly incapable of an unmusical phrase,” is enjoying an international career at the age of 36. In the 23/24 season, Mr. Ott will sing the title role in a world-premiere work with Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, the title role in Pascal Dusapin’s Macbeth Underworld with Opéra Comique, Colonel Álvaro Gómez in a new production by Calixto Bieito’s of The Exterminating Angel by Thomas Adès with Opéra national de Paris, and Don Pedro de Alvarado in Purcell’s The Indian Queen with Teodor Currentzis and the Salzburg Festival. In concert, Jarrett joins the Colorado Symphony and Oregon Bach Festival for Vaughan-Williams’ A Sea Symphony, the US Naval Academy in Annapolis for Messiah and Symphoria in Syracuse, NY for an evening of opera favorites.

In the 2022-23 season, Jarrett Ott made his debut at the Gran Teatre del Liceu as Lescaut in Manon, the Opéra Comique as Jan Nyman in Missy Mazzoli’s Breaking the Waves, Dandini in La Cenerentola with Staatstheater Stuttgart, the prisoner in David Lang’s prisoner of the state with Malmö Opera and Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, and Maximilian in Candide with the Hamburg Symphoniker at the Lausitz Festival. In the US, he performed Conte in Le nozze di Figaro with Pittsburgh Opera, reprised the role of John Seward for a performance and recording of The Lord of Cries with Odyssey Opera, and joined colleagues for the inaugural Sag Harbor Song Festival on Long Island.

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Reviews

..the standout was Jarrett Ott as Curly, the lovesick cowboy in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!”His very first line, “There’s a bright golden haze on the meadow,” sung from the back of the house, revealed a free, mellifluous baritone, full of life and sunshine, and it never flagged. A confident actor who is also very handsome, Mr. Ott will go far.

– August 16, 2017

Heidi Waleson

Wall Street Journal

“Two apprentices…especially the charismatic Jarrett Ott as Marullo in “Rigoletto,” made memorable cameos.”

Zachary Woolfe

The New York Times

More Reviews

“A ‘real’ voice helps immeasurably here, and Jarrett Ott—ideally cast physically and dramatically—supplied a fantastically pliable and attractive baritone, sensitive to words and musical values. He dominated the evening,…

David Shengold, Opera Magazine 

“There’s a glut of gifted lyric baritone voices on the market; it’s hard not to wonder whether there will be enough work for all of them. Even in such company, however, twenty-eight-year-old JARRETT OTT stands out. A native of Argyl, Pennsylvania, and a former student of Marlena Malas at the Curtis Institute, he not only has a voice that is polished and immaculately produced; he is also a highly expressive artist, as he has proved in racking up a number of competition victories with Billy Budd’s “Look! Through the port….” Ott’s sound, both pointed and mellow, is ideal for certain Britten roles, and he would love to do a fully staged production of Billy Budd soon.”

Opera News

“…baritone Jarett Ott was solid, steady, and inherently sweet as Masetto…”

James M. Keller, Santa Fe New Mexican 

“Baritone Jarrett Ott delivers a remarkable performance as Guglielmo. Most notably, Ott contributes a ravishing addition to “Il core vi dono.”

Mary Johnson; The Baltimore Sun

“Outstanding vocally among them [was] Curtis-trained singer Jarrett Ott, a cultivated baritone…”

David Shengold, Opera News

“Baritone Jarrett Ott was the true star of the evening, singing the role of Roderick and Sam. Ott’s rich voice in conjunction with masterful phrasing could bring Hades to tears.”

Jacob Slattery, Bachtrack

“Jarrett Ott, a graduate and rising star, guested as a Count; supremely at ease in his Abercrombie and Fitch stage presence, Ott sang with sonorous clarity and precision. “

David Shengold, Opera News