Tenor Christopher Plaas discovered his love for opera while earning his Master’s Degree at Appalachian State University, where he appeared in numerous fully staged productions, opera scenes programs, and as a member of the select graduate quintet Quintessential! It was during his tenure at the Franco American Vocal Academy in Austria that Christopher developed an affinity for German culture, in particular the Mozartian repertoire, to which his voice is well suited.
As a young professional singer, his easy high notes and fluid coloratura have quickly earned him recognition as an ideal choice for the great Rossini and Mozart roles. Performances to date include Vaşek in The Bartered Bride, The Sailor in Dido and Aeneas, Alfred in Die Fledermaus, Bastien in Bastien und Bastienne, Dr. Engle in Der Schauspieldirektor, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, La Théière in L’enfant et les sortileges, Spärlich and Fenton in Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor with Theater Rudolstadt , Pedrillo in Die Entführung aus dem Serail with Scenic City Opera, as well as covering Conte d’Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Monostatos in Die Zauberflöte with the Asheville Lyric Opera.
In 2017 Christopher Plaas was a Resident Artist with Indianapolis Opera, where he covered the role of Alfredo and sang Gastone in Verdi’s La Traviata. In summer of 2018 Christopher was an Apprentice Artist with Teatro Nuovo during its inaugural season of the Bel Canto Festival at Purchase College. 2019 began with Arturo Bucklaw in Knoxville Opera’s production of Lucia di Lammermoor (February), and as Monostatos in Die Zauberflöte with Salt Marsh Opera (April). In Fall 2019 Christopher was featured a position as “Tyler Young Artist” with Opera on the James, in Virginia.
Plaas is a native of Johnson City, TN. He earned his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance at East Tennessee State University. During his time at ETSU Christopher developed an interest in many different styles of music, including participation in a Vocal Jazz Ensemble, a Barber Shop Quartet, the nationally recognized ETSU Men’s Ensemble and Chorale, the Bucs Worth Acappella Ensemble, and he was a founding member of the Living Harmony Gospel Quartet. In addition to all this vocal and musical diversity and experience, he was invited to join the professional men’s ensemble Brethren, which is based out of Washington, D.C. As a member of these ensembles Christopher has been a featured performer at two national conferences of the American Choral Director’s Association, a national conference of the Intercollegiate Male Choruses, and multiple National Barbershop Competitions.
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