Patrick Bessenbacher

Patrick most recently performed with the Florentine Opera as Acis in their new production of Acis and Galatea. He also recently sang with Seven Hills Chamber Festival as Lewis Danyers in their concert production of In Venice, Paul Scherer and Germaine Shames’ newest opera about love and inspiration, as well as singing the role of the Old Man in Menotti’s Labyrinth with Cambridge Chamber Society, and with Pacific Opera Project as Count Bandiera in Salieri’s La Scuola de’ Gelosi. 

Next, Patrick is excited to work with Catapult Opera on their new production of San Giovanni Battista by Stradella in the role of the Consigliere which will be his New York City operatic debut. Patrick is also excited to join Beth Morrison Projects on their newest undertaking, Hildegard by Sarah Kirkland Snider in the role of Mechthild. 

Patrick spent the summer of ‘24 in Vermont, performing the role of Tonio in Opera Company of Middlebury’s production of La fille du régiment and then at Marlboro Music Festival, performing various chamber music pieces.

Also recently, Patrick jumped in at West Bay Opera performing the role of Ministro in Corpus Evita, a Grammy nominated work by Carlos Franzetti with libretto by José Luis Moscovich, as well as singing with Opera Birmingham, originating the role of Peter Fagan in the world premier of Carla Lucero and Marianna Mott Newirth’s opera, Touch, portraying the life of Helen Keller. He also joined Opera San Jose performing the role of Count Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia.

During the ‘22-’23 season, Patrick was a Baumgartner studio artist with The Florentine Opera where he performed the roles of Tybalt in Roméo et Juliette and Ferrando in Così fan tutte: Remix. He also covered and stepped on for the final dress rehearsal and both weekend performances of Il barbiere di Siviglia as Count Almaviva, singing “beautifully … with poise, precision, great facility and finesse, and a sterling tenor sound … giving a performance that never crossed the footlights as a last-minute casting change” (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).

In the summer of ‘22, Patrick was a Gerdine Young Artist at Opera Theatre of St. Louis. He was a cover and stepped in on four performances as Remendado in Carmen, among other cover and comprimario roles.

Patrick has also gained valuable experience at Seagle Music Festival as well as Marlboro Music Festival, where he discovered his affinity for vocal chamber music. At the University of Colorado, Patrick earned his BM in Vocal Performance and studied with tenor Matthew Chellis and earned his MM in Vocal Arts from The Juilliard School under tenor William Burden.

Appearances at Lyric Opera

Frederic, The Pirates of Penzance (2027)