Cuban-American tenor Andres Acosta continues to stand out through his strong vocal presence and magnetic acting. Labeled by critics as “endearing,” with “clarion high notes,” his “intense pathos” has left audiences exclaiming “More Andres please!”
In the 2021-2022 season, Acosta returned to Madison Opera for his role début as Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Florida Grand Opera to reprise the role of Timothy in Gregory Spears’ Fellow Travelers, Houston Grand Opera as Jasper in the world premiere of The Snowy Day, by Joel Thompson and Andrea Davis Pinkney, based on the children’s picture book by Ezra Jack Keats, and joined the roster of The Metropolitan Opera for Don Carlos. He will also workshop the role of the Pigeon Keeper in Santa Fe Opera’s commission of The Pigeon Keeper by David Hanlon and Stephanie Fleischmann. In the summer he will make his house débuts with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in the world premiere of Tobias Picker’s Awakenings as Mr. Rodriguez, as well as with Seattle Opera as Nemorino in Elixir of Love. Future engagements include house debuts with Hawaii Opera Theatre and Virginia Opera.
In 2021, he appeared with Minnesota Opera as a tenor soloist for a live performance highlighting Latinx vocal music alongside some of opera’s classic hits, appeared with Bard SummerScape Festival as the Laborer in King Arthur directed by Louisa Proske, joined Opera San Antonio’s production of Lucia di Lammermoor as Arturo, and sang a digital solo recital for Madison Opera.
In recent seasons, Acosta made a series of house débuts: with the Ravinia Festival in Bernstein’s Mass which was broadcast in 2020 as part of PBS’s Great Performance series; with the Atlanta Opera as Alejandro in Frida; with the Pittsburgh Opera, reprising the role of Arcadio in Florencia en el Amazonas; with Madison Opera reprising the role of Timothy Laughlin in Fellow Travelers; and with the Houston Grand Opera as Father Matias in El Milagro del Recuerdo. Additional 2020 and 2021 engagements were to include a return to Minnesota Opera as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, a début with the Glimmerglass Festival in the same role, a return to Houston Grand Opera for their production of Parsifal, and his international début as Tony in Francesca Zambello’s production of West Side Story.
Previous engagements also include his highly-acclaimed portrayal of Timothy Laughlin in Minnesota Opera’s production of Fellow Travelers by Greg Spears, Arcadio in Florencia en el Amazonas with Pensacola Opera, and Theatre Latté Da’s national tour of Peter Rothsteins’s All is Calm as Victor Granier. In concert he débuted with the Cincinnati Symphony for their autumn Pops Concert, the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra in Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti, and LOFTrecital for Bernstein’s Songfest.
Acosta was an Apprentice at the Merola Opera Program and a member of Minnesota Opera’s Resident Artist Program. His season included covering and performing Duca in Rigoletto, Gennaro in Lucrezia Borgia, Nicias in Thaïs, Beppe in Rita, and Ernesto in Don Pasquale. Acosta is a recipient of Opera America’s 2018 Career Blueprints grant and a Gerda Lissner and Sullivan Foundation Award semifinalist. He received an Encouragement award as a Central Regional finalist for the Metropolitan Opera National Council competition in 2017 and won awards in the Dorothy Lincoln-Smith competition and the National Society of Arts and Letters competition. He was awarded the Judy George Junior Young Artist First Prize Award in the 2015 Young Patronesses of the Arts competition and is recognized as a Braulecht Estate Endowed and Music Guild Scholar. He also competed as a semifinalist in Houston Grand Opera’s Eleanor McCollum Competition.
Acosta attended Indiana University for his Masters of Music as a student of Carol Vaness. He graduated with a Bachelors in Arts degree from Florida State University where he studied with David Okerlund.