Ben Kazez

baritone

Acclaimed for his “velvety and full voice” (Barcelona Classica), Ben Kazez performs regularly in the U.S. and Europe. His 2022/23 season includes Pilatus/arias in Bach’s St John Passion at Amsterdam’s Westerkerk, Kuhnau’s Magnificat for Vox Luminis Atelier, and Pilatus/Pontifex in Bach’s St Matthew Passion with the Netherlands Bach Society.

As a soloist, Ben has sung under the direction of William Christie, Václav Luks, Masato Suzuki, Christian Curnyn, Lionel Meunier, and Shunske Sato, performing at venues such as St John’s Smith Square (London), London Handel Festival, Snape Maltings (Aldeburgh), Petit Palau (Barcelona), Palazzo Altemps (Rome), and Westerkerk (Amsterdam).

Ben’s extensive concert repertoire includes Bach’s Passions and 40 cantatas, Handel’s Messiah and Acis and Galatea, Monteverdi Vespers, Charpentier’s Messe de minuit, and cantatas of Buxtehude, Bruhns, Clérambault, and Rameau. He has also sung Mozart and Fauré requiems, Haydn’s Creation (Raphael/Adam), Brahms German Requiem, and song cycles including Schumann’s Dichterliebe and Vaughan Williams’s Songs of Travel.

In opera, Ben has portrayed roles such as Re di Scozia in Ariodante, Zoroastro in Orlando, Valens in Theodora, and the High Priest for the North American premiere of Marais Sémélé. He also performed in masterclasses under William Christie, featuring scenes from Charpentier’s Les Arts Florissants and Médée.

Alongside his solo work, Ben has sung in the Netherlands Bach Society, Vox Luminis, and the Monteverdi Choir under Sir John Eliot Gardiner, performing at venues including Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Vienna Musikverein, Berlin Philharmonie, Salzburg Festival, and Royal Albert Hall (BBC Proms).

Ben grew up singing and programming computers. He spent five years winning awards for his travel and language apps before earning his master’s from London’s Guildhall School and becoming a Britten–Pears Young Artist. He studied with Dame Emma Kirkby, Max van Egmond, Dame Sarah Connolly, Yvonne Kenny, and Martin Katz. During the pandemic, Ben created VMII, an award-winning search engine now used by 15,000 people monthly to explore early vocal music. He speaks French and Italian.