Zachary James
Zachary James (he/him), Broadway & TV actor, international opera singer and recording artist, recently named the BroadwayWorld Vocalist and Performer of the Decade, Classical Post’s Most Innovative Artist, Verismo Magazine’s Breakout Artist of the Year and among Opera Wire’s 30 Most Influential LGBTQ+ Artists is “a true stage animal” (Opera News) known for his “huge, robust bass” which “resonates with force” (Bach Track), “tremendous power and presence” (The Arts Desk, London) and “intrinsically beautiful”, “cavernous bass” with “oomph and range” (Opera News). He created the role of Lurch on The Addams Family musical on Broadway, the role of Abraham Lincoln in the world premiere of Philip Glass’s opera The Perfect American at the Teatro Real in Madrid, a role he reprised for London’s English National Opera and Australia’s Opera Queensland, Oberon in the world premiere of Kristin Hevner’s Il Sogno at the Teatro Citta della Pieve in Umbria and the role of Terry in the world premiere of Breaking The Waves at Opera Philadelphia. A winner of the Lotte Lenya Competition, Zach has been engaged by The Metropolitan Opera (Akhnaten, Wozzeck), London’s English National Opera (Akhnaten, The Perfect American), Spain’s Teatro Real and Australia’s Opera Queensland (The Perfect American), LA Opera (Breaking The Waves, Le Nozze di Figaro, Akhnaten), Opera Omaha (Sweeney Todd), Minnesota Opera (Edward Tulane), Dallas Opera (Flight), Opera Philadelphia (Breaking the Waves, The Love for Three Oranges), Opera Saratoga (Man of La Mancha), On Site Opera (Ahab), Virginia Opera (Street Scene), Nashville Opera (Les Contes D’Hoffmann), Des Moines Metro Opera (Billy Budd, Wozzeck, Rusalka, Flight, Platee), Arizona Opera (Das Rheingold), Fort Worth Opera (Avow), Opera Roanaoke (Susannah, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, La cenerentola, Sweeney Todd), Florentine Opera (Macbeth), Opera Ithaca (Bluebeard’s Castle, The Pirates of Penzance, Don Giovanni), Shreveport Opera (The Pirates of Penzance), Anchorage Opera (Pirates of Penzance, The Mikado), Union Avenue Opera (Nabucco, The Mikado), Schlossoper Haldenstein, Switzerland (Rigoletto), Teatro Citta della Pieve (Il Sogno), Central City Opera (Don Giovanni), Ash Lawn Opera (Madama Butterfly) and Knoxville Opera (Madama Butterfly, Little Women, The Most Happy Fella), Phoenicia International Festival of Voice (Do Not Go Gentle), Prototype Festival NYC (La Reina), Metropolis Opera Project (Il Sogno), Chutzpah Festival (A Blessing on the Moon), American Lyric Theatre (The Golden Ticket) and Illuminarts Miami (The Little Matchgirl Passion). As a stage actor, Zach originated in three Broadway shows including creating the role of Lurch in the Original Broadway Cast of The Addams Family, Thomas Hassinger in the Tony Award winning Original Broadway Revival Cast of South Pacific at Lincoln Center, and made his Broadway debut in the 2007 National Theatre of London Broadway transfer, Coram Boy. Zach played Off-Broadway as Pasquale in The Most Happy Fella and Jo-Jo in Irma la Douce both with Encores! at New York City Center. He has performed with theatre companies throughout the United States in roles including Sweeney Todd in Sweeney Todd, Miles Gloriosus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Billy in Carousel, Rapunzel’s Prince in Into The Woods, Abner in Li’l Abner, Squash in Victor, Victoria and Petr in The Toymaker at theatres including The Bucks County Playhouse, The York Theatre, Theatre By The Sea, Pocono Playhouse, The Kitchen Theatre, Westport Country Playhouse, and The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. On screen Zach has appeared on HBO’s Succession, on the sitcoms 30 Rock and Murphy Brown, on the 2010 Tony Awards live from Radio City Music Hall, PBS Great Performances, Live from Lincoln Center, the Late Show with David Letterman, The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and on film as Ballion in The Gift. His audio and visual album debut, Call Out (audio available on all major streaming platforms, film exclusively on YouTube), has received accolades at twenty-seven film festivals worldwide and was highly commended by London’s Classical Music Digital Awards. The goundbreaking work featuring all female composers from the classical music industry has been widely praised as “the direction that opera needs to go” (Opera Box Score), “protean”, “astonishing” and “jaw-dropping” (Parterre Box) and “a combo of rollicking fun and self-revealing moments. It’s a well-planned, lovingly curated, and brilliantly executed mash-up that’s exciting and intelligent…Trust me, it’s all worth watching.” (Opera Wire). His solo show, On Broadway, has played around the United States and was released as an album in 2021 on all streaming platforms. Zach’s orchestral concert engagements include performances with The Philadelphia Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo, The New York Philharmonic, NYC Ballet, American Symphony Orchestra, Symphony of the Mountains, MasterVoices NYC, Southern New Jersey Symphony, Cape Cod Symphony and Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. He has performed cabaret acts throughout the United States including at NYC’s Carnegie Hall, Birdland, Don’t Tell Mama, Medicine Show and Joe’s Pub, Chicago’s Gorilla Tango, Noce Jazz Club in Des Moines, Civic Morning Musicals in Syracuse, Hoku Concert Series in Hawaii, Springstead Theatre in Florida and with Anchorage Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Talents of the World and Opera Ithaca and performances with A Florida native, Zach is a graduate of the Musical Theatre program at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York, where he was recently awarded the Outstanding Alumni Award. Additional studies include Florida State University, University of Tennessee Knoxville and the Goethe Institut in Berlin. More info at: www.ZachJames.com @_zachary_james_
