Biography

Praised for his “luxuriant baritone” (San Diego Story) and “securely produced bass” (Opera Today), Luke Harnish is quickly establishing himself as a nuanced performer of opera, oratorio, and recital repertoire. Upcoming roles include Gandalf (The Hobbit) with Sarasota Opera, Dick Deadeye (H.M.S. Pinafore) with Nashville Opera, and Doctor (Macbeth) with The Atlanta Opera. Harnish’s 2024 – 2025 season also features performances of Bach’s Ich habe genug, Handel’s Messiah, and Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass.

Harnish was engaged as an Apprentice Artist with The Santa Fe Opera during their 2024 Festival Season, where his duties included Messenger in La traviata and the roles of Deacon 2, Joe, and Representative in the World Premiere of Gregory Spears’ The Righteous. Earlier in 2024, he covered Sergeant Aaron Marcum in the New York premiere of Huang Ruo’s An American Soldier at the Perelman Performing Arts Center. He also completed a Studio Artist residency with Sarasota Opera for their 2024 Winter Opera Festival. There, he covered Il Conte di Walter (Luisa Miller) and Zuniga (Carmen).

Other highlights of the 2023 – 2024 season were role debuts as Schaunard in La bohème with Wichita Grand Opera and Dr. Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Penn Square Opera. Prior to these engagements, Harnish was a 2023 Apprentice Artist at The Santa Fe Opera, where he sang Apollo (L’Orfeo) and covered the roles of Angelotti (Tosca) and Physician (Pelléas et Mélisande).  

During the 2022 – 2023 season, Harnish was a Resident Artist with Lyric Opera of Kansas City. There, his roles included Zuniga and Escamillo (cover) in Carmen, Dottore Grenville in La traviata, and King Melchior in Amahl and the Night Visitors. Another highlight of the season, he sang Raphael in Haydn’s The Creation with Nashville Symphony Orchestra.

In the summer of 2022, Harnish was a Studio Artist with Chautauqua Opera, performing the roles of Jailer in Tosca and Henry B in The Mother of Us All. Other previous roles include Dr. Chillingworth (The Scarlet Letter), Nardo (La finta giardiniera), and Bob (The Old Maid and the Thief), all with Wichita State Opera Theatre.

Harnish was an Apprentice Artist with Opera Neo during the 2020 and 2019 summer seasons, where he most recently performed the role of Papageno in the company’s remotely filmed cinematic adaptation of Die Zauberflöte. The previous year he sang the title role in Eugene Onegin, which was lauded as “confident” and “richly modulated” (San Diego Story).

Mr. Harnish enjoyed a close relationship with Nashville Opera throughout the 2019 – 2020 and 2018 – 2019 seasons, taking on several roles with the company, including Professor Trixie and Gus (The Cradle Will Rock), The Imperial Commissioner (Madama Butterfly), and The Page (Amahl and the Night Visitors). At the Blair School of Music, he performed the roles of Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro) and Professor Bhaer (Little Women) with Vanderbilt Opera Theatre.

Harnish’s concert credits include the role of Jesus in a staged production of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with Vanderbilt Choirs and Orchestra, Elijah and Messiah excerpts with Wichita State Choirs and Orchestra, as well as the Baritone Soloist for Serenade to Music with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. In recital, he has presented full performances of Schumann’s Dichterliebe and Schubert’s Schwanengesang.

An advocate for new opera, Harnish created the roles of Walter Beech and Roy McPhetridge in Lisa DeSpain’s Staggerwing, commissioned by Opera Kansas. He also premiered the role of The Creation in Christopher Bell’s Frankenstein, an avant-garde chamber opera performed in collaboration with members of the contemporary dance ensemble New Dialect. Other premieres include roles in Dale Ramsey’s Mother Noah and Rachel J. Peters’ Sketchbook for Ollie.

A district winner of the 2022 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, Harnish is a recipient of awards from other prestigious competitions including the Loren L. Zachary National Vocal Competition, the Annapolis Opera Vocal Competition, the Young Patronesses of the Opera/FGO National Voice Competition, the Orpheus National Vocal Competition, and the Naftzger Young Artists Auditions.

Mr. Harnish is a graduate of Wichita State University, where he earned an M.M. in Opera Performance while fulfilling duties as a Graduate Teaching Assistant. He also completed an undergraduate degree at Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music and a Master’s of Education from Vanderbilt’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development. Outside his performing career, Mr. Harnish maintains an active private teaching studio for voice, piano, and music theory lessons. He is also in demand as a church musician, having served multiple congregations in various capacities as a conductor, accompanist, and singer.

***updated 9/3/24***