BIOGRAPHY
Mexican-American bass-baritone, Richard Ollarsaba, praised by The Washington Post for his “meltingly smooth bass-baritone” and for “evoking a young Ruggero Raimondi in looks and manner”, represented the USA in the 2019 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, was a member of the prestigious Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago for three seasons, and a grand finalist in the 2013 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition (then MONCA).
This season he debuts two important roles, Sharpless in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly with Knoxville Opera, and Germont in Verdi’s La traviata with Arizona Opera. He makes a return to Opera Grand Rapids in their production of Carmen as Escamillo and presents his curated recital-project Side Quest: Quixote as part of Knoxville Opera’s Salon Series. On the concert stage, he performs the bass solos in Verdi’s Requiem with the Columbus Symphony under the baton of Mo. Rossen Milanov.
photo: Nick Patton Photography
In recent seasons he made his role debut as Ping in Puccini’s Turandot presented by Detroit Music Hall: Classic Opera Series, he appeared as Escamillo in Carmen with Nashville Opera, Hawai’i Opera Theatre, Charlottesville Opera, and Piedmont Opera, performed title Mozart roles in Don Giovanni with The Florentine Opera and Le nozze di Figaro with the Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera. He performed in Catán’s operas Florencia en el Amazonas as Riolobo with North Carolina Opera, and Dr. Rappccini in La hija de Rappaccini with Opera Columbus. He made role debuts as Cervantes/Don Quixote in Piedmont Opera’s production of the Broadway musical Man of La Mancha which inspired the debut season of his curated recital-project Side Quest: Quixote which was presented in partnership with UW-Milwaukee, Arizona Opera, and Piedmont Opera [Recital Program Info]. In orchestral and oratorio repertoire, he performed the solos in Orff’s Carmina Burana with New Philharmonic, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Verdi’s Requiem with the Greensboro Symphony, and the title role in Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Oratorio Society of Virginia.
Carmen - The Glimmerglass Festival (2022)
photo: Karli Cadel
Man of La Mancha - Piedmont Opera (2025)
photo: Neil Jester
Previous credits include the title role in Don Giovanni with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Opera Hong Kong, Arizona Opera, Opera Carolina, Opera Grand Rapids, and Intermountain Opera Bozeman, Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor with Pensacola Opera, in Le nozze di Figaro as Count Almaviva with Portland Opera, Piedmont Opera, Knoxville Opera, and Virginia Opera, as Figaro with New Zealand Opera and Minnesota Opera, and as Escamillo in Carmen with the Glimmerglass Festival, Portland Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Kentucky Opera, Minnesota Opera, Opera Columbus, North Carolina Opera, Tulsa Opera, Annapolis Opera, and the Barharbor Music Festival. Season 22/23, he debuted with Chicago Opera Theater as Fred Clayton and Judge Harrison in the world-premiere opera The Life and Death(s) of Alan Turing by Justine Chen and David Simpatico and debuted his first solo recital-project, On the Border highlighting compositions from Mexico and the USA at his alma mater for the inaugural performance of the Fletcher Alumni Series at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. [Recital Info]
In addition to performances on the operatic stage, Mr. Ollarsaba appears regularly in concert and recital. He has been a repeat featured soloist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra notably in performances of Haydn’s Mass in Time of War and Handel’s Messiah. Other soloist credits include Verdi’s Requiem and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Master Chorale of South Florida, Messiah with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Palm Beach Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, and Kansas City Symphony, Dvorak’s Te Deum with Apollo Chorus of Chicago, Bach’s St. John’s Passion with the Madison Bach Musicians, Bernstein’s Songfest at the Ravinia Festival, Stravinsky’s Les Noces under the baton of Charles Dutoit at the Tanglewood Music Center, and Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy in his debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood – that concert was telecast nationally on PBS as a gala celebration of the venerable festival’s 75th anniversary.
A native of Tempe, Arizona, Richard Ollarsaba received his Bachelor of Music from the Cleveland Institute of Music and his Master of Music and post-graduate certificate from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. In addition to the Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago, he trained at Minnesota Opera, Music Academy of the West, Chautauqua Opera, Aspen Music Festival, Tanglewood, and Wolf Trap Opera.
