Richard Crist, a native of Harrisburg, PA, is an American bass of diverse repertoire, equally at home in opera, oratorio and concert, and known for his superb acting abilities and musicianship. While completing his graduate studies at Boston's New England Conservatory, he made his operatic debut with Sarah Caldwell's Opera Company of Boston. Gaining experience with that company and the Goldovsky Opera Theater, during his career, he would appear in thirty-four productions with Ms. Caldwell and over 2,500 performances nationally and internationally. His career has taken him throughout the United States, including among others, the Metropolitan Opera and the companies of Santa Fe, San Francisco, New York City, San Diego, Philadelphia, Memphis, Mobile, Charlotte and Orlando; the Lyric Opera's of Boston, Kansas City, New York; and the Virginia, Indianapolis, Syracuse and Kentucky Opera Theaters'. Internationally, after joining the roster of the Hamburg State Opera, he has since appeared with the Frankfurt Alte Oper, Opera de Lyon, Opera di Turino, Dublin Grand Opera, the Wexford, and Edinburgh Opera Festivals and at the American Soviet Festival in Boston and Moscow with the Bolshoi and Kirov Operas.

He has created the roles of the Judge in DiDominica's "The Balcony", the King in Lutyen's "The Light Princess" and Rev. Hooper in "The Minister's Black Veil", and Haman in Sosin's "Esther". He has also appeared in the US Premier's of Berlioz's "Les Troyens", Sessions "Montezuma", Schedrin's "The Dead Souls" and Zimmermann's "Die Soldaten"; also the Creation en France of this work and the Italian and British Premiers of Henze's "The English Cat. Among his many PBS "Great Performances" appearances was Gian Carlo Menotti's production with the Philadelphia Opera of Tchaikovsky's "Queen of Spades". Crist's concert appearances include the major oratorio societies and festivals throughout the United States, among them the orchestras of Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, St. Louis, Minnesota, Denver, the Washington Chamber Symphony and Handel Festival, and the American and National Symphony Orchestras. Internationally, he has appeared with the Hamburg Philharmonic, Irish Radio and Concert Orchestras, North German Radio Orchestra, the Svertlovsk Philharmonic in Yekaterinburg, Russia and his London debut at the Barbican Centre's Thirty-fifth Anniversary "Rossini Festival" with Richard Hickox and the London Sinfonia. Many performances have been broadcast over the PBS Network.

For twenty years he was resident of New York City, where he has appeared as soloist numerous times at Carnegie, Alice Tully and Avery Fisher Hall's with organizations including Musica Sacra, Little Orchestra Society, Opera Orchestra of New York, American Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Clarion Concerts, Mostly Mozart, Voices of Ascension and "Live from Lincoln Center". During that time, he was bass soloist under the direction of John Weaver at the Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church. In addition to a solo singing career, he was also active as ensemble singer and pedagogue. He had a voice studio in New York City, has been a member of the voice faculty of Elizabethtown, Messiah, and Smith Colleges, the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville as Assistant Professor of Voice/Artist in Residence working with Sarah Caldwell in the Opera Theater, the University of Oklahoma at Norman as Assistant Professor and has now joined the voice faculty of Ohio University as Artist/Teacher. Many of Crist's former students are now working as classical and Musical Theater performers. He has directed performances of "La Boheme," "La Traviata," "Amahl and the Night Visitors," "Hand of Bridge" and "The Turn of the Screw." Recent appearances have been at Lincoln Centers' Mostly Mozart Festival, Ascension Music in "St. Matthew Passion", and performances as Bartolo in "Barber of Seville' in Greenville, SC, and as Osmin in "Abduction from the Seraglio" for New York City Opera. Also in 2000, he recorded Strauss' "Liebe der Danae" with Lauren Flanigen, Richard Lewis, and the American Symphony Orchestra live at New York's Lincoln Centers Avery Fisher Hall for TELARC New Millennium release. More recently he has appeared as soloist with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic and Canterbury Chorus in performances of Haydn’s “Creation” and the Verdi “Requiem”. He will appear this fall as bass soloist in Shostakovich Symphony #13, Babi Yar with the New Century Orchestra in Tulsa.

BS—Music Education (vocal/instrumental), Messiah College
MM—Voice/Opera, New England Conservatory of Music
Diploma—Goldovsky Opera Institute
Special Student—Opera, Curtis Institute of Music