From: New York City. LA Opera: Benoit/Alcindoro in La Bohème (2007, debut; 2012; 2016); 19 productions to date including the Sacristan in Tosca (2013; 2017); Suleyman Pasha in The Ghosts of Versailles (2015), Bartolo in The Barber of Seville (2015); Biterolf in Tannhäuser (2021). Upcoming: Sacristan in Tosca (2022).
Hailed by Opera News for his “comedic high jinks” and “first-rate singing,” Philip Cokorinos was a winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 1985. He went on to make his Met debut during the 1987/88 season. Since then, he appeared in more than 400 performances of 40 operas at the Met, including “Live from The Met” telecasts of Don Giovanni; the world premiere of The Ghosts of Versailles; and the Met premieres of Sly, Cyrano de Bergerac, The Gambler, and Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk, to name a few. He appeared many times in their productions of the standard repertoire including Tosca, La Bohème, The Girl of the Golden West, La Traviata, Adriana Lecouvreur, La Rondine, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Macbeth, Manon, Don Carlo, Tosca, The Barber of Seville, Manon Lescaut, and The Marriage of Figaro, under the baton of Maestro James Levine. His recent appearances at this esteemed house include several Met Live in HD broadcasts including Manon, The Girl of the Golden West, The Nose, Werther, Manon Lescaut, The Marriage of Figaro, La Bohème and Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk.
In the 2021/22 season, his Metropolitan Opera appearances include the Wigmaker in Ariadne auf Naxos. In the 2022/23 season, his appearances there include Benoit/Alcindoro in La Bohème.
Mr. Cokorinos recently performed as the Second Nazarene in Salome with the Spoleto Festival USA and as the Grandfather in the U.S. premiere of Martinů’s Julietta with American Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.
Elsewhere in recent seasons, he performed the title role in Don Pasquale with Opera Santa Barbara and Anchorage Opera; performed the roles of Archibaldo in L’Amore dei Tre Re and the Priest in La Campana Sommersa and debuted the role of Riolobo in Florencia en el Amazonas, all with New York City Opera; sang Daland in The Flying Dutchman with Lyric Opera of Kansas City; and added Swallow in Peter Grimes to his many roles with Chautauqua Opera, which include Méphistophélès in Faust, Oroveso in Norma, the Forester in The Cunning Little Vixen, and Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor. With Opera Colorado, he sang Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola and the Sacristan in Tosca; with the Spoleto Festival USA, Coley in Flora and Capellio in Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi; and with Central City Opera, Don Marco in The Saint of Bleecker Street, Pandolfe in Cendrillon, and his most frequently performed role: Leporello in Don Giovanni.
Additional North American engagements include Frère Laurent in Roméo et Juliette with Opera Carolina and Nashville Opera; Rocco in Fidelio with Palm Beach Opera; and Timur in Turandot with Florida Grand Opera. Canadian appearances include Banquo in Macbeth with Edmonton Opera and Basilio in The Barber of Seville with Calgary Opera and Opera Lyra Ottawa; Don Alfonso in Cosí fan tutte with Atlanta Opera, and multiple productions with Glimmerglass Opera, including Il Matrimonio Segreto, Le comte Ory, The Barber of Seville, and La Finta Giardiniera.
On the concert stage, Mr. Cokorinos’ notable symphonic appearances include Haydn’s Creation and Händel’s Messiah at Carnegie Hall, and Herod in Berlioz’ L’Enfance du Christ telecast with NHK Symphony in Tokyo. He appeared in concert with the Minnesota Orchestra; Cincinnati May Festival; Spoleto Festival USA; Spokane Symphony; The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra; Jacksonville Symphony; The Little Orchestra Society of New York; and in several performances with Opera Orchestra of New York including Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola, Raimondo in Wagner’s Rienzi, Rochefort in Anna Bolena, Astarote in Armida, Cardinal de Brogni in La Juive, the Prefect in Linda di Chamounix, Capellio in I Capuleti e i Montecchi, and Sarastro in The Magic Flute, staged in the Temple of Dendur at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
His discography includes two works of Hector Berlioz with the Montreal Symphony under Charles Dutoit: Herod in L’Enfance du Christ and Wagner in Huit Scenes de Faust, both released on DECCA. He can also be heard on the world-première recording of Stephen Paulus’ oratorio To Be Certain of the Dawn with the Minnesota Orchestra under Osmo Vanska, and the Grammy Award-winning recording of Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles with LA Opera.
