Baritone Reginald Smith, Jr. Announces 2025-2026 Season Highlights

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Baritone Reginald Smith, Jr. Announces 2025-2026 Season Highlights

House and Role Debuts in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance at Seattle Opera
and in Verdi’s Requiem at the Oakland Symphony

House Debut at Minnesota Opera in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci 

Role Debut as Peter in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel at Houston Grand Opera 

Returns to The Phoenix Symphony, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, 
and the Windsor Symphony Orchestra 

“...one of the most exciting baritone sounds to come along in years. 
His voice is ample and thrillingly dramatic…" — Opera News

www.reginaldsmithjr.com 

New York, NY (July 23, 2025) – Lauded as a "passionate performer" (The New York Times) with a voice that is "electric, hall-filling" (The Baltimore Sun), GRAMMY® and Emmy Award-winning baritone Reginald Smith, Jr. announces his 2025-2026 season filled with notable operatic highlights, including multiple role and company debuts, as well as concert performances.

Smith’s 2025-2026 season includes house debuts at Seattle Opera, where he performs his role debut as the Pirate King in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance; at Minnesota Opera as Tonio in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci; and at the Oakland Symphony in his first performance of Verdi’s Requiem. He appears at the Houston Grand Opera to make his role debut as Peter in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel, and performs the title role in Mendelssohn's Elijah with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra. He also returns to The Phoenix Symphony and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for celebrated holiday performances. 

From October 18 to November 1, 2025, Smith makes his Seattle Opera debut, performing his first Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance. Conducted by David Charles Abell and directed by Seán Curran in its Seattle Opera premiere, this production features an exciting cast of operatic talent, including Thomas Glass (Major-General Stanley), David Portillo (Frederic), Vanessa Becerra (Mabel), and Nathan Stark (Sergeant of Police), all of whom will make their company debuts. 

On November 14, 2025 at the Paramount Theatre, Smith makes his Oakland Symphony debut in Verdi’s Requiem, conducted by Music Director Kedrick Armstrong. He is joined onstage by Tiffany Townsend (soprano), Raehann Bryce-Davis (mezzo-soprano), Robert Stahley (tenor), and the Oakland Symphony Chorus.

Smith returns to The Phoenix Symphony for Holiday Pops Spectacular!, an annual festive concert celebrating carols and hymns from diverse traditions, from December 5 to 7, 2025. Led by Lawrence Loh, Smith performs alongside soprano Jasmine Habersham and the Phoenix Symphony Chorus, conducted by Chorus Master Dr. Thomas Bookhout. 

From December 12 to 21, 2025, Smith returns to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra to spread holiday cheer in their annual Christmas Pops concerts. Conducted by Lawrence Loh, these festive concerts also feature the Dallas Symphony Chorus, the Dallas Symphony Children’s Chorus, soprano Jasmine Habersham, and organist Bradley Hunter Welch.

In the new year, Smith will appear at Houston Grand Opera (HGO)’s Wortham Theater Center in his role debut as Peter in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel from January 30 to February 15, 2026. Andreas Ottensamer also makes his HGO debut to conduct this timeless adaptation of the Brothers Grimm tale. The production is directed by Antony McDonald and features a stellar cast including Sasha Cooke (Hansel), Mané Galoyan (Gretel), Jamie Barton (The Witch), Alexandra Loutsion (Gertrude), and Megan Mikailovna Samarin (Sandman).

On March 7, 2026 and March 8, 2026, Smith takes on the title role in Mendelssohn’s dramatic oratorio Elijah at the Windsor Symphony Orchestra. Conducted by Music Director Robert Franz, the performance brings to life the biblical prophet’s struggles and triumphs, featuring the Windsor Symphony Orchestra Chorus, Windsor Classic Chorale, and the University of Windsor Singers, alongside vocalists Amelia Daigle (soprano), Jael Hernandez (soprano), Erin Armstrong (alto), and Philip Klaassen (tenor).

From May 9 to 17, 2026, Smith makes his Minnesota Opera debut in the role of Tonio in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci at the Ordway Music Theater. Conducted by Christopher Franklin and directed by Brenna Corner, the production features choreography by Eric Sean Fogel and a cast including Won Whi Choi (Canio), Amanda Batista (Nedda), David Wolfe (Silvio), and Ángel Vargas (Beppe).

Reginald Smith, Jr. 2025-2026 Season Calendar

Saturday, October 18, 2025 to Saturday, November 1, 2025
Seattle Opera Presents Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance
McCaw Hall | Seattle, WA
Link: www.seattleopera.org/performances-events/the-pirates-of-penzance/ 

Friday, November 14, 2025 at 8:00pm
Oakland Symphony Presents Verdi’s Requiem
Paramount Theatre | Oakland, CA
Link: www.oaklandsymphony.org/25-26-season-subscription/

Friday, December 5, 2025 to Sunday, December 7, 2025
The Phoenix Symphony Presents Holiday Pops Spectacular
Symphony Hall | Phoenix, AZ
Link: www.phoenixsymphony.org/shows_v2/holiday-pops-spectacular/

Friday, December 12, 2025 to Sunday, December 21, 2025
Dallas Symphony Orchestra Presents Christmas Pops
Morton H, Meyerson Symphony Center | Dallas, TX
Link: www.dallassymphony.org/productions/christmas-pops-4/ 

Friday, January 30, 2026, to Sunday, February 15, 2026
Houston Grand Opera Presents Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel
Wortham Theater Center | Houston, TX
Link: www.houstongrandopera.org/on-stage/hansel-and-gretel 

Saturday, March 7, 2026 and Sunday, March 8, 2026
Windsor Symphony Orchestra Presents Mendelssohn’s Elijah
The Capitol Theatre | Windsor, ON
Link: www.windsorsymphony.com/series/mendelssohns-elijah/ 

Saturday, May 9, 2026 to Saturday, May 17, 2026
Minnesota Opera Presents Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci
Ordway Music Theater | St Paul, MN
Link: www.mnopera.org/season/2025-2026/pagliacci/ 

More about Reginald Smith, Jr.
Last season, Smith made his role and house debut at Washington National Opera as Porgy in Porgy and Bess, his Sacramento Philharmonic debut as Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana, and his Baltimore Symphony Orchestra debut as Amonasro in Aida. He also sang Scarpia in Tosca with the New Orleans Opera and the New Mexico Philharmonic; appeared as a soloist with the New Jersey Symphony, The Phoenix Symphony and Chorus, the Memphis Symphony, and St. Croix Valley Opera; and performed recitals with the Houston Grand Opera’s Giving Voice and at the Fine Arts Center in Greenville, South Carolina.

Throughout his operatic career, Smith has performed with leading companies worldwide. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 2019 as Jim in Porgy and Bess, winning a 2021 GRAMMY® Award for Best Opera Recording. In recent seasons, he debuted with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Fort Worth Opera, and San Diego Opera in 2022, drawing acclaim for his back-to-back roles in Aida and Terence Blanchard’s Champion at Lyric Opera of Chicago. He has also appeared with the Santa Fe Opera, Portland Opera, Dallas Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Opera Hong Kong, Atlanta Opera, New Orleans Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Toledo Opera, Opera Idaho, Charleston’s Holy City Arts and Lyric Opera, and Opera Carolina. 

In concert, he has performed with the San Francisco Symphony, Memphis Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, National Chorale at Lincoln Center, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, Cincinnati Pops, Lexington Philharmonic, Columbus Symphony Orchestra (GA), North Carolina Symphony, Johnson City Symphony, Boise Philharmonic, West Virginia Symphony, Syracuse Orchestra, and the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra at Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow. Alongside the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Dallas-based WFAA-TV, he earned a Lone Star Regional Emmy Award as the featured soloist in the DSO’s 2018 Christmas Pops concert and participated in a United in Song performance with the American Pops Orchestra, televised nationally on PBS. 

Smith is a Grand Finals winner of the 2015 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and a graduate of the Sarah and Ernest Butler Houston Grand Opera Studio. In addition to receiving recognition from the Dallas Opera Guild Competition, the Mildred Miller International Vocal Competition, and the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation Vocal Competition, Smith has earned first place in the National Opera Association Competition: Scholarship Division, Orpheus Vocal Competition: Young Artist Division, George London Vocal Competition: Top Prize (George London Award) and Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition: Top Prize. He was also the recipient of a 2015 Sara Tucker Study Grant and a 2016 Career Grant from the William Matheus Sullivan Foundation.

Born in Atlanta, Smith grew up a dedicated choral student from elementary school onward, double majoring in Vocal Performance and Choral Music Education at the University of Kentucky. While he ultimately chose a performance career, he has channeled his love of teaching into numerous masterclasses. He returned to his alma mater for a performance of Mendelssohn's Elijah during the 2017-2018 season and completed a Masters in Vocal Performance there in 2021. Learn more at www.reginaldsmithjr.com.

*Photo Credit: Jiyang Chen

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