Ben Strong graduated from IUP in 2020 with a bachelor of fine arts degree in vocal performance. This fall, he will join the Metropolitan Opera as a member of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program and make his stage debut as the Major Domo in Andrea Chénier by Umberto Giordano. The training program is one of the finest in the world and prepares singers for international careers.
Strong made his company debut with Des Moines Metro Opera as Harastra in The Cunning Little Vixen by Leos Janácek to critical acclaim. Meghan Klinkenborg of the Little Village news said, “Ben Strong… the bass was an earthy, arrogant presence onstage and the arbiter of the Vixen’s demise.” He also covered the title role in Richard Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman).
For the 2024–25 season, Strong had many accomplishments. He made his Lincoln Center Debut in New York City with the Festival Orchestra of Lincoln Center, was a national semifinalist in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, was nominated for the Sara Tucker Study Grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation, received the Encouragement Award in the George and Nora London Foundation Competition, was a national semifinalist in the Houston Grand Opera’s Eleanor McCollum Competition, received an Encouragement Award from Pittsburgh Festival Opera’s Mildred Miller Competition, and was a member of the Palm Beach Opera Bailey Apprentice Artist Program.
Strong will get married at the end of August 2025 and then move to New York City to assume his new position at the Metropolitan Opera. To follow his career or listen to him in performance, please visit his website at BenStrongOpera.com.