John Holiday

John Holiday, countertenor (Tolomeo)

Countertenor John Holiday has established himself as “one of the finest countertenors of his generation” (Los Angeles Times). His voice has been praised as “a thing of astonishing beauty” (The New Yorker), “arrestingly powerful, secure and dramatically high” (Wall Street Journal), and “timeless” (Washington Post). Holiday’s unique voice and powerful story have been the subject of profiles in the New Yorker and Los Angeles Times, on CNN’s Great Big Story, and elsewhere.

Highlights for his 2024–25 season include his debut in the role of Farnace in Mozart’s Mitridate, re di Ponto at Boston Lyric Opera in a production by James Darrah. Last month, he sang the title role in Philip Glass’ Akhnaten in a new Barrie Kosky production at Komische Oper Berlin. Holiday appeared with the Bavarian State Opera last October in Ligeti’s Le Grand Macabre and will return there this summer for Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, following his current tour with Harry Bicket and the English Concert. This season, he performs with the San Francisco Symphony, the New Jersey Symphony, and the Apollo Chamber Players, and appears in a solo recital at the Wolf Trap Foundation of the Performing Arts. Holiday will also appear on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series and on NPR’s Amplify with Lara Downes.