John Daugherty first fell in love with opera at the age of seven, after his mother took him to a performance of Don Giovanni at Opera Southwest in his hometown of Albuquerque. The next year John performed on the very same stage as a pickpocket in La bohème. 

Fast forward 25 years, and John is now a masterful baritone with wide-ranging repertoire and numerous lead roles to his credit. He maintains a busy schedule of opera, song recitals and oratorio, performing repertoire drawn from a wide array of genres and styles. His recent stage roles include Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, Joseph de Rocher in Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, and Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette. In the concert hall, John has had appearances with the Albany Symphony, for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and for Michigan Opera Theater. In April 2024, he will perform dual roles as Moralès and Le Dancaïre in the Jacksonville Symphony's production of Carmen.

His recital credits include performances of Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen and Vaughan Williams’ Songs of Travel in collaboration with pianist Martin Katz, Ricky Ian Gordon’s Green Sneakers and Barber’s Dover Beach with Chamber Music at the Scarab Club, and Brahm’s epic cycle Die schöne Magelone with frequent collaborator César Cañón. John has had the honor of working with such distinguished artists as Andrew West, Martin Katz, Kathleen Kelly, Jerome Shannon, Roderick Williams, Timothy Cheek, Stephen Lusmann, Karl Dent and Michael Daugherty. Recently, John collaborated with Berlin-based conductor and concert pianist Geoff Loff for a song recital in Jacksonville, FL.

An avid proponent of new music, John created the role of John Thomas in the world premier of Jules Pegram’s award-winning opera Higher Ground. Previously, John had performed as the baritone vocalist with the Tulsa Camerata in the world premier of Michael Daugherty’s This Land Sings, a role which he then recorded for the Naxos Records label under the baton of David Alan Miller.

John received his master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Michigan and his undergraduate from Texas Tech University. He was a graduate of the Santa Fe Opera’s inaugural class of the Young Voices Program. He joined the voice faculty at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville in 2020 where he has expanded the opera program as its director to two fully staged productions annually.

When he is not performing, John can be found reading the classics, strength training or searching for the next cup of coffee. 

Education

University of Michigan
DMA in Vocal Performance
2018

University of Michigan
MM in Vocal Performance
2015

Texas Tech University
BM in Vocal Performance
2013

Voice Teachers

David Jones, Stephen Lusmann, Karl Dent, Kathleen Clawson

Coaches

Martin Katz, Kathleen Kelly, Timothy Cheek, Matthew Thompson, Stephen McGhee, William Averill, Michael Wilson