Kevin Starnes is a bass-baritone based in Metro Detroit, with two decades of professional credits in opera, musical theater, and the concert hall.

 

His operatic credits include Jose Tripaldi in Osvaldo Golijov's Ainadamar, the Sadistic Sailor in Missy Mazzoli's Breaking the Waves, roles in Poul Ruders' The Handmaid's Tale, Theseus in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Bartolo in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro, the Duke in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette, and Max Kane in William Bolcom's Dinner at Eight.

 

His musical theater credits include Cal in Waitress, Billy Flynn in Chicago, and Herod in Jesus Christ Superstar, for which he was praised as "a true highlight," with his signature number hailed as full of "panache and style."

 

An active concert soloist, Starnes has performed Handel's Messiah on multiple occasions alongside Mozart's Requiem, the Coronation Mass, Fauré's Requiem, and Schubert's Mass in G. He has been a member of the Detroit Opera Chorus since 2002.

 

A graduate of the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, and Dance (MM in Voice Performance, 2018), Starnes studied under George Shirley, Martin Katz, Kathleen Kelly, and Caroline Helton. He also holds a BA in Music from the University of Michigan-Flint and an MA in Arts Administration, through which he developed a community outreach program in opera education.

 

Starnes is the founder of The Bearded Baritone, a vocal education platform, and maintains an active teaching studio in Metro Detroit.