Tenor Jonathan Burton is consistently celebrated for his “heroic” and “clarion” performances in a wide range of dramatic roles. The 2025-2026 season brings exciting engagements for Burton, including performances at Santa Fe Opera as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly. Elsewhere, he sings Canio with San Diego Opera, Radamès in Aida with Virginia Opera, bows with North Carolina Opera as Manrico in Il trovatore, and returns to the role of Dick Johnson in La fanciulla del West with Nashville Opera. In concert, he joins Austin Opera for their 40th Anniversary Concerts.
During the 2024-2025 season, Burton performed both Cavaradossi in Tosca and Canio in Pagliacci at Pittsburgh Opera and sang Canio with Utah Opera. Following last season’s appearance as Calaf in Turandot, he returned to Washington National Opera as Steve Wozniak in The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs. On the concert stage, he sang Verdi’s Requiem at the Cincinnati May Festival conducted by Ramón Tebar, and bowed in Britten’s War Requiem with the Columbus Symphony. In the summer, he performed Canio with the Opera Festival of Chicago.
Burton’s 2023-2024 season performances included Canio with Nashville Opera and Austin Opera, Pinkerton with Virginia Opera, Cavaradossi with Palm Beach Opera and The Dallas Opera, and Verdi’s Requiem with the Madison Symphony.
Career highlights include: Cavaradossi with Santa Fe Opera; Rodolfo in Luisa Miller for Lyric Opera of Chicago; Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos at Austin Opera; Paul in Die Tote Stadt at Opera Colorado; Hermann in Pique Dame for Des Moines Metro Opera; Luigi in Il tabarro for Maryland Lyric Opera; Don José in Carmen for Palm Beach Opera; Pollione in Norma with Utah Opera; Florestan in Fidelio with Kentucky Opera; des Grieux in Manon Lescaut at North Carolina Opera; the Prince in Rusalka and Manrico at Pittsburgh Opera; Canio with Opera San Antonio and Utah Opera; and Calaf with Austin Opera, Opera Colorado, Utah Opera, and The Metropolitan Opera (cover).
A protégé of Lorin Maazel, Mr. Burton sang with the famed maestro in multiple productions at the Castleton Festival, concerts in Washington, D.C., and in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the reopening of Teatro La Fenice.