ABOUT

“HIS VOICE IS RICH, CLEAR AND STRONG, SEEMING TO GROW IN ENDLESS POWER WHEN IT RISES TO THOSE HIGHEST NOTES.”
-BROADWAY WORLD-

American baritone Robert Wesley Mason bridges traditional opera with contemporary storytelling, possessing a unique versatility that allows him to excel in classical repertoire, contemporary operas, and cross-genre projects. His ability to embody complex, emotionally charged characters sets him apart, and his personal journey of resilience and transformation deeply informs his art.

During the 2025-2026 season, Wes brings his acclaimed portrayal of Jack Torrance to the stage for his third and fourth productions of Paul Moravec and Mark Campbell’s operatic adaptation of Stephen King’s The Shining—first in a brand-new production with Nashville Opera, followed by a house debut with Opera Tampa. Opera News praised Mason’s interpretation of the challenging role as “an articulate, explosive, first-rate Jack, with his dark, robust baritone and assured physicality.”

The 2024-2025 season saw Wes debuting with Opera Grand Rapids as Belcore in L’elisir d’amore, followed by another house debut with Portland Opera, reprising the role of Jack Torrance in The Shining. He then joined the world premiere of Damien Geter and Jessica Murphy Moo’s Loving v. Virginia as Richard Loving (alternate cast and cover) with Virginia Opera.

Previously, Mason appeared in the new music-theatre work American Patriots, created by Samantha Rose Williams with Renegade Opera and Salina Symphony, and returned to Detroit Opera for a new staging of John Cage’s Europeras 3 & 4 directed by Yuval Sharon, where he also covered the role of the Forester in The Cunning Little Vixen. In 2023, Wes reprised his signature role of Billy Bigelow in Carousel in a return to Pensacola Opera and made his role and company debut as Jack Torrance in The Shining with Opera Parallèle. In 2021, he explored the limits of his artistic and physical endurance in Ragnar Kjartansson’s Bliss, a continuous 12-hour performance piece based on Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, with Detroit Opera—where he was the only cast member to remain onstage without a single break.

Often called upon to learn challenging music and inhabit emotionally demanding roles on short notice, the artist has been passionately interpreting 21st-century American opera since his breakout performance as Reinaldo Arenas in the 2010 world premiere of Martín-Buján and Koch’s Before Night Falls with Fort Worth Opera. He has since created or starred in a wide range of contemporary roles, including Dax/Larry in the world premiere of Three Way by Robert Paterson and David Cote with Nashville Opera and American Opera Project; Hannah Before in As One with Pensacola Opera, Eugene Opera, and Lyric Opera of Kansas City; Jan Nyman in Breaking the Waves with West Edge Opera; Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire with Kentucky Opera; Jonathan in Siren Song with Hawaii Opera Theatre; Charlie in Three Decembers with Nashville Opera and Fargo-Moorhead Opera; and Father Flynn in Doubt with Union Avenue Opera.

In addition to his contemporary work, Wes has brought a dynamic presence to a wide range of roles across the standard repertoire. These include the title role in Ambroise Thomas’s Hamlet with Fort Worth Opera, the title role in Guillaume Tell with the Southern Illinois Music Festival, Ping in Turandot with Nashville Opera, Belcore in L’elisir d’amore with Gulfshore Opera, Masetto in Don Giovanni with Opera Philadelphia and Opera Naples, Achilla in Giulio Cesare with Opera Roanoke, Escamillo in Carmen with Fargo-Moorhead Opera and in La Tragédie de Carmen with Syracuse Opera, Marcello in La bohème with Hawaii Opera Theatre, Fort Worth Opera, and Norwalk Symphony, Schaunard in La bohème with the Crested Butte Music Festival, Zurga in Les pêcheurs de perles with Opera Delaware and Baltimore Concert Opera, Sciarrone in Tosca with Dallas Opera, and Moralès in Carmen with the Glimmerglass Festival and Michigan Opera Theatre.

In 2020, Wes made his Off-Broadway debut with On Site Opera in Das Barbecü, portraying the multi-role track of Wotan/Gunther/Hagen. Additional notable performances include Billy Bigelow in Carousel with Union Avenue Opera and Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theater (UFOMT); Curly in Oklahoma! with Maryland Live Arts and UFOMT; Bishop Myriel in Les Misérables with UFOMT; Mac and Frank Butler (cover) in Annie Get Your Gun with the Glimmerglass Festival; and The Juliet Letters by Elvis Costello with Urban Arias. He has also appeared with Opera Hong Kong as the baritone soloist in Broadway Extravaganza, a musical theater greatest hits concert.

Mason is featured on several world premiere recordings, including Music from Auschwitz (2023) as Bass/Prisoner A for the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance; Three Way (2017, Naxos) as Dax/Larry; and Before Night Falls (2010, Albany Records) as Reinaldo Arenas. He has been recognized with a Career Development Award from the Sullivan Foundation, was a Regional Winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, a finalist in the Opera Index Competition, a three-time nominee for the Sarah Tucker Study Grant, and the recipient of the Earl V. Moore Award for outstanding contribution to the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance. Wes holds both his bachelor’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Michigan and is also a graduate of the prestigious Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia.