Benjamin R. Sokol

Originally from Westbury, New York, Sokol is a first-year Ryan Opera Center bass-baritone. He recently received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music at the Manhattan School of Music. He was winner of the 2021 Milnes Opera Idol Competition, finalist in the 2022 Opera Index Competition, semi-finalist in the 2023 Premiere Opera Foundation Competition, and the runner-up in the 2024 Eisenberg-Fried Concerto Competition. Sokol has previously participated in the artist-development programs at San Francisco’s Merola Opera (Commendatore/Don Giovanni), Chautauqua Opera Company and Conservatory, and the Taos Opera Institute. He has also been with the Milnes VOICE Programs for several years, participating in the Florida VOICE Project and Milnes VOICE Studio, and performing at the Savannah VOICE Festival. Other roles in his repertoire include Nick Bottom/A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Betto Di Segna/Gianni Schicchi, Badger/The Cunning Little Vixen, Sarastro and Sprecher/Die Zauberflöte, Wagner/Faust, and Don Magnifico/La Cenerentola.

Benjamin R. Sokol is sponsored by the Robert and Penelope Steiner Family Foundation.