Benjamin R. Sokol

Originally from Boston, Massachusetts, the second-year Ryan Opera Center bass-baritone appeared last season in Salome and El último sueño de Frida y Diego. He recently received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music and professional studies certificate from the Manhattan School of Music. Among Sokol’s honors are the 2026 Carlisle Floyd Centennial Prize, the 2026 Luminarts Foundation Men’s Voice Fellowship, winner of the 2025 Eisenberg-Fried Concerto Competition, and semi-finalist in the 2025 London Foundation Competition and 2023 Premiere Opera Foundation Competition. He has previously participated in the artist-development programs at San Francisco’s Merola Opera (Commendatore/Don Giovanni), Chautauqua Opera Company, and the Taos Opera Institute. He has 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.

In Lyric’s 2026/27 Season, Sokol will sing the High Priest/Hérodiade and Truffaldin/Ariadne auf Naxos.

Benjamin R. Sokol is sponsored by Lead Sponsor Blythe McGarvie and cosponsors the Estate of Lois Siegel and Penelope R. Steiner.

^{Last updated: June 22, 2026}