Opera News praises character tenor John Easterlin for his “handsome stage presence and muscular, soaring voice” as well as his “melting tones that were sensitively shaded” and declares him “A master comic to boot, his antics and disguises left the audience roaring with laughter. A fresh, exciting performance indeed!”  In addition, USA Today's Robert Bianco lauded praise on him when he wrote, "Like cream rising to the top, the evening’s star rested in the stunning, thrilling voice of Metropolitan Opera tenor John Easterlin.  Never before has this critic seen or heard an audience so still and attentive to a performer. As everyone around me, I was reduced to tears listening to his sterling, world class performance."

 For the 2007-8 season, Mr. Easterlin returns for his fourth season with the Metropolitan Opera as Prince Nilsky in The Gambler, under the baton of Valery Gergiev; to the Lyric Opera of Chicago for his seventh production with the company, under the baton of Sir Andrew Davis, as the Hunchback Brother in their new production of Die Frau ohne Schatten, starring Deborah Voight; and, by popular demand, a return engagement to The Town Hall in New York City. In addition, he debuts with Opera Pacific in Costa Mesa, California as Little Bat in a new production of Susannah, starring Pamela Armstrong, and makes his European operatic debut at the Opera Nationale de Paris (Bastille) as the Hunchback Brother in Die Frau ohne Schatten. Mr. Easterlin's discography expands with three radio broadcasts: Lyric Opera of Chicago's Salome, opposite Deborah Voigt; the Los Angeles Opera's Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, opposite Patti LuPone, Audra McDonald and Anthony Dean Griffey; and the Metropolitan Opera production of Prokofiev's The Gambler,broadcast live from the Met in March 2008. This fall, LAO's Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny will air on PBS Great Performances, followed by a DVD release of the production.
In the 2006-7 season, Mr. Easterlin returned to the Lyric Opera of Chicago as the Fourth Jew in Francesca Zambello’s acclaimed new production of Salome,starring Deborah Voight and conducted by Sir Andrew Davis; debuted with the Los Angeles Opera, under the baton of James Conlon, as Jack O’Brien in John Doyle’s highly anticipated new production of Weill's Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny; and debuted in Tel Aviv with the New Israeli Opera, under the baton of Asher Fisch, as Brighella in a new production of Ariadne auf Naxos. Concert engagements included his critically acclaimed and hailed debut at New York's famed Town Hall in A Night at the Operetta, produced by Broadway veteran Scott Siegel.
His engagements in the 2005-06 season included his San Francisco Opera debut as Don Curzio in Le Nozze di Figaro opposite Ruth Ann Swenson and Peter Mattei; his return to the Opera Company of Philadelphia as Basilio in Le Nozze di Figaro; a critically-acclaimed debut as Alfred in Die Fledermaus with the Dayton Opera; Goro in Madama Butterfly in his Toledo Opera debut; and a critically triumphant debut as Mayor Upfold in the anticipated new production of Albert Herring with New York’s famed Gotham Chamber Opera. Concert engagements this season included a return to the New Choral Society as the Tenor Soloist in The Messiah.
The 2004-05 season included Mr. Easterlin’s return to the Metropolitan Opera as the Major-Domo in Der Rosenkavalier,starring Susan Graham; a debut with the Opera Company of Philadelphia as Dr. Blind in Die Fledermaus; a triumphant debut as Triquet in Eugene Onegin with Tulsa Opera; a critically hailed debut as Tobias in Sweeney Todd with the Princeton Festival; and returns to both Dallas Opera as Remendado in Carmen and the Todi Music Festival in Virginia, as Sir Arturo Bucklaw in Lucia di Lammermoor and the debut of his critically-acclaimed and sold-out recital debut:  What a Character!  The Many Faces of John Easterlin. His concert engagements included a debut at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall as Trinca in Giordano’s La Cena della Beffe with Teatro Grattacielo and as Tenor Soloist The Messiah with the New Choral Society.
Having performed with America’s foremost houses, Mr. Easterlin’s debut with the Metropolitan Opera came in the 2003-04 season as the Fourth Jew in their new internationally acclaimed production Salome, starring Karita Mattila and taped for PBS Great Performances. His non-stop season included Die Frau ohne Schatten at the Metropolitan Opera; Don Curzio in Le Nozze di Figaro for the Lyric Opera of Chicago; a critically-hailed debut with the Utah Opera as the Witch in a new production of Hänsel und Gretel; and a debut with New Jersey's Boheme Opera as Count Almaviva in Il Barbieri di Siviglia.
He has sung Monastatos in Die Zauberflöte with the Lyric Opera of Chicago; Jacquino in Fidelio with Seattle Opera; the Fourth Jew in Salome with the New York City Opera; and his first appearances with the Dallas Opera: Pang in Turandot and Attalo in Ermione.
A frequent guest at the nation’s festivals, his appearances include his internationally acclaimed Tanzmeister in Ariadne auf Naxos with Spoleto Festival U.S.A; the Captain in Wozzeck, Pong in Turandot, Triquet in Eugene Onegin, and Monostatos in The Magic Flute with the Opera Festival of New Jersey; Benjamin Kidd in The Desert Song and Monostatos in The Magic Flute with the Utah Festival Opera; and Edmondo, Il Maestro di Ballo, and Un Lampionaio in Manon Lescaut with the Todi Music Festival.
On international stages, Mr. Easterlin joined the Saito Kinen Festival in Japan for performances of Wozzeck, conducted by Seiji Ozawa and starring Matteus Goerne, and has sung Pedrillo in Die Enführung aus dem Serail in his debut with Opéra de Québec, under the baton of Bernard Labadie, for which he received Canada's highly prestigious Dora Maver Moore Award. 
An active concert performer as well, Mr. Easterlin made his Ravinia Festival debut with Daniel Barenboim and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as Don Curzio in an all-star concert version of Le Nozze di Figaro which opened their centennial season. He has also appeared at the Brooklyn Academy of Music with the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra in a Broadway star-filled salute to Stephen Sondheim, telecast on PBS, and with such noted conductors as Sir Andrew Davis, James Conlon, Valery Gergiev, Asher Fisch, Bernard Labadie, Emmauel Villaume, Yves Abel, Graeme Jenkins, David Agler, Donald Runnicles, Gerard Schwarz, George Manahan, and Corrado Rovaris.
Renowned for his crossover and musical theatre activities as well as those on opera and symphonic stages, Mr. Easterlin has been seen on Broadway in the Tony Award winning revival of Chicago in the countertenor role of Mary Sunshine, as well as creating the role of Ari Leschnekoff in the new musical Band in Berlin, based on the life of the famed Comedian Harmonists, starring Hudson Shad. 
He starred in the First National Touring Company production of Chicago as Mary Sunshine, opposite Jasmine Guy, Obba Babatunde, and Charlotte D’Amboise, for which he received Washington D.C.’s Helen Hayes Award, Chicago’s Jefferson Award, Canada’s Dora Maver Moore Award, and the Boston Theatre Circle Critics Award.  Mr. Easterlin also starred in the critically acclaimed revival tour of The Most Happy Fella, as Giuseppe.  In addition, he was the youngest male soloist ever to tour with the legendary group Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians, personally selected by Mr. Waring himself. His European theatrical debut came in the Paris premiere of Hello Dolly! at the Chatalet Opera in a record-breaking four month sold-out engagement.
He received a Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, and an Obie Award for his Off-Broadway portrayal of Billy Flannigan in the revival of Harrigan ’n Hart for the York Theatre Company and has appeared in leading roles in Obie Award winning revivals of Music in the Air and The Gay Life, both at the Lamb’s Theatre.
On regional stages, he sang title and or leading roles in Candide (as Candide, receiving Washington D.C.’s Helen Hayes Award), Phantom of the Opera, Chicago (as Mary Sunshine, receiving Philadelphia’s Barrymore Award), Sweeney Todd (Tobias and Pirelli), Evita (Magaldi), A Little Night Music (Henrik), The Most Happy Fella (as Giuseppe receiving the Boston Theater Critics Award, Boston Theater World Award, and the Sea Coast Critics Circle Award), The Pirates of Penzance (Frederic), The Mikado (Nanki Poo), The Student Prince (Karl Franz), The Merry Widow (Camille) and seven companies of Forever Plaid as Jinx, for which he has received six prestigious theatrical awards coast to coast.
In addition to numerous recordings for the Naxos label and the Lincoln Center Library, Mr. Easterlin’s television credits include Night of a Hundred Stars (ABC), The Best of Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians (PBS), and serving as Executive Director for The Joy of Music (A&E), for which he received two ACE Awards.
Mr. Easterlin is a master puppeteer, with extensive experience in all forms of puppetry, including the creation, design, building, and execution of elaborate, artistic productions.  He began his own puppet production company at the seasoned age of seven and has maintained this company to the present day.

He previously held a career in the field of corporate advertising, working with such companies as Fox Television, A&E, FDP Worldwide, and BBDO, for which he received both the ADDY Award and the highly prestigious American Advertising Federation’s Young Advertiser of the Year Award.

JOHN EASTERLIN OPERATIC REPERTOIRE

Beethoven FIDELIO: Jaquino

Berg WOZZECK: Captain

Bernstein CANDIDE: Candide, Dr. Pangloss, Governor, Vanderdender

Bizet CARMEN: El Remendado

Britten ALBERT HERRING: Albert Herring, Mayor Upfold; BILLY BUDD: Red Whiskers, Squeak, Novice

Donizetti LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR: Sir Arturo Bucklaw, Normanno

Floyd SUSANNAH: Little Bat

Giordano LA CENA DELLA BEFFE: Trinca

Humperdinck HÄNSEL UND GRETEL: The Witch

Leoncavallo PAGLIACCI: Beppe

Loesser THE MOST HAPPY FELLA: Herman, Giuseppe, Cicciom, Doctor

Massenet MANON: Guillot de Morfontaine

Mozart DIE ENTFÜHRUNG AUS DEM SERAIL: Pedrillo; DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE: Monostatos; LE NOZZE DI FIGARO: Basilio, Don Curzio

Mussorgsky BORIS GODUNOV: The Simpleton, Schuisky

Offenbach LES CONTES D’HOFFMANN: The Four Servants, Spalanzani

Prokofiev THE GAMBLER: Prince Nilsky

Puccini LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST: Nick, Harry; GIANNI SCHICCHI: Rinuccio, Gherardo; MADAMA BUTTERFLY: Goro; MANON LESCAUT: Edmondo, Il Maestro di Ballo, Un Lampionaio; TOSCA: Spoletta; TURANDOT: Pong, Pang

Romberg THE DESERT SONG: Benjamin Kidd; THE NEW MOON: Alexander

Rossini IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA: Count Almaviva; ERMIONE: Attalo, Pilade

Sondheim A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC: Henrik; SWEENEY TODD: Tobias Ragg, Adolfo Pirelli, The Beadle

J. Strauss DIE FLEDERMAUS: Alfred, Dr. Blind

R. Strauss ARIADNE AUF NAXOS : Tanzmeister, Brighella, Scaramuccio; DER ROSENKAVALIER: Valzacchi, Major Domo I and II; DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN: Hunchback Brother; SALOME: Herod, First Jew, Fourth Jew

Stravinsky THE RAKE’S PROGRESS: Sellem

Sullivan THE MIKADO : Nanki-Poo; THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE: Frederic

Tchaikovsky EUGENE ONEGIN: Triquet

Verdi FALSTAFF: Bardolfo, Dr. Caius; LA TRAVIATA: Gastone

Wagner DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER: Der Steuermann; DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NÜRNBERG: David; PARSIFAL: Third Esquire, Fourth Esquire; DAS RHEINGOLD: Loge, Mime; SIEGFRIED: Mime

Ward THE CRUCIBLE: Reverend Parris, Judge Danforth

Weill RISE AND FALL OF MAHAGONNY: Jacob Schmidt; STREET SCENE: Lippo Fiorentino, Sam Kaplan, Danny Buchanan; THREE PENNY OPERA: Street Singer, Matt, Filch, Messenger

JOHN EASTERLIN CONCERT REPERTOIRE

Bach CHRISTMAS ORATORIO; MAGNIFICAT; MASS IN B MINOR; THE PASSION ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW; THE PASSION ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN

Beethoven MISSA SOLEMNIS; NINTH SYMPHONY

Britten SERENADE FOR TENOR, HORN, AND STRINGS; ST. NICHOLAS MASS

Handel JUDAS MACCABAEUS; MESSIAH

Haydn THE CREATION; LORD NELSON MASS; MASS NO. 9 IN D; MISSA SOLEMNIS; THE SEASONS

Mendelssohn ELIJAH

Mozart MASS IN C (CORONATION); REQUIEM

Orff CARMINA BURANA

Puccini MESSA DI GLORIA

Rossini LE PETITE MESSE SOLENELLE; STABAT MATER

Saint-Saens CHRISTMAS ORATORIO

Verdi REQUIEM