French-Canadian bass-baritone Philippe Sly is widely recognized for his work in opera, concert, and recital. He is a winner of The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the Concours Musical International de Montréal, and a recipient of the Gala des prix Opus award for Concert of the Year in Romantic, Post-Romantic, and Impressionist Music.
Highlights of his 25/26 season include debuts at the Salzburg Festival as the title role in Messiaen’s Saint François d’Assise and with Opera Atelier in Pelléas et Mélisande (Arkel), as well as returns to the Wiener Staatsoper for Fin de Partie (Hamm) and Don Giovanni (Leporello). Concert appearances include Handel’s Messiah with The Cleveland Orchestra and St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and Haydn’s Nelson Mass with Boston Baroque.
Sly has performed with major opera companies including the Wiener Staatsoper, Opéra national de Paris, Canadian Opera Company, Bayerische Staatsoper, Opernhaus Zürich, Opéra de Lyon, Opéra de Lausanne, Opéra de Québec, Hamburg Opera, Opéra Comique, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Glyndebourne Festival, Opéra national du Rhin, and San Francisco Opera. His operatic repertoire includes Le nozze di Figaro (Figaro, Antonio), Don Giovanni (title role, Leporello), Così fan tutte (Guglielmo), Fin de partie (Hamm), The Exterminating Angel (Russel), Lakmé (Nilakantha), Semele (Cadmus), Jephtha (Zebul), Carmen (Escamillo), Pelléas et Mélisande (Golaud), Les Troyens (Narbal), La damnation de Faust (Méphistophélès), Partenope (Ormonte), and Béatrice et Bénédict (Claudio). He has worked in new productions directed by Calixto Bieito, Claus Guth, Romeo Castellucci, and Christopher Alden, and recorded Le nozze di Figaro with Yannick Nézet-Séguin for Deutsche Grammophon.
On the concert stage, Sly has appeared with the Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, Toronto Symphony, Montreal Symphony (OSM), Orchestre Métropolitain, Orchestre symphonique de Québec, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Victoria Symphony, Gulbenkian Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Malaysian Philharmonic, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Les Violons du Roy, and the Handel & Haydn Society. His repertoire includes Bach’s St. John Passion, St. Matthew Passion, and Christmas Oratorio; Handel’s Messiah and Solomon; Mozart’s Requiem, Mass in C Minor, and concert arias; Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass; Fauré’s Requiem; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9; Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande; Nielsen’s Symphony No. 3; and the world premiere of Harry Stafylakis’s Into Oblivion with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.
He has worked with conductors including Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Bernard Labadie, Philippe Jordan, Simone Young, William Christie, John Nelson, Alain Altinoglu, Jaap van Zweden, Kent Nagano, and Gustavo Dudamel. He appears on GRAMMY® Award winning recordings with John Nelson and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg (Les Troyens) and with the OSM under Nagano (L’Aiglon by Honegger/Ibert).
As a recitalist, Sly has performed across Canada with the Debut Atlantic Series and appeared at the Toronto Summer Music Festival, Vancouver Coast Recital Society, Banff Centre, and Ottawa Chamberfest. He is known for his interpretations of Winterreise, performed both in recital and in an arrangement for Klezmer ensemble with Le Chimera Project. He also collaborates with guitarist John Charles Britton in song programs, including recent performances in Montreal and with the Tucson Guitar Society.
His solo recordings are available on Analekta, featuring repertoire ranging from Schubert and English art song to French Baroque, alongside his appearances on Decca and Deutsche Grammophon.
2025-2026
