Chinese-American bass Adam Lau, praised for his “dauntingly low register” (Classical Voice America) and his “cellar-deep sound” (Post Alley) continues to garner acclaim for his “cavernous bass sound” (Philadelphia Inquirer around the world). Lau’s 2024-25 season opened with San Francisco Opera, where he performed the role of Samuel in the company’s season-opening production of Un ballo in maschera. Other engagements in the season include returns to Minnesota Opera for Roméo et Juliette as Frère Laurent and Seattle Opera for both Les Troyens and Tosca, singing the roles of Narbal and Angelotti, respectively. He will also join the Oakland Symphony as the bass soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. In the past, he has recorded with Pentatone, EuroArts and San Francisco Classical Recording Company. He recently recorded the role of Oroveso in Norma in Romania, as well as the Lord Chief Justice in Gordon Getty’s Plump Jack at Skywalker Sound, a role he will reprise for the filmed production.
In the 2023-24 season, he performed in concerts with the Metropolitan Opera at Carnegie Hall and on the company’s European tour, conducted by Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Later in the summer, he sang Sarastro in The Magic Flute under the baton of Marin Alsop. In the fall, he rejoined San Francisco Opera to cover Kobun in The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs and sang a Noble in Lohengrin. Early 2024 brought his debut with the Atlanta Symphony in Bruckner’s Te Deum, followed by a return to Utah Opera in a signature role—the title role in Le nozze di Figaro. More Mozart followed at Arizona Opera, where he sang the Commendatore in Don Giovanni. In the spring, he performed Verdi’s Requiem at the Artisphere Festival, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Saskatoon Symphony, and was a guest soloist for Seattle Opera’s 60th Anniversary Concert and Gala.
The 2022-23 season was equally eventful, marking debuts with San Francisco Opera, New Orleans Opera,
Opera Philadelphia, and Florentine Opera, along with a return to the Metropolitan Opera.
Among his most frequently performed roles are Leporello (Don Giovanni), Colline (La bohème), Don Basilio (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Raimondo (Lucia di Lammermoor), Ferrando (Il Trovatore), and Timur (Turandot), with appearances at Atlanta Opera, Dallas Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Portland
Opera, North Carolina Opera, and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.
Adam Lau has received top honors in several major competitions, including First Prize at the George London
Competition, the Jensen Vocal Competition, the Palm Springs Opera Guild Competition, and the Young
Patronesses of the Opera Competition.