Tenor MAXIMILLIAN JANSEN is a versatile performer who excels on both the operatic and concert stage. Also no stranger to the world of musical theatre, he has been praised as a “compelling singer and an excellent actor”(The Saratogian) with a “warm, but penetrating voice” (The Times Union). As a recitalist, Maximillian is committed to using music as a tool for change through diverse, intentional programming and the exploration of contemporary and underrepresented voices.

This 2024 season, Maximillian returns to Opera Saratoga as a Guest Artist, singing the roles of Ferrando in Così fan tutte directed by Gisela Cardenas and conducted by Ryan McAdams and Laurie Rogers, and Nicely Nicely Johnson in Guys and Dolls, directed by Mary Birnbaum and conducted by Andy Einhorn.

During his 2022-2023 season, Maximillian was a Festival Artist at Opera Saratoga, where he performed the role of Monty Navarro in David Gram’s production A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, conducted by Laura Bergquist.  He also sang the tenor solos in Handel’s L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato and Haydn’s Creation with Concerts in the Village under David Smith.

In 2022, Maximillian was a vocal fellow in the prestigious Lehrer Vocal Institute at the Music Academy of the West where he performed the role of Triquet in Peter Kazaras’ production of Eugene Onegin, conducted by Daniela Candillari. He was featured in cabarets and concerts directed by James Darah, Craig Terry, and Sarah Widzer. That year he also presented a live premiere of a new work by David Ludwig Serkin for the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. This premiere was given as part of YIVO’s Continuing Evolution: Yiddish Folksong Today, a music festival celebrating Yiddish folksong.

Previous operatic roles include the title role in Britten’s Albert Herring, Simple in Alison Mortiz’s production of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Sir John in Love conducted by Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra at the Bard Music Festival, as well as the Fourth Jew in Salome at The Fisher Center at Bard College, also conducted by Botstein and directed by R.B. Schlather.

Maximillian has appeared as a soloist with groups including Concerts in the Village, Lancaster Symphony, Albany Symphony, Cincinnati Fusion Ensemble, and the Bard Baroque Ensemble performing works of Britten, Beethoven, Handel, Haydn, Telemann, and Bach.

Originally from Cincinnati, Maximillian is now based in New York. He holds a master’s degree in music from Bard College Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Lorraine Nubar, Stephanie Blythe, Kayo Iwama, and Erika Switzer. Maximillian is also an alumnus of Miami University of Ohio (bachelor’s degree in music), where he studied under the tutelage of Audrey B. Luna.