Kellen Schrimper

Kellen Schrimper, baritone, will be making his company and role debut as the title character in Pacific Opera Project’s Sweeney Todd. Last season, he made his debut with West Bay Opera as the High Priest of Dagon (Samson et Dalila). He also made his return to Opera in the Heights in Houston to perform the role of Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm (A Little Night Music). Recently, Mr. Schrimper has been a featured artist with Opera Carolina, appearing as Ser Amantio (Gianni Schicchi) and Sprecher (Die Zauberflöte). In Summer of 2025, Mr. Schrimper covered the title role in Verdi’s Macbeth with Teatro Nuovo as a resident artist. Prior to his time there, he sang The Pilot (The Little Prince) with Opera in the Heights, where he made his principal role debut as Marcello (La bohème) in their 2023-24 season. Mr. Schrimper has also sung the roles of Count Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro) and Ford (Falstaff) with Pacific Northwest Opera. In 2025, Kellen was awarded the 2nd Place Prize and Audience Choice Award at Opera Birmingham’s Vocal Competition. For many years, he has spent his summers at various seasonal festivals including Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, where he covered the role of Scarpia (Tosca) as well as Reverend Olin Blitch (Susannah). After finishing his Bachelor’s Degree in Vocal Performance at Drake University, he was an apprentice artist with Cedar Rapids Opera as well as Des Moines Metro Opera for several summers. With Des Moines Metro Opera, Kellen has performed the roles of Interrogator/ Estonian Frank (Fellow Travelers) and 2nd Armored Man (Die Zauberflöte). He has been a District Encouragement Award winner for The Met Laffont Competition in his native Iowa District, as well as a finalist in the Houston Saengerbund Awards in 2022, and has competed as a semi-finalist in various competitions such as The Premiere Opera Foundation and Jensen Foundation.