Chicago native Ian Koziara was a three-year member of The Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, having worked with such notable conductors as Yannick Nezet-Séguin, Bertrand de Billy, and Marco Armiliato. He debuted at the Metropolitan Opera as Enrique in Thomas Adès’ The Exterminating Angel, with subsequent appearances in Parsifal, Nico Muhly’s Marnie, Die Zauberflöte, and La fanciulla del West. Ian’s appearance as Fritz in Franz Schreker’s Der ferne Klang (Oper Frankfurt) was hailed by the Wiesbadener Tagblatt as “so strong as Fritz that one is amazed at how naturally a sense of beauty and despair can go hand in hand”. His performance in the title role of Mozart’s Idomeneo yielded accolades from the Washington Post, praising his “striking beauty of tone… His King was royal and haunted and evoked nothing so much as Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes”.
In the 2024/2025 Season, Ian Koziara debuted in Das Rheingold with The Bayerische Staatsoper, directed by Tobias Kratzer and conducted by Vladimir Jurowski. Further debuts occured at Teatro Real Madrid, The Gran Liceu Barcelona, and The Hamburg Elbphilharmonie. Ian debuted in the title role of Wagner’s Parsifal with Oper Frankfurt, as well as in Janacek’s From The House of the Dead.
In 2026, Ian Koziara debuts at the Royal Swedish Opera as Fritz in Der ferne Klang, a role which he has not only sung at Oper Frankfurt to great acclaim but also in a live recording from that production.
