The French bass Nicolas Testé initially studied piano, bassoon and music history in Paris before embarking on a career as a singer. He studied at the Opéra National de Paris and Centre de Formation Lyrique. In 1998 he was awarded the Second Prize at the “Voix Nouvelles” competition.

Nicolas Testé regularly performs in many renowned opera houses such as the Metropolitan Opera of New York, Bayerische Staatsoper, Los Angeles Opera, San Francisco Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Opéra National de Paris, Teatro San Carlo Naples, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Teatro alla Scala di Milano, Teatro La Fenice as well as at the Glyndebourne Festival and Chorégies d’Orange.

His extensive repertoire comprises title roles in Iphigénie en Aulide (Agamemnon), Roméo et Juliette (Frère Laurent), Manon (Des Grieux), Hamlet (Claudius), Il Trovatore (Ferrando), Die Zauberflöte (Sarastro), Castor et Pollux (Jupiter), Faust (Mephisto), Les Contes d’Hoffmann (The Four Villains), Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Basilio), La Gioconda (Alvise) and I Puritani (Sir Giorgio).

In addition to his debut at the Bayerische Staatsoper in La Bohème (Colline), Nicolas Testé made his debut at the San Francisco Opera in Lucia di Lammermoor (Raimondo) in the 2015/2016 season and made a guest appearance at the Metropolitan Opera New York in a new production of Bizet’s Les pêcheurs de perles (Nourabad). This was the first time in history that this opera was performed at the Met. Nicolas Testé also followed invitations to the Deutsche Oper Berlin in Lucia di Lammermoor (Raimondo), to the Teatro Real in Madrid in I Puritani (Sir Giorgio) and to Orange in La Traviata (Doctor Grenvil).

In the 2017/2018 season, Nicolas Testé returned to the Bayerische Staatsoper in Lucia di Lammermoor (Raimondo). He made guest appearances at the Opernhaus Zürich in Maria Stuarda (Giorgio Talbot) and at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in the same role and had engagements at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in Faust (Mephisto) and La Gioconda (Alvise Badoero). In January 2018, he was heard at the Opéra National de Paris in Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Basilio). In the 2018/19 season, he appeared in Les Huguenots (Marcel) and Die Zauberflöte (Sarastro) at the Opéra Bastille in Paris and at the Metropolitan Opera New York as Nourabad in Les Pêcheurs de Perles, as well as Claudius in Hamlet at the Gran Teatre del Liceu and at the Deutsche Oper Berlin.

In addition to numerous opera productions, Nicolas Testé regularly performs with internationally renowned symphony orchestras. As part of a tour of Asia in November 2017, he performed opera gala and recital programmes in Singapore, Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei and Beijing together with the coloratura soprano Diana Damrau. In May and June 2018, the VERDIssimo tour project took him to the most important concert halls in Europe.

In September 2019, he delighted audiences in Paris as Sir Giorgio in Bellini’s I Puritani. Another highlight of the 2019/20 season was Roméo et Juliette at La Scala in Milan. Further productions of the season were cancelled due to the pandemic.

In the 2021/22 season he was on stage as Comte des Grieux in Manon at the Opéra of Lyon, as Ramfis in Aida at the Teatro San Carlo Naples, in Norma as Oroveso at Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona and as Colline in La Bohème at the MET.

Besides numerous opera productions Nicolas Testé regularly performs with internationally renowned symphony orchestras. In November 2017 he embarked on an Asian Tour together with the renowned soprano Diana Damrau performing opera gala and recital programmes with concerts in Singapore, Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei and Beijing. In the frame of the tour VERDIssimo he gave concerts in Europe’s major concert halls in May and June 2018.

In the 2021/22 season, he was engaged as Compte des Grieux in Manon at the Lyon Opera, as Ramfis in Aida in a production with Anna Netrebko at the Teatro San Carlo Naples, in Norma as Oroveso at the Gran Teatre del Liceu and as Colline in La Bohème at the MET.

In the 2022/23 season, he appeared as Claudius in Hamlet at the Opéra Royal Wallonie Liège and on tour with the Budapest Festival Orchestra as Arkel in Pelléas et Mélisande as well as on tour in Asia with soprano Diana Damrau.

Highlights of the 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26 seasons include his engagements at the Washington National Opera for a Roméo et Juliette production, at the National Centre for the Performing Arts Beijing, at the Staatsoper Berlin and the Opernhaus Zürich, Faust in Cologne, Norma at Palm Beach Opera, La Bohème at the Metropolitan Opera, Manon Lescaut at the Opernhaus Zürich and Pelléas et Mélisande at the Grand Théâtre de Genève.

Download Press Pack