Keaton Payne is a lyric baritone making a splash in Chicago
Payne made their opera debut with Third Eye Theatre Ensemble’s production of Menotti’s The Consul as the Secret Police Agent. Since, they have appeared in many local productions in roles such as Baron Ochs in Der Rosenkavalier, Escamillo in Carmen, Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, The Donn in Crean & Leonard’s The Harbingers, Gravedigger in Myers & Long’s Buried Alive, and Jan the Second Oldest in the revised Chicago premiere of Hollman & Kotis’ Yeast Nation. They are a proud Chicago City Opera company member and advocate for intimate opera experiences in creative performance spaces.
Payne is a sought after soloist, appearing most recently in Chicago Bach Week’s performance of Bach’s Mass in B minor, with appearances in the North Shore Choral Society, Northwest Indiana Symphony’s production of Messiah, and returning soloist for UW – Platteville’s production of Haydn’s “Lord Nelson” Mass in D minor.
Payne regularly performs with the Music of the Baroque chorus under Dr. Andrew Megill and Dame Jane Glover. Music of the Baroque’s professional chorus and orchestra is one of the leading ensembles in the country devoted to the performance of eighteenth-century works. The ensemble has drawn particular praise throughout its history for its performances of the major choral and orchestral works of J. S. Bach and Handel, Mozart, and Haydn.
Keaton Payne is the winner of the 2023 Donald Chen Young Artist Award held by the North Shore Choral Society. They hold a master’s degree in vocal performance from North Park University where they were the winner of the 2024 Performance Awards and a bachelor’s in vocal performance from the University of Wisconsin – Platteville, where they were a three-time honors recitalist.
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