“Kawabata commanded the stage every time he appeared. His effortless confidence and beautiful baritone made for an iconic performance as the braggadocious bullfighter.”
“I definitely see Escamillo in Kawabata’s future: he not only has a well-projected, heroic baritone, but is well on his way to having that God’s-gift-to-women attitude so central to the role.”
Luka Kawabata - Baritone
Nikkei-Canadian baritone, Luka Kawabata is a recent graduate of the Yulanda M Faris Young Artist Program with Vancouver Opera. Last season, he appeared as Peter Quince in Vancouver Opera’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Benjamin Britten and covered the role of Zurga in Bizet’s Les pêcheurs de perles. He is also a graduate of the Digital Emerging Artist Program with Manitoba Opera and a former fellow in The Association of Opera in Canada’s ‘RBC Fellowship’.
In the 2023-2024 Season, Luka joins the Opera on the Avalon Young Artist Program to cover the role of John in the World Premiere of Laura Kaminsky’s February as well as to commission a new aria to be premiered in Summer 2024. He returns to Vancouver Opera in the role of Le Dancaïre in Bizet’s Carmen in April-May 2024.
Past season highlights include two house debuts as Schaunard in La Bohème (Edmonton Opera) and Escamillo in Carmen (Saskatoon Opera) as well as the Bass Soloist in La Petite Messe Solennelle with the Vancouver Bach Choir.
As a portfolio artist and producer, Luka seeks to create new works that speak to a diverse audience. He is passionate about bringing contemporary opera and new projects to the forefront of performance. Luka’s self-directed series “The HAFU ハーフ Project” looks to broaden the social scope of classical music.
He has been the recipient of various awards, including the Jacqueline Desmarais Foundation, the Toni and Hildegard Cavelti Foundation Fund from the Vancouver Opera Foundation, and the Vancouver Opera Guild Award.
Luka is a mentor for the BC chapter of Opera InReach’s community engagement programs and alumnus of the Banff Centre’s ‘Opera in the 21st Century’ program. He holds a Master of Music in Opera Performance from the University of British Columbia under the instruction of Peter Barcza. He currently studies with renowned Bass-Baritone, Daniel Okulitch.
