About

Trained at the University of Iowa, Minnesota native John Des Marais has sung professionally in the greater New York City area since 2001.  He is known for his flexible, mellifluous tone, his reliable artistry, his impeccable lyric diction, and his assured presence.

His opera roles include Vaudemont in Tchaikovsky’s Yolanta, Romeo in Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet, Rinuccio in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, and Tamino in Mozart’s The Magic Flute.  In recent years, he has premiered three operas by composer Raymond Luedeke at the National Opera Center and Symphony Space: My Life with Pablo Neruda, A Doll’s House, and The Lady from the Sea.

John has had an extensive concert-singing career, both as a soloist and ensemble singer, working with such conductors as James Levine, Sir Charles MacKerras, and Robert Spano, in venues that include Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.  He has sung as tenor soloist in such works as Mendelssohn’s Die Erste Walpurgisnacht, Charpentier’s Magnificat, Bach’s Mass in B Minor, Mozart’s Coronation Mass and Solemn Vespers, Haydn’s Paukenmesse and Lord Nelson Mass, and settings of the Seven Last Words of Christ by Haydn, Dubois, and Franck, among many other works.  On May 30, 2026, he performed as tenor soloist in Mozart’s Spatzenmesse with the New England Symphonic Ensemble at Carnegie Hall.

He has served as a professional cantor, soloist, and section leader at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral since 2001.  In this capacity, he has sung as tenor soloist for numerous large works, including Mozart’s Great Mass in C Minor, Reinberger’s Mass in C, and JJ Wright’s Vespers for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, and has sung as cantor for many televised Masses, including the Papal Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI at Yankee Stadium, and Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve.

John is also an adept recitalist, having performed song cycles including Schumann’s Dichterliebe, Britten’s Winter Words, Dvoràk’s Zigeunermelodien, Poulenc’s Banlités, and John Ireland’s Land of Lost Content, in addition to select songs of Henri Duparc and Reynaldo Hahn, most recently at St. Malachy’s, the Actors’ Chapel.

John has been recorded as a soloist on the JAV (Organ Music and Gregorian Chant, 2006) and Urban Chant (Lamentations, 2015) labels.

As a member of SAG-AFTRA, John has sung for various films and television programs, including onscreen appearances in the HBO/MAX series The Gilded Age, and the film The Notorious Bettie Page.  Other film soundtracks for which he has sung include Noah, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Zoolander 2, and The Parenting.

John is known for his language skills, and has coached lyric diction (English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, and Latin) for singers of all levels, from student to professional, since 1996.

John has also worked as a composer, having composed music for art exhibits, television pilot episodes, and web productions. His electronic suite, Integrated Pathways, a musical representation of genetic code created to accompany the Jeff Wyckoff exhibit God Is a DJ, was published in AddictNoise magazine, and was heard in galleries in Brooklyn, Brussels, and Barcelona. His “petite suite,” Color Wheels, accompanied The Artist’s Shelf, an exhibit of work by celebrated Irish painter Richard Hearns, at O’Sullivan Antiques in Manhattan.