About
Recipient of The Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award, Christopher Allen is featured in Opera News as “one of the fastest-rising podium stars in North America.” He has led acclaimed operatic and symphonic performances with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Utah Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Virginia Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, Orquesta Clásica Santa Cecila, George Enescu Philharmonic, West Los Angeles Symphony, Cincinnati Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Opera Omaha, Opéra de Montréal, English National Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Washington National Opera, Detroit Opera, North Carolina Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Atlanta Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Daegu Opera House in South Korea, Korean Symphony Orchestra, and China National Opera Orchestra and Chorus.

Upcoming highlights in the 2025-2026 season include The Rake’s Progress at Des Moines Metro Opera, Fourth Wall Ensemble’s West Coast Tour (for which Allen serves as Artistic Director), Florida Grand Opera’s Silent Night, Fourth Wall Ensemble performance at Merkin Hall, in concert with Ben Bliss at Los Angeles Opera, and re-engagements with Tucson Symphony and Omaha Symphony. Additionally, he returns to Atlanta Opera for The Marriage of Figaro, and conducts the world- premiere opera DRIFT by Alyssa Weinberg at Opera Saratoga.

Allen’s career was launched by the Bruno Walter Conducting Award and Memorial Career Grant and has been fostered by Plácido Domingo and James Conlon, who brought him to Los Angeles Opera as Associate Conductor. At LA Opera, Allen led the musical preparation for the acclaimed The Ghosts of Versailles, which won a Grammy Award for Best Opera. Recognized as a Musical America Artist of the Month and one of their “25 Stars Still Rising,” Allen is also an International Opera Awards nominee, and recent recipient of the Young Alumni Award from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

Allen demonstrates his commitment to education through his work with young artists at Los Angeles Opera, Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Aspen Music Festival and School, New England Conservatory, Mannes School of Music, A.J. Fletcher Institute at University of North Carolina School of the Arts, and University of Missouri- Kansas City. He has been heard on NPR speaking about the importance of the arts in American society. As an award-winning pianist, he has performed at Carnegie Hall, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, on film in La voix humaine, starring Patricia Racette and directed by James Darrah, and in Emily, a production he created for Opéra de Montréal and performed at Wolf Trap.

Allen’s artistic pursuits extend beyond his role as conductor. He is the Creative and Artistic Director of Fourth Wall Ensemble, an innovative vocal ensemble, which he founded in 2023. Under the Artistic leadership of Christopher Allen, Fourth Wall Ensemble redefines vocal performance, blending tradition with bold new artistic explorations. The ensemble’s recent highlights include performances at Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, Death of Classical, Power Station at Berklee, The Cell Theatre, Avaloch Farm Music Institute, National Sawdust, and in collaboration with Beth Morrison Projects in Paola Prestini’s world premiere opera, Sensorium Ex. Upcoming engagements for the ensemble include a return to Avaloch Farm Music Institute for a summer residency, a West Coast Tour, a return to Merkin Hall, and a recording release of Kaija Saariaho’s Nuits, Adieux at National Sawdust+. Fourth Wall Ensemble can be heard on two recordings: Awake, and Ad Manus, the group’s debut album created in partnership with GRAMMY® Award-winning trio Time for Three and five-time EMMY® Award-winning composer Jeff Beal (House of Cards).

Allen is a Recording Academy voting member, and serves on the Board of The Solti Foundation US.