Patrick McNally

Baritone Patrick McNally is highly praised for bringing new works to life and invigorating great works of old. He prioritizes works important to our time that deeply impact audiences. Drawing from his extensive performance experience, he is equally at home on the opera, musical theatre, and recital stage. He is an Assistant Professor of Voice and the Director of Opera at East Texas A&M University.

Since arriving at ETAMU in Fall 2024, McNally has successfully led productions of Così fan tutte, Broadway in Bloom Cabaret, Amahl and the Night Visitors, Mozart & More – An Evening of Opera Scenes, and Seussical the Musical.

McNally made his El Paso Opera debut recently, portraying one of his most beloved characters, Mercutio, in Roméo et Juliette. This season also saw him return to Italy to perform the title role in Gianni Schicchi. In recent seasons, he returned to St. Petersburg Opera to sing Taddeo in l’Italiana in Algeri and The Wolf in Pinocchio and was featured abroad as Germont in La Traviata and the title role of Don Giovanni. He was also seen with the Quad Cities Symphony performing the role of Gad in Heggie's Two Remain (Out of Darkness).

McNally can be heard on Tangling with the Epic, a CD of newly created English and Australian art songs released on the Cedille Records label. As an avid recitalist, this season he provided a recital for St. Petersburg Opera, and regularly performs faculty recitals at East Texas A&M University.

Over the pandemic, McNally premiered in his first Twitch Opera as well as multiple asynchronous productions for online audiences, including the world premiere of the award-winning Verdi by Vegetables by Peter Hilliard and Matt Boresi, receiving Opera America’s Digital Excellence in Opera Award. McNally has been known and glowingly reviewed throughout his career for his command of the bel canto repertoire, his stylish portrayal of Mozart, and his commitment to new works. He continues to delight audiences with a baritone described as "robust" and "standout" by the Denver Post, as having a "rich, expressive baritone," and with a "lively stage presence” as described by Opera News. 

McNally is a regular Guest Master Teacher at visiting programs both nationally and internationally. His most recent guest artist masterclass was at Carnegie Mellon University, on one of his specialties – fight choreography. He has had former students sing at opera houses from Landlocked Opera to the Metropolitan Opera as well as internationally at houses such as the Bayerischer Staatsoper.

McNally has performed at houses across the United States and internationally. Some career highlights include appearances at Nashville Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Central City Opera, Tri-Cities Opera, Sarasota Opera, Dayton Opera, Opera Louisiane, Bronx Opera, Opera Mississippi, City Lyric Opera, the Center for Contemporary Opera, the Boston Lyric Opera, St. Petersburg Opera, as one of the solisti of Lucca, and in Die Eutiner Festspiele in Eutin, Germany. His recent oratorio highlights include the baritone solos in Fauré's Requiem, Händel's Messiah, and Bach’s Mass in B minor. McNally has won many awards including the Richard F. Gold Career Grant from the Shoshana Foundation, and he is a John Moriarty Presidential Scholar. He holds a BFA from Carnegie Mellon University, an MM from the New England Conservatory, and a DMA from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.