Biography
Juan Angel Johnston-Chavez is a bass-baritone, director, and choreographer based in NYC and originally from San José, California. Some of his credits include Papageno in Die Zauberflöte (Lyric Opera Studio Weimar), El Dancaïro in Opera in Concert: Highlights from Carmen (Manhattan School of Music), Brother in Kurt Weill’s Die Sieben Todsünden (Manhattan School of Music), Grégorio in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette (MSM), Conte di Ceprano and Usciere in Verdi’s Rigoletto (Savannah Voice Festival), Don Alfonso in Cosi fan tutte (Utah Vocal Arts Academy), Rapunzel’s Prince in Into the Woods, Sergeant of Police in Pirates of Penzance (Lyric Theater San José), and The Learned Judge in Trial by Jury (San José State University). He has performed partial roles as the Vicar in Britten’s Albert Herring, Dandini in La Cenerentola, Mustafa in L’Italiana in Algeri, Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro, as well as the title roles in scenes from Don Giovanni and Falstaff. He also performed oratorio work as the bass soloist in Mozart’s Coronation Mass in Lisbon with the SJSU Choraliers.
This summer, Juan Angel made his debut with the Ohio Light Opera, performing the roles of 3rd Cockney in My Fair Lady, Duke of Ephesus in The Boys from Syracuse, and Linville in Damn Yankees, as well as performing in the ensembles of The Merry Widow and The Red Mill.
Juan Angel is a winner of several accolades, including Manhattan School of Music’s Hugh Ross Award and San Jose State University’s Irene Dalis Memorial Award and Outstanding Music Major Award. He was also a 1st place winner in the Upper College Division of San Francisco Bay Area NATS in 2023 and a recipient of the Katherine Harvey Collegiate Award for SFBAC NATS in 2021.
In addition to his performance work, Juan Angel’s work as a director spans opera, art song, musical theatre, and film. He holds a deep passion for creating innovative stagings that utilize multidisciplinary collaborations between dance and vocal music. He most recently curated, directed, and co-choreographed a staged production of Robert Schumann’s Dichterliebe, which incorporated an ensemble of nine dancers into a solo vocal and piano performance of the cycle. Juan Angel also directed and choreographed a similar performance of Schubert’s Winterreise with a smaller group of dancers in 2025. He has helmed promotional short films for Lyric Theater of San José and served on the directorial teams of numerous opera scene showcases, directing scenes from Don Giovanni, La Cenerentola, Candide, Violet, Les Misérables, The Addams Family, Into the Woods, and The Pirates of Penzance. Juan Angel also served as the choreographer for San Jose State’s production of Trial by Jury in 2022 and Manhattan School of Music’s New American Songbook Cabaret shows in
2024 and 2025.
Juan Angel holds a Master’s Degree (‘25) and Professional Studies Diploma (‘26) in Classical Vocal Performance from the Manhattan School of Music and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and Music Education (’23) from San José State University.
