A young and vibrant tenor, Christopher Plaas has entertained audiences throughout the United States and Europe. A native of Johnson City, TN, he earned his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance at East Tennessee State University. During his time at ETSU Christopher participated in a variety of ensembles including the opera workshop, a barbershop quartet, a vocal jazz ensemble, a pop a-capella group, as well as the internationally recognized ETSU Men’s Ensemble and Chorale under the direction of Dr. Thomas Jenrette.
Christopher discovered his love for opera while earning his master’s degree at Appalachian State University, where he appeared in numerous fully staged productions, opera scenes programs, and as a member of the select graduate quintet Quintessential! During his time at App State, he also completed programs with the Franco-American Vocal Academy in Salzburg, Austria and with the Lyric Opera Studio Weimar in Weimar, Germany. It is in these places that Christopher developed an affinity for the works of Mozart and Rossini to which his voice is so well suited. As a young professional singer, his easy high notes and fluid coloratura have quickly earned him recognition as an ideal choice for the great tenor roles of those composers.
Christopher has been a featured performer at multiple national conventions of the American Choral Director’s Association, a national conference of the International Male Choruses, and multiple National Barbershop Quartet Conventions. He is currently a regular substitute for the professional Gospel Quartet King’s Cadence based out of Knoxville Tennesse.
In 2017 Christopher was a Resident Artist with Indianapolis Opera, where he covered the role of Alfredo and sang Gastone in Verdi's La Traviata. In summer of 2018 Christopher was an Apprentice Artist with Teatro Nuovo during its inaugural season of the Bel Canto Festival at Purchase College. He was featured as a Tyler Young Artists with Opera on the James in Lynchburg, VA in the fall of 2019. Performances to date include Vaşek in The Bartered Bride, Alfred in Die Fledermaus, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, La Théière in L’enfant et les sortileges, Fenton in Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor with Theater Rudolstadt , Pedrillo in Die Entführung aus dem Serail with Scenic City Opera, Arturo Bucklaw in Knoxville Opera's production of Lucia di Lammermoor, Monostatos in Die Zauberflöte and The Notary in Gianni Schicchi with Salt Marsh Opera, Alfredo Germont in La Traviata with Barn Opera, and Ernesto in Barn Opera’s production of Don Pasquale. This spring Christopher will debut with Bel Cantati Opera in the role of Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail.