Johnnie Bankens

Known as an “impressive bass” and a singer of “high caliber,” Johnnie Bankens has performed a variety of opera and music theatre roles locally, nationally, and overseas. Most recently, Johnnie was seen as Don Annibale Pistacchio in Donizetti’s Il campanello, the title role in Bartók’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle (sung in Hungarian), Prince Gremin in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, Uncle in Elizabeth Cree by Kevin Puts, and as the bass soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and in Handel’s Messiah. In 2016, he made his San Diego Opera debut as the Jailer in Tosca alongside Greer Grimsley, Gwynne Hughes Jones, and Alexia Volgaridou. Internationally, Bankens has performed the title roles in Don Giovanni and Falstaff in Italy and San Marino. His other roles include the title character in Le nozze di Figaro, Don Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, Colline in La bohème, Frère Laurent in Roméo et Juliette, Junius in The Rape of Lucretia, Fredrik Egerman in A Little Night Music, Bob Beckett in HMS Pinafore, The Inn-keeper in The Man of La Mancha, and Orin Scrivello, DDS in Little Shop of Horrors, among others.

On the concert stage, Johnnie has performed the solos in Mozart’s Requiem, Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass, and Saint-Saëns’ Christmas Oratorio, as well as in numerous cantatas by J.S. Bach. As an avid recitalist, Bankens has been a featured performer all over the nation. He has made professional appearances with San Diego Opera, Nevada Opera, Opéra Louisiane, Blue Lake Opera, Louisiana Philharmonic, Starkville Symphony, New Orleans Symphony Chorus, West End Collegiate Singers, The Stonewall Chorale, The Lied Society, and Louisiana Choral Foundation.

In the Fall of 2019, Johnnie joined the music faculty of Southeastern Louisiana University as an Assistant Professor of Voice. He teaches Applied Voice, Graduate Teaching Practicum, Voice Pedagogy, and Song Literature.