Paulo Szot


Paulo Szot is a Brazilian operatic baritone singer and actor. He made his opera debut in 1997 and his international career has included performances with the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala di Milano, Opera de Paris, Bayerische Staatsoper, Opera Australia, Liceo de Barcelona, among many others. In 2008, he made his Broadway debut as Emile De Becque in a revival of South Pacific, for which he won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical, the Drama Desk Award, the Outer Critics Circle Award and the Theatre World Award. In 2012 he was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for best actor in a musical, and in 2014 was nominated for the MAC Award for best Celebrity Artist becoming the first Brazilian to receive such honors. His other stage credits include portraying the role of Juan Perón in the Sydney Opera House production of Evita, starring as Billy Flynn in the 2020/2021 cast of Broadway’s Chicago, and originating the role of Lance in the hit Broadway musical & Juliet. He starred in the London premiere of Stephen Sondheim's Here We Are in 2025 and later that year starred as Hades in the Broadway cast of Hadestown.
WWW pauloszot.com

Biography

Szot was born in São Paulo to Polish parents who emigrated to Brazil after World War II. He began his musical training in piano at the age of five and later added violin and classical ballet. However, at age 21, a knee injury cut short any aspirations for a career in dance, causing him, with encouragement from his instructor, to pursue singing instead.
Szot studied at Jagiellonian University in Poland. He began singing professionally in 1990 with the National Song & Dance Ensemble "Śląsk". Later, he made his professional opera debut in a production of Il barbiere di Siviglia at the Municipal Theatre of São Paulo in 1997. Since then, he has performed with the New York City Opera, the Palm Beach Opera, the Canadian Opera Company, Opéra de Marseille, and Vlaamse Opera, among others, in such operas as L'elisir d'amore, La bohème, Don Giovanni, Cavalleria rusticana, Pagliacci, Carmen, Così fan tutte, Le nozze di Figaro and Maria Golovin. In March 2010 he made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Kovalyov in Dmitri Shostakovich's The Nose. Szot returned to the Metropolitan Opera as Escamillo sharing the stage with the French tenor Roberto Alagna and as Lescaut in Manon along with Anna Netrebko. Szot returned to the Met in 2014 as the Captain of the Achille Lauro in The Death of Klinghoffer. He sang the role of Guglielmo in Mozart's Così fan tutte at the Palais Garnier, and at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in Le nozze di Figaro. In 2013 he sang in The Nose at Teatro dell'Opera di Roma and at La Scala in the role of Filip Filippovich, the protagonist of Alexander Raskatov's 2009 opera A Dog's Heart. In 2018 and 2019, Szot sang the role of the Celebrant in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's performance of Leonard Bernstein's Mass under the direction of Marin Alsop with the Chicago Children's Choir and the Highland Park High School Marching Band.
Of his performance in South Pacific, Ben Brantley of The New York Times wrote: "When he delivers 'Some Enchanted Evening' or 'This Nearly Was Mine,' it's not as a swoon-making blockbuster, but as a measured and honest consideration of love."

Personal life

Brazilian singer and actor Paulo Szot is openly gay.

Stage productions

National Song and Dance Ensemble Slask - from 1989 - 1995 - Koszecin, Poland Il Barbiere di Siviglia – 1996 – Teatro Paulo Eiró, São PauloGianni Scchicchi – 1997 – Sesc Ipiranga, São PauloLa Bohème – 1998 – Teatro Alfa Real, São PauloLe Barbier de Séville – 1997 – Teatro Municipal de Santo AndréCarmen – 1998 – Teatro Municipal de São PauloLa Bohème – 1998 – Teatro Municipal de São PauloL'elisir d'amore – 1998 – Festival Ópera de ManausDon Giovanni – 1999 – Teatro Alfa Real, São PauloLe Barbier de Séville – 1999 – Teatro São Pedro, São PauloDon Giovanni – 1999 – Municipal de São PauloLe Barbier de Séville – 1999 – Teatro São Pedro de Porto AlegreO Guarani – 1999 – Teatro AmazonasCarmen – 2000 – Teatro Municipal do Rio de JaneiroCavaleria Rusticana – 2000 – Teatro Alfa Real, São PauloI Pagliacci – 2000 – Teatro Alfa Real, São PauloDie Fledermaus – 2000 – Teatro Rio de JaneiroCavaleria Rusticana – 2000 – Teatro Municipal de São PauloPagliacci – 2000 – Teatro Municipal de São PauloTanhäuser – 2001 – Teatro Municipal do Rio de JaneiroCarmen – 2001 – Teatro Alfa, São PauloCarmen – 2001 – Teatro Municipal de São PauloDon Giovanni – 2001 – Teatro AmazonasLa Bohème – 2001 – Teatro AmazonasHansel et Gretel – 2001 – Teatro Municipal de São PauloManon – 2002 – Teatro AmazonasManon – 2002 – Teatro Alfa – São PauloPagliacci – 2002 – Teatro AmazonasIl Barbiere di Siviglia - 2003 - Palacio das ArtesHansel et Gretel – 2003 – Teatro Municipal de São PauloCavaleria Rusticana – 2003 – Teatro AmazonasDon Pasquale – 2003 – Teatro São Pedro, São PauloDon Pasquale – 2003 – Teatro Municipal de Santo AndréLustige Witwe – 2003 – Porto AlegreCarmen – 2003 – New York City OperaDon Giovanni – 2003 – Michigan OperaLe Nozze di Figaro – 2004 – New York City OperaCarmen – 2004 – Palm Beach OperaEugène Onegin – 2004 – Ópera de MarseilleOrfeo – 2004 – Teatro Sérgio CardosoL'elisir d'amore – 2005 – New York City OperaRita – 2005 – Festival de Campos do JordãoDido et Aeneas – 2005 – Opera de MarseilleDon Giovanni – 2005 – Opera de ToulonDon Giovanni – 2005 – Opera de BordeauxCosì fan tutte – 2006 – Opera de MarseilleMaria Golovin – 2006 – Opera de MarseilleDon Giovanni – 2006 – Opera de Bogota - ColombiaCosì fan tutte – 2007 – Opera de NiceLe nozze di Figaro – 2007 – BostonMaria Golovin – Spoleto Opera Festival, 2007 - ItalyLe Portrait de Manon – 2007 – Liceo de BarcelonaLe Nozze di Figaro – 2007 – Vlaamse Opera, AnversLe Nozze di Figaro – 2008 – Vlaamse Opera, GandSouth Pacific – 2008 – Lincoln Center Theater, New York - Emile de BecqueLa Veuve Joyeuse – 2008 – Opera de MarseilleSouth Pacific – 2009 – Lincoln Center Theater, New York - Emile de BecqueThe Nose – 2010 – Metropolitan Opera New YorkSouth Pacific – 2010 – Lincoln Center Theater, New York - Emile de BecqueCarmen – 2011 – Metropolitan Opera New YorkCosì fan tutte – 2011 – Opera Garnier, ParisSouth Pacific – 2011 – Barbican, London - Emile de BecqueCarmen – 2011 – San Francisco OperaSouth Pacific – 2011 – Oxford - Emile de BecqueManon – 2012 – Metropolitan Opera House New YorkLe Nozze di Figaro – 2012 – Festival d'Aix-en-Provence Don Giovanni – 2012 – Washington OperaThe Nose - Il Naso – 2013 – Opera di RomaA Dog's Heart - Cuore di Cane – 2013 – La ScalaThe Nose – 2013 – Metropolitan OperaDie Fledermaus - 2013/2014 – Metropolitan OperaEugène Onegin - 2014 - Melbourne Opera House Candide — 2014 — Sala São Paulo - OSESPThe Death of Klinghoffer – 2014 – Metropolitan OperaLe Nozze di Figaro – 2014 - Théâtre National de Bahreïn / Aix-en-ProvenceManon Lescaut - Teatro Municipal de Sao Paulo - Lescaut - 2015Die Fledermaus - The Metropolitan Opera - 2015/2016 - FalkeMadama Butterfly - Opera de Marseille - 2016 - SharplessRomeo et Juliette - Palacio das Artes - 2016 - MercutioMy Fair Lady - Teatro Santander - 2016 - Henry HigginsCosì fan tutte - "Don Alfonso" - 2017 - Palais Garnier Opéra National de ParisThe New Prince - 2017 - Dutch Opera - Hamilton/Clinton/Nixon - Amsterdam - NederlandsCarmen - Bayerische Staatsoper - Munich - Escamillo - 2017 - GermanyEvita - Shakespeare Festival - Pennsylvania - Juan Peron - 2017 - USAStreet Scene - Teatro Real - Madri - 2018 - Frank MaurantLa Traviata - Palacio das Artes - BH - 2018 - Giorgio GermontLa Traviata - Teatro Municipal de Sao Paulo - 2018 - G. GermontMass - Leonard Bernstein - South Bank Centre - 2018 - Celebrant - LondonMass - Leonard Bernstein - Ravinia Festival - 2018 - Celebrant - USAEvita - A. Lloyd Webber - Opera Australia - Sydney and Melbourne - 2018/2019 - Juan PeronMerry Widow - Franz Lehar - Opera di Roma - 2019 - DaniloMass - Leonard Bernstein - Ravinia Festival - 2019 - Celebrant - USAMadama Butterfly - Puccini - Metropolitan Opera - New York - 2019 - SharplessChicago - Ambassador Theater, Broadway - New York - 2020 and 2021 - Billy Flynn Street Scene - Opera de Monte Carlo - 2020 - FrankChicago - Teatro Santander - São Paulo - 2022 - Billy Flynn
  • La boheme - Puerto Rico - 2022 - Marcello& Juliet - Princess of Wales Theatre - Toronto - 2022 - Lance& Juliet - Sondheim Theater - Broadway - 2023–present - Lance
  • Simon Boccanegra - Amazon Opera Festival - 2024 - Simon Boccanegra
  • Cosi fan tutte - Opera de Paris - 2024 - Don Alfonso& Juliet - Sondheim Theater - Broadway - 2024 - LanceSouth Pacific in Concert - Lincoln Centre - 2024 - Émile de Becque
  • Otello - Puerto Rico Symphony / Culturarte - 2025 - Iago
  • Carmen - Detroit Symphony Orchestra - 2025 - EscamilloHere We Are - National Theatre - 2025Evita - The Muny - 2025 - Juan PeronHadestown - Broadway - 2025 - Hades