Praised for his sonorous, flexible bass voice and expressive characterizations, William Meinert recently made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Carceriere in Tosca, and also debuted with Opéra de Montréal as Il Commendatore in Don Giovanni. As a member of the ensemble at Bühnen Bern, he has interpreted the roles of Sparafucile in Rigoletto, Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, Gremin in Eugene Onegin and Oroveso in Norma. He continues in Bern as Geronte in Manon Lescaut, Padre Guardiano in La forza del destino, and Herold in L’agamennone, a world premiere by Salvatore Sciarrino.
William made his European debut in 2022 as Mordred in Le roi Arthus with Tiroler Festspiele Erl. In his home country, he has also performed with numerous prominent companies and ensembles, including the Santa Fe Opera, Washington National Opera, Dallas Opera, Atlanta Opera, National Symphony Orchestra, American Bach Soloists, Madison Opera, Opera North, Pensacola Opera, Opera Las Vegas, Baltimore Concert Opera, and Mobile Opera.
Notable roles include Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, Vodník in Rusalka, Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore, Colline in La bohème, Varlaam in Boris Godunov, Titurel in Parsifal, Snug in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Gran Sacerdote in Nabucco, Antinoo in Il ritorno di Ulisse in patria, Lord Rochefort in Anna Bolena, Imperial Commissioner in Madama Butterfly, La voce di Nettuno in Idomeneo, Secret Police Agent in The Consul, and Sodbuster in Proving Up. On the concert stage, he performed as soloist in Handel’s Messiah, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 13 “Babi Yar,” Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, Fauré’s Requiem, Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610, Saint-Saëns’ Christmas Oratorio, and Kodály’s Missa Brevis.
William won first prizes at both the 2022 Shreveport Opera Mary Jacobs Smith and the 2019 Houston Grand Opera Eleanor McCollum Competition, and was a finalist of the 2022 Loren L. Zachary National Vocal Competition and the 2025 Vienna Opera Competition. He is a graduate of the Jeune Ensemble at Grand Théâtre de Genève, the Cafritz Young Artist program at Washington National Opera, the Apprentice Artist program at Santa Fe Opera, the Studio Artist program at Atlanta Opera, as well as Dolora Zajick’s Institute for Young Dramatic Voices.
“William Meinert was impressive not only for his size and stature, but also for the solidity of his voice, which was as thrilling as could be; one of the best performances we have heard in a role known for being particularly difficult to negotiate.”
“Sobald er seinen schwarzen Bass mit nachlässiger Eleganz spazierenführt, erliegt man ihm.”
“As soon as he rolls out his dark bass voice with carefree elegance, you succumb to him.”
“...une voix bien projetée et bien contrôlée au phrasé impeccable et assez expressive.”
“...a well-projected and well-controlled voice with impeccable and quite expressive phrasing.”
“superbe voix de basse magnifiquement projetée”
“superb, magnificently projected bass voice”
“William Meinert s’illustre par la solidité de sa voix de basse”
“William Meinert stands out for the solidity of his bass voice”
“William Meinert active de larges résonateurs et ouvre grandes ses voyelles, pour creuser une voix caverneuse.”
“William Meinert activates large resonators and opens his vowels wide, to create a cavernous voice.”
“Meinert’s rendition was not only vocally powerful, but had sharp timing and speed to match his strength...”
Photographer: Marvin Mears
“eine Hüne an Stimme und Gestalt, gebietet über eine Tiefe, die bedauern lässt, dass der Sparafucile eine so kleine Rolle ist.
“William Meinert, a giant in voice and stature, commands a depth of tone that makes one regret that Sparafucile is such a small role.”
“basse caressante [...] toute de douceur”
“a bass with a caressing voice, full of gentleness”
“Como el Antinoo de William Meinert, que dejó la huella de una voz timbrada y libre, sonora y de notable extensión...”
“William Meinert’s Antinoo left the mark of a free and timbered voice, sonorous and of remarkable extension...”
“William Meinert gave us an impressively firm column of sound”
“basse sonore et fort ronde”
“a sonorous and very round bass voice”
“William Meinert held his own in this august company [...], his rich vibrant bass easily filling the house.”
“William Meinert as Varlaam [was] particularly charismatic, with [...] an exhilarating comic flair.”
“William Meinert wielded a youthful bass-baritone that boasted a luxurious, plushy quality like the fuzz on a deep-red plum.”