Tenor Michael Forest Dies at 63

Tenor Michael (Mike) Forest died on Sept. 23, 2026, at the age of 63 after persistent health issues, according to an obituary published by OperaWire. No arrangements have been announced at this time.

Forest was born on April 24, 1963. He earned both a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Music Education from Shenandoah Conservatory in 1985 and 1986, and also studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.

His career took shape inside two of America's most formative institutions. From 1989 to 1992, Forest was a member of the Metropolitan Opera's Young Artists Development Program. Before that, he worked as an apprentice artist with the Wolf Trap Opera Company and the Santa Fe Opera Company.

Forest built a parallel profile as a symphonic soloist of unusual breadth. He appeared frequently at the Kennedy Center with the Choral Arts Society of Washington and the Washington Chorus. His orchestral engagements included performances with the National Symphony Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Orchestra, and L'Orchestre du Montreal.

Opera remained central to his work. Forest performed with the Metropolitan Opera itself, as well as with Washington's Concert Opera, Wexford Opera, and the Ash Lawn Opera Festival.

For three decades, he also shaped the next generation of singers. Forest taught at his alma mater, Shenandoah Conservatory, from 1994 to 2024 — a 30-year tenure that ended just two years before his death.

His recorded legacy spans several major labels. Forest can be heard on recordings from EMI, Deutsche Grammophon, Vocalessence, Clarion Label, and BMG's Grammy Award-winning recording of John Corigliano's "Rage and Remembrance." He is also featured on DVDs from the Washington Chorus and the Metropolitan Opera.

Forest's death closes a career that bridged the opera stage, the concert hall, and the conservatory studio. His recordings remain the most immediate record of a voice that moved between the Met stage and the podiums of the New York Philharmonic and the BBC Orchestra.