Antoin Herrera-López Kessel is a Cuban-born French bass-baritone specializing in modern and contemporary repertoire. He is part of the Equilibrium Young Artists initiative led by Barbara Hannigan, driven by his passion for operatic works and solo bass-baritone pieces with orchestras and ensembles.
As a former soloist at Theater Basel (2019-2020), Antoin collaborates with the Paris-based ensemble Le Balcon on Karlheinz Stockhausen's opera cycle "Licht." He also portrayed Saint François d’Assise in Olivier Messiaen's opera of the same name at the 2023 George Enescu Festival, conducted by Maxime Pascal.
He holds a master's degree from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et Danse de Lyon, a Soloist Diploma from the Musik Akademie Basel, and a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Management for Musical and Cultural Projects from the Haute École Spécialisée de la Suisse Occidentale (Genève – Neuchâtel).
Antoin is preparing his application for a doctoral program at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et Danse de Paris. His proposed thesis, “L’interprétation par le geste de la musique moderne et contemporaine des compositeurs cubains: Une approche décoloniale” (The Interpretation of Modern and Contemporary Music by Cuban Composers through Gesture: A Decolonial Approach), explores performance practices and interpretation rooted in decolonial perspectives.