Michael Best is an operatic tenor and voice teacher. A native of North Carolina, he was a solo artist at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, singing 297 performances in 17 seasons. Best received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Duke University in 1962 and teaches voice at Roosevelt University's Chicago College of Performing Arts. Among his roles at the Met was Toby Higgins in Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, his debut role, which he sang in the Met's premiere of the opera.