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"The evening's one consistently bright spot was the Figaro of Russell Braun, who entered as if shot from a cannon and remained a spry, winning presence throughout. Braun's elegant, soft-grained timbre and meticulous handling of verbal and musical detail were a joy to hear; he was wily but not venal in his dealings with Almaviva, impish but not lewd in his duet with Rosina, and in every way he made a classy, endearing factotum." (Opera News) "Russell Braun's eagerly awaited account is superb in every way, notable for its smooth legato, a consistent and ravishingly beautiful tone throughout the vocal range, clear enunciation and impeccable pitch." (Opera Canada review of Winterreise recording) "There's a tremendous debut from Canadian
baritone Russell Braun as Valentin - a glorious performance in terms
of vocal beauty and expressive intensity." (The Guardian, September
2006) Thrilling, manic, glorious, superbly sung and malevolently acted, rich, powerful, elegant, soft-grained, and spine-tingling are but a few of the epithets the media have used to describe Canadian opera sensation Russell Braun. In concert, opera and recital, the international stages of the world are his - whether it be the Metropolitan Opera in New York, l'Opéra de Paris, the State Opera in Vienna, the Lyric Opera in Chicago, the Los Angeles Opera, La Scala in Milan, the Salzburg or the Glyndebourne Festival. Following a busy summer of performances at the BBC Proms, the Festival of the Sound and the Elora Festival, the 2007-2008 season features Russell in concerts, recitals and an array of different opera roles. He begins the season in his hometown, Toronto, in one of his signature roles - the Count in the Canadian Opera Company's production of Le nozze di Figaro. He returns to the COC in May 2008 for another of his favourite roles - the title role of Pelléas et Mélisande, which he reprises in concert version with the Bochumer Symphoniker in Germany in June. Also on his opera calendar is his role debut as Wolfram in the San Diego Opera production of Tannhaüser, an appearance in the world première of Transit of Venus with the Manitoba Opera, the Metropolitan Opera in the Parks production of Il barbiere di Siviglia and a return to the Salzburg Festival as Mercutio in Romeo et Juliette. Recitals with tenor Michael Schade and pianist Carolyn Maule take him to New York's Rose Theatre and Toronto's Roy Thomson Hall. Concerts also figure prominently on Russell's calendar this season with performances with the Edmonton Symphony, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Thunder Bay Symphony, and the Grand Philharmonic Choir (Kitchener, Ontario). The 2006-2007 season began with his ROH Covent Garden debut as Valentin in Faust. Performances of Cosi fan tutte followed in Toronto's new opera house, the Kindertotenlieder with the Toronto Symphony, a recital of Winterreise in Saint Mary's and Il Barbiere di Siviglia in Japan completed 2006. Mr. Braun made a number of appearances in New York including - a performance of the Dichterliebe at the 92nd Street Y in New York, appearances at the Metropolitan Opera as Silvio in I Pagliacci and as Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia. Recitals in Waterloo and Toronto, and concerts with the Atlanta and Vancouver Symphony Orchestras rounded out the season. 2005-2006 was a season of firsts for Russell Braun - he debuted at La Scala in the title role of Pelléas et Mélisande, in the role of Orestes in the Opéra national de Paris's Iphegénie en Tauride, appeared in the title role of the Absolute Ensemble's production of Daniel Schnyder's Casanova in New York, and performed in the famed Chapelle Royale in the Chateau of Versailles. As well, he appeared in Dido & Aeneas at the Théatre du Châtelet in Paris, and with the Manitoba Opera (Nozze di Figaro). Recitals figured prominently on his calendar with performances in Toronto, Paris, Waterloo, Ottawa, Hamilton, Kitchener, and Waterside. Russell Braun also performed in concert with the Toronto Symphony, the St. Louis Symphony and the Kitchener-Waterloo Choir. The season also saw the release of Burnt Toast, a series of eight 6-minute comic operas composed by Alexina Louie and written by Dan Redican featuring many of Canada's brightest actors and the voices of some of its most famed opera stars. Recent highlights include his critically acclaimed debuts in the title role of Eugene Onegin with the San Francisco Opera, the title role of Billy Budd and Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor with the Canadian Opera Company, as Zurga in San Diego's Les Pêcheurs de Perles and in the title role of Pélleas et Mélisande at the Glyndebourne Festival. He has made a number of appearances at the Metropolitan Opera, at the Vienna Staatsoper, the Opéra de Paris and the Salzburg Festival. As well, Russell Braun was also featured in the critically acclaimed concert of Britten's War Requiem in Toronto, in a Noel Coward/Ivor Novello concert (recorded for television) also in Toronto, in solo recital in Montréal, Toronto, New York (Carnegie Hall), Bridgewater (Virginia) and Winnipeg, in duo recital with Michael Schade in San Diego, Graz, Berlin, Hamburg, Strasbourg and Ludwigsburg and with fellow Canadians Isabel Bayrakdarian, Norine Burgess and Michael Schade in a Liesbeslieder Walzer at Carnegie Hall in New York. In much demand as a concert artist, the past few seasons have seen Mr. Braun appear at the Tanglewood Festival in Brahm's German Requiem, with the St. Louis Symphony, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony conducted by Bernard Labadie, in L'Enfance du Christ with the Rotterdam Philharmonic, in Elijah with the Minnesota Orchestra and in the Durufle Requiem with Les Violons du Roy in Québec City. He has performed with many of the world's leading conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, David Robertson, Michael Tilson-Thomas, Claudio Abbado, Sylvain Cambreling, James Conlon, Bruno Campanella, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Richard Bradshaw and Bernard Labadie, appearing with major orchestras in Europe, Canada and the United States including the San Francisco Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the Dallas Symphony, the Toronto Symphony, l'Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the Edmonton Symphony and the Calgary Philharmonic. Mr. Braun recently added to his extensive discography with the releases of Winterreise and the 2007 JUNO-award-winning recording of Mozart arias with tenor Michael Schade and soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian, both on the CBC Records label. Winterreise quickly made its mark among a revered set of recordings of the famous song-cyle - "[it] goes up against this formidable competition [Fischer-Dieskau and Goerne], as well an estimable Winterreise by Braun's late father, Victor. Braun fils's effort emerges with considerable credit...a mellifluous, musical and strongly felt interpretation." (Opera News) - and was nominated for a JUNO award and by three North American newspapers in their Best of 2005. Winner of the 2001 JUNO for Apollo e Daphne with Les Violons du Roy (Dorian), Mr. Braun has twice recorded Dido & Aeneas (Telarc with the Boston Baroque; CBC Records with Taflemusik), the award-winning Soirée Française with tenor Michael Schade, Le Souvenir, a collection of Canadian songs, Shattered Night, Shivering Stars featuring the music of Canadian composer Alexina Louie and Liebeslieder - Folksongs with the Aldeburgh Connection. Other releases include Meditation, featuring the works of Gerald Finzi (CBC Records) and Serata Italiana, a recording of Italian opera arias and duets with tenor Michael Schade (CBC Records), and Beethoven Lives Upstairs, Mozart and Magic Fantasy, and Daydreams and Lullabies on the Classical Kids Label. Russell Braun makes his home near Toronto with his wife, pianist Carolyn Maule and their sons, Benjamin and Gabriel.
Last Updated: August 7, 2007 © 2000 Moira Johnson Consulting, All Rights Reserved
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