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"The most outstanding performance was that of Russell Braun's Chou En-lai, his luminous baritone inflecting the figure of the Chinese premier with humanity and flashes of moral self-awareness. Braun has a way of digging for the emotional core of every phrase he sings, as well as the flexibility to move fluidly between different expressive registers." (Classical Review) "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) "As the Traveller, Russell Braun, his
curly dark locks tipped in devilish red, stole every scene in which
he appeared, filling the house with his lustrous voice and over-the-top
characterizations, which ranged from a ghastly over-rouged elderly
fop to an ingratiating chatterbox barber." (Musical America)
His powerful voice and commanding presence have given vigour to such roles as Chou En-lai, Billy Budd, Prince Andrei, Figaro, Papageno, Count Almaviva, Don Giovanni, Pelléas, Eugene Onegin, and The Traveller.
Russell's 2011-2012 season features performances in the Canadian Opera Company productions of Iphigénie en Tauride and l'Amour de Loin, and in a new production of Faust at the Metropolitan Opera to be broadcast Live in HD on December 10, 2011. He also makes a return to La Scala as Lescaut in Manon, a co-production with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in which Russell appeared in both London and in Japan. Concerts and recitals will see him return to the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Carmina Burana, appear in Mendelssohn's Elijah with the Washington National Symphony, Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde with the Smithsonian Chamber Players in Toronto's Koerner Hall, Bach's St. Matthew Passion with the Calgary Philharmonic, A Sea Symphony with the Colorado Symphony, and in recital with pianist Carolyn Maule in High River, Alberta. Future seasons feature appearances with the Canadian Opera Company, the Teatro Real in Madrid, the Toronto Symphony, and at the Luminato Festival in Toronto.
Last season featured a challenging balance of concerts, recitals and opera. He made highly successful role debuts as Chou En-lai in John Adams's Nixon in China at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and as Olivier in Capriccio, also at the Met. He toured to Japan with the ROH Covent Garden as Lesaut in Manon and made his South American debut with the Rio di Janiero Orchestra. Other recent opera appearances include • The Traveller in Benjamin Britten's Death in Venice at the Theatre an der Wien in Vienna • Lescaut in the ROH Covent Garden production of Manon • Valentin in Faust at ROH Covent Garden • the title role of Pelléas et Mélisande at La Scala • at the Opéra national de Paris in Iphegénie en Tauride, Die Zauberflöte, Cosi fan tutte, Faust, Pelléas et Mélisande • Eugene Onegin with the San Francisco Opera • the title role in Billy Budd, as Prince Andrei in War and Peace, and as Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor with the Canadian Opera Company. Performances have also taken him to New York's Metropolitan Opera (I Pagliacci and Il Barbiere di Siviglia), at the Salzburg Festival (Ariadne auf Naxos, Roméo et Juliette), the Vienna Staatsoper (Roméo et Juliette, Die Zauberflöte, Ariadne auf Naxos, Die Fledermaus, Billy Budd), San Diego (Les Pecheurs de Perles, Cosi fan tutte), the Glyndebourne Festival (Pelléas et Mélisande), l'Opéra de Montréal (Die Zauberflöte), and l'Opéra de Québec (Don Giovanni).
Concerts and recitals always have a major place on Russell's calendar. In addition to an extensive recital tour of Western Canada, in the past few seasons he has appeared with the New York Philharmonic in the World Premiere of The World in Flower a new work by Peter Lieberson, in a special 2010 Olympics performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 8 with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and Bramwell Tovey, at the BBC Proms in Fauré's Requiem, the Salzburg Festival in Schubert's Mass in G, the Tanglewood Festival in Brahms's Deutsche 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 Duruflé Requiem with Les Violons du Roy in Québec City. His performance in Britten's War Requiem in Toronto continues to be a stand-out in Toronto's musical memory. He has also performed in duo recital with Michael Schade in London, Edinburgh, Toronto, San Diego, Graz, Berlin, Hamburg, Vienna, Strasbourg, Ludwigsburg and Kansas City and in solo recital in Montréal, Toronto, New York, Paris (La Chapelle Royale at Versailles), Winnipeg and Ottawa. His interpretations of German Lieder have won him international acclaim - "A searching musician, Braun also has one of the world's most beautiful baritone voices. He brings a poet's soul and a young man's bewildered grief to Schubert's shattering cycle of solitude and loss." (New York Newsday).
Russell's extensive discography includes his highly acclaimed recording of Schubert's Die Winterreise with pianist Carolyn Maule 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) Winner of the 2001 JUNO for Apollo e Daphne with Les Violons du Roy (Dorian), Russell 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. His highly acclaimed Salzburg Festival appearance as Mercutio in Romeo et Juliette was released on DVD. He was also featured in Burnt Toast, a series of eight 6-minute comic operas composed by Alexina Louie and written by Dan Redican for television featuring many of Canada's brightest actors and the voices of some of its most famed opera stars. Russell Braun makes his home near Toronto with his wife, pianist Carolyn Maule and their sons, Benjamin and Gabriel.
Last Updated: August 11, 2011 © 2000 Moira Johnson Consulting, All Rights Reserved
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