Renowned for his luminous voice “capable of the most powerful explosions as well as the gentlest covered notes” (Toronto Star) baritone Russell Braun rightfully claims his place on the concert, opera and recital stages of the world. His intelligent and thoughtful portrayals of Chou En-lai, Billy Budd, Prince Andrei, Figaro, Papageno, Count Almaviva, Don Giovanni, Pelléas, Eugene Onegin, and The Traveller have captivated audiences. Highlights of the ²⁰²¹⁄₂₂ season include Sam A Quiet Place for Opéra national de Paris, Speaker Die Zauberflöte for the Canadian Opera Company and on the concert platform, Britten’s War Requiem with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich.

Recent operatic highlights include Peter Hänsel und Gretel and Don Alfonso Così fan tutte at the Canadian Opera Company, Peter Hänsel und Gretel with Michigan Opera Theatre, a new collaboration with director Tim Albery on Hanns Eisler’s Hollywood Songbook, Hell’s Fury, Luminato Festival, Pentheus The Bassarids, Salzburg Festival, Alfred Ill Der Besuch der alten Dame at Theater an der Wien, Figaro Il Barbiere di Siviglia at Calgary Opera and the title role of the Canadian Opera Company’s new production of Louis Riel in Toronto at the Four Seasons Centre and in Ottawa with the National Arts Centre Orchestra presented as part of the celebrations surrounding Canada’s 150th Anniversary. Previous seasons have included Count Almaviva Le Nozze di Figaro, Ford Falstaff, Duke of Nottingham Roberto Devereux and Conte di Luna Il Trovatore, all with the Canadian Opera Company, Chou En-lai Nixon in China, Lescaut Manon Lescaut and as Olivier alongside Renée Fleming in Capriccio, all at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

On the concert platform, Braun sings regularly with the world’s major conductors and orchestras, including the Atlanta Symphony, Toronto Symphony, Montreal Symphony, Danish National Symphony and Houston Symphony. A great affinity for contemporary repertoire, he has performed Peter Eötvös’s Senza Sangue in Rome, London, Norway and Sweden, Brett Dean’s Knocking at the Hell Gate with the BBC Symphony in London, and Kaija Saariaho’s Cinque reflets de l’amour de loin with the RadioSinfonieorchester in both Stuttgart and Freiburg. Recent highlights include Brahms’s Vier Ernste Gesänge arranged by Detlev Glanert and Fauré’s Requiem with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Vaughn Williams’s A Sea Symphony with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

His discography features the GRAMMY-nominated Das Lied von der Erde (Dorian), JUNO winners Mozart Arie e duetti (CBC) and Apollo e Daphne, and JUNO nominee Winterreise (CBC). His most recent release is Dietch’s Le Vaisseau Fantôme with Les Musiciens du Louvre Grenoble on the Naïve label. DVDs include the Salzburg Festival’s Romeo et Juliette and the Mark Morris dance adaptation of Dido and Aeneas, his much-lauded portrayal of Chou En-lai in Adams’s Nixon in China (Nonesuch) and Capriccio (Decca) at the Metropolitan Opera (released on DVD as part of the company’s Live-in-HD series) and Alexina Louie’s comic opera Burnt Toast.