Renowned for his exquisite and precise tone, and the expressiveness of his characterisations, baritone Russell Braun rightfully claims his place on the leading concert, opera and recital stages around 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 and critics alike.
Highlights of the 2024/25 season include Guglielmo in "Così fan tutte" for Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg conducted by Fabio Biondi and his role debut as Bluebeard in "Bluebeard’s Castle" with Edmonton Opera. On the concert platform, Braun will perform Britten's "War Requiem" with Dresden Philharmonic, conducted by Sir Donald Runnicles and Mendelssohn's "Elijah" with Victoria Philharmonic. Later in the season, Braun returns to Edmonton Opera to make his professional conducting debut in "Die Walküre".
Last season, Braun returned to Festival d'Aix-en-Provence to sing the role of Agamemnon in "Iphigénie en Aulide", conducted by Emmanuelle Haïm, and performed Guglielmo in "Così fan tutte" at the Théâtre du Châtelet. Other recent highlights include making his role debut as Mandryka in a new production of "Arabella" for Deutsche Oper Berlin, directed by Tobias Kratzer, and Guglielmo in "Così fan tutte" in a new production for Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, directed by Dmitri Tcherniakov, Mendelssohn's "Elijah" with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, and Brahms' "Ein deutsches Requiem" with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
Further operatic highlights include Sam in "A Quiet Place" for Opéra National de Paris, Speaker in "Die Zauberflöte", Peter in "Hänsel und Gretel" and Don Alfonso in "Così fan tutte" at the Canadian Opera Company, Peter in "Hänsel und Gretel" with Michigan Opera Theatre, a new collaboration with director Tim Albery on Hanns Eisler's "Hell’s Fury", "The Hollywood Songbook", Luminato Festival, Pentheus in "The Bassarids", Salzburg Festival, Alfred III in "Der Besuch der alten Dame" at Theater an der Wien, Figaro in "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 in "Le nozze di Figaro", Ford in "Falstaff", Duke of Nottingham in "Roberto Devereux" and Conte di Luna in "Il trovatore", all with the Canadian Opera Company, as well as Chou En-lai in "Nixon in China", Lescaut in "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, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich and Houston Symphony. With a great affinity for contemporary repertoire, he has performed Peter Eötvös' "Senza sangue" in Rome, London, Norway and Sweden, Brett Dean's "Knocking at the Hell Gate" with the BBC Symphony in London, and Saariaho's "Cinque reflets de l’amour de loin" with the SWR Symphonieorchester in Stuttgart and Freiburg. Recent highlights include Brahms' "Vier ernste Gesänge" arranged by Detlev Glanert, Fauré's Requiem with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Vaughan Williams' "A Sea Symphony" with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
His discography features the GRAMMY-nominated "Das Lied von der Erde" (Dorian), JUNO winners Mozart's Arie e duetti (CBC) and "Apollo e Daphne", and JUNO nominee "Die 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 "Roméo et Juliette" and the Mark Morris dance adaptation of "Dido and Aeneas", his much-lauded portrayal of Chou En-lai in Adams' "Nixon in China" (Nonesuch), "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".