Biography
Brian Davis has performed over sixty leading roles on opera stages throughout the world and has consistently earned high praise from audiences and critics with his "highly cultivated baritone," his "powerful burnished voice," his "exceptionally sonorous baritone," as well as for his "dramatic intensity," and his "powerful commanding presence."
His dramatic voice and strong presence has been seen on opera stages and in concert halls in such cities as: New York, Chicago, Miami, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Montréal, Cincinnati, Salt Lake City, Louisville, Fort Worth, and on European stages in Hamburg, Hannover, Kassel, Gelsenkirchen, Freiburg, Braunschweig, Cagliari and in Asia at the Hong Kong Arts Center.
As well as being selected for original, new works, Mr. Davis has also had the pleasure of performing leading roles in less performed works: Die Gezeichneten, Schreker; Was ihr wollt, Trojahn; Der Kaiser von Atlantis, Ullmann; Die Teufel von Loudun, Penderecki; Merlin, Goldmark; Die Bassariden, Henze; Die Königskinder, Humperdink; and Z Mrtvého Domu (The House of the Dead), Janáĉek.
In Germany, Mr. Davis has been heard on numerous live radio broadcasts over the Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR, Northern German Broadcasting) in such operas as: LOT, Manon Lescaut, Il Tabarro, Z Mrtvého Domu (The House of the Dead), Carmen, Don Carlo, and Otello.
Mr. Davis has worked with such notable conductors as: Marco Armiliato, Philippe Auguin, Daniel Barenboim, Jiri Belohlávek, Maurizio Benini, Fabrice Bollon, Wolfgang Bozic, Giampaolo Bracali, Anthony Bramall, Richard Buckley, Gregor Bühl, Joseph Colaneri, James Conlon, Anton Coppola, David Crescenzi, Plàcido Domingo, Arthur Fagen, Asher Fisch, Mark Flint, Hal France, Yoel Gamzou, Valery Gergiev, Friedrich Haider, Raymond Harvey, Joe Illick, Alexander Joel, Philippe Jordan, Karen Kamensek, Cal Stewart Kellogg, Stefan Klingele, Marko Letonja, Ira Levin, James Levine, Jesús López-Cobos, Stephen Lord, Fabio Luisi, Nicola Luisotti, Lorin Maazel, George Manahan, Stephan Mercurio, Edoardo Müller, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Gianandrea Noseda, Joseph Rescigno, Stewart Robertson, Gerd Schaller, Jerome Shannon, Alfredo Silipigni, Emmanuel Villaume, Marcello Viotti, Willie Anthony Waters, Gary Wedow, Ransom Wilson.
He has also worked with many prestigious stage directors as: Laura Alley, Sebastian Baumgarten, Nicolas Brieger, Linda Brovsky, Garnet Bruce, Tito Capobianco, Kay Castaldo-Walker, Michael Cavanagh, Francis Cullinan, Dieter Dorn, Michael Ehrman, William Farlow, Stanley Garner, Alex Gelman, Bliss Hebert, Frank Hilbrich, Philipp Himmelmann, Neil Patrick Jampolis, Ingo Kerkhof, Tilman Knabe, Barrie Kosky, Balázs Kovalik, Matthew Lata, Jay Lesenger, Rhoda Levine, Joe Loschiavo, Ron Luchsinger, Brian Clay Luedloff, Richard McKee, Guy Montavon, Bernd Mottl, Christof Nel, Johnathon Pape, Ted Pappas, David Pfeiffer, David Prins, David Roth, Michael Scarola, Georg Schmiedleitner, Bartlett Sher, Thor Steingraber, Robert Stivanello, Stephanie Sundine, Olivier Tambosi, Bernard Uzan, Graham Vick, Stefano Vizioli, Benedikt von Peter, Monique Wagemakers, Wolfgang Weber, Paula Williams, Robert Wilson, Francesca Zambello.
Career Highlights
Career highlights have included singing with the prestigious Metropolitan Opera where he has been heard in their live radio broadcasts as well as their live broadcasts to movie theaters around the world. He also appears on DVD in their productions of Tristan und Isolde and their English language version of The Magic Flute. Mr. Davis has also had the pleasure of being selected for several world premiere works; most notably, originating the title role of composer, Giorgio Battistelli's biblical opera, LOT. On the concert stage he has originated Jeffrey Brody's song cycle for baritone and large orchestra, Elegies for Rog which is based on Paul Monette's Love Alone: Eighteen Elegies for Rog. He also was the original baritone soloist for Andrew Carter's Song of Stillness, as well as Matthias Drude's Vom Geist der Vielfalt (The Spirit of Diversity).