BIO
Baritone Brian James Myer has been praised as an artist of "both voice and character to make him stand out in the crowd" (Sarasota Observer). In the spring of 2021, Mr. Myer returned to New York City Opera as Alberto in their workshop of The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (Gordon/Korie) and in the 2021-2022 season, he reprised the role in the opera's world premiere (a recording of the opera will also take place in 2023), joined the roster of The Metropolitan Opera as the cover of Marcellus/Player 4 in Brett Dean's Hamlet, made his Opera Delaware and Baltimore Concert Opera debuts as the title character in I barbiere di Siviglia and joined the Bard Symphony Orchestra as Second Nazarene in Salome, and made his Berkshire Opera Festival debut as Masetto in Don Giovanni. In 2022-23, he covers Morbio in Strauss' Die Schweigsame Frau with Bard Summerscape, returns to Opera San Jose as Minister in Alma Deutscher's Cinderella, joins Brooklyn Art Song Society for selections by Ivor Gurney and Gerald Finzi, returns to Opera Orlando as Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, rejoins Opera Las Vegas as David Miller in Approaching Ali, joins Symphony San Jose as the baritone soloist in Carmina Burana, and debuts the role of Count Almaviva with Tri-Cities Opera and Syracuse Opera.
In the summer of 2020, Mr. Myer was slated to make his Hartford Symphony debut as the bass soloist in Beethoven No .9, a debut with Festival Opera as Moralès/Le Dancaire in Carmen, and a debut with the Berkshire Opera Festival as Masetto in Don Giovanni (COVID19 - postponed until Summer 2022). During the 2020-2021 season, Mr. Myer was scheduled to make his European debut with Opera North in the world premiere of lain Bell's Jack the Ripper (COVID19), joined Atlanta Opera as Figaro in their bi-lingual production of Il barbiere di Siviglia, as Dancairo in Carmen and covered the role of Mr. Peachum in The Threepenny Opera, made his New York Festival of Song debut in their NYFOS Next series, and curated a solo recital with Opera Las Vegas. In the winter of 2020, Mr. Myer made a company debut at Knoxville Opera, reprising the role of Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette, his Asian debut with the Jakarta Symphony Orchestra, and another company debut with Opera on the James, reprising the role of Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia (COVID19).
In the fall of 2019, Mr. Myer made role debuts as Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus at Opera San José and Guglielmo in Così fan tutte with Syracuse Opera. Earlier in 2019, Mr. Myer debuted with New York City Opera as Young Erich in Ted Rosenthal's jazz opera, Dear Erich, returned to Opera Orlando to sing Fiorello and Bert (formally known as Berta) in their new production of The Barber of Seville, made his MESS (Mise-en-scène Studios) debut as the baritone soloist in the Brahms Neue Liebeslieder Waltzes, returned to Opera Las Vegas as Leo Stein in Ricky lan Gordon's 27 and rejoined New York City Opera as Carlos in the world premiere of Stonewall, written by lain Bell and Mark Campbell.
In 2018, Mr. Myer made debuts with Hawaii Symphony as baritone soloist in Carmina Burana, Henderson Symphony as Maximilian in Candide, American Lyric Theater on their InsightALT; Opera in Eden concert at Merkin Hall, the Phoenicia Festival of the Voice as Moralès and Le Dancaire in Carmen, and finally the Grand Teton Music Festival as Snowboy and Big Deal in West Side Story under the baton of Donald Runnicles. He also returned to Opera Las Vegas return as Dandini in La Cenerentola and Hawaii Opera Theater as Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette. Mr. Myer's 2017 activity included his debut with Opera Naples as Papageno in The Magic Flute, his debut with Hawaii Opera Theater as Le Dancaïre in Carmen, a return to Opera Orlando as Schaunard in La bohème, and a return to OJ as the Minister in Alma Deutscher's Cinderella (US premiere).
During the 2016-2017 season Mr. Myer was engaged as a Resident Artist with Opera San José, performing Figaro in I barbiere di Siviglia, Ponchel in the West Coast premiere of Kevin Puts' Silent Night, and Schaunard in La bohème. Previous roles with Opera San José include Angelotti in Tosca, Papageno and Second Priest in Die Zauberflöte, Masetto in Don Giovanni, and the roles of Alessandro/Enrico and Gino Carella in the world premiere production of Mark Weiser's Where Angels Fear to Tread. For his interpretation of the tragic character of Gino, Mr. Myer was hailed as "a name to look for in the future" (San José Metblogs). Additional engagements include Figaro in I barbiere di Siviglia with Florida Grand Opera; Silvio in Pagliacci with Sarasota Opera; Le Dancaire in Carmen, Yamadori in Madama Butterfly, and Masetto in Don Giovanni with Opera Las Vegas; and the Marchese in La traviata, Pish-Tush in The Mikado, Yakusidé in Madama Butterfly, and Albert in The Ballad of Baby Doe with Chautauqua Opera,
On the concert stage, Mr. Myer has appeared as soloist in Mozart's Requiem and Coronation Mass, Milhaud's Cantate de Psaumes, Bach' Magnificat and Christmas Oratorio, Rutter's Mass of the Children, and Brahms' Liebeslieder Walzer in venues across North America. He has recently made his Opera Orlando debut as part of their Opera in the Park summer concert series, performing as a member of "The Three Baritones" to sold-out audiences. The group has since released a new album entitled "Christmas Around the World" Mr. Myer's achievements and recognitions on the vocal competition circuit include two encouragement awards from Chautauqua Opera, first place prizes in the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) competitions in both Ohio and his native Nevada, and the Albert Rees Davis Scholarship from the Singers Club of Cleveland.
As a staunch advocate of music education, Mr. Myer has participated in outreach programs with the Palm Springs Opera Guild and Chautauqua Opera. He holds Bachelor degrees in Music Education and Romance Languages from University of Nevada Las Vegas and a Master's degree in Vocal Performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music.
All portraits by Jessica Osber