Brian James Myer

Praised as an artist of “both voice and character to make him stand out in the crowd” (Sarasota Observer), Baritone Brian James Myer has earned accolades for his exceptional artistry, combining a distinctive voice with captivating character portrayals. Highlights of his 2022-23 engagements included performances as Papageno in Die Zauberflöte with both Opera Orlando and Norwalk Symphony Orchestra, David Miller in Approaching Ali at Opera Las Vegas, Milcom Negley in The Last American Hammer with Opera Grand Rapids, Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus at the Bar Harbor Music Festival, and a role debut as Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro with Tri-Cities Opera and Syracuse Opera. On the concert stage, he joined Symphony San Jose as the baritone soloist in Carmina Burana, and performed a concert of English Art Song with the Brooklyn Art Song Society. Upcoming engagements for 2023-2024 include Rey in Before Night Falls with Opera Southwest and a recital of Wolf’s Mörikelieder with the Brooklyn Art Song Society. Additionally, he will join Opera Delaware and Opera Baltimore for an LGBTQ+ themed recital in December.

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. That season, he also 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 Il barbiere di Siviglia, joined the Bard Symphony Orchestra as Second Nazarene in Salome, and debuted with the Berkshire Opera Festival debut as Masetto in Don Giovanni. In the summer of 2020, Mr. Myer was slated to make debuts with Hartford Symphony as the bass soloist in Beethoven No. 9, Festival Opera as Moralès/Le Dancaïre in Carmen, and Berkshire Opera Festival as Masetto in Don Giovanni (COVID19). During the 2020-2021 season, Mr. Myer was scheduled to make his European debut with Opera North in the world premiere of Iain 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. Mr. Myer also 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 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, 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 Ian Gordon’s 27 and rejoined New York City Opera as Carlos in the world premiere of Stonewall, written by Iain 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 Dancaïre in Carmen, and 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 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 OSJ 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 Il 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 Il barbiere di Siviglia with Florida Grand Opera; Silvio in Pagliacci with Sarasota Opera; Le Dancaïre 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’s 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.