Robert Brubaker
Tenor
Robert Brubaker has established himself as a leading tenor in opera companies throughout the United States and Europe, praised for the clarity and power of his voice and the impact of his acting. As Opera News summed it up when writing about his Golitsin in the new Andrei Serban production of Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina at the Bastille, unveiled in December, 2001, "Brubaker once again showed that, for sheer stamina in high-lying music, he has few rivals."
Career highlights include his appearances at the Salzburg Festival in the title role of Zemlinsky's Der König Kandaules, and as Alviano in Die Gezeichneten, both with Kent Nagano; as Count Pierre Bezukhov in War and Peace with the Opéra National de Paris, directed by Francesca Zambello and conducted by Gary Bertini; Mephistopheles in the Metropolitan Opera's premiere of Busoni's Doktor Faust; Albert Gregor in The Makropulos Case at the Metropolitan Opera opposite Catherine Malfitano; the same role at Houston Grand Opera and English National Opera, where it was also recorded for Chandos Records with Sir Charles Mackerras; Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos at Covent Garden on opening night of Antonio Pappano's first season as music director; Guido Bardi in Zemlinsky's Eine Florentinische Tragödie with James Conlon conducting, Aegisth in Elektra, and Herodes in Salome at Teatro alla Scala; his Glyndebourne Festival debut singing his first Laca in a revival of Nicholas Lehnhoff's acclaimed production of Janáček's Jenufa, followed by the same role for his Dallas Opera debut; Golitsin in Khovanshchina at the Metropolitan Opera, Opéra National de Paris, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona; the title role in Peter Grimes with the Canadian Opera Company conducted by artistic director Richard Bradshaw, with the Teatro Municipal de Santiago, with the English National Opera and at Aldeburgh; and the title role in Zemlinsky's Der Zwerg at the Opéra National de Paris and Teatro dell'Opera di Roma.
Upcoming engagements include Boris in Katya Kabanova at Theater an der Wien; a return to the Glyndebourne Festival for the world premier of the new opera, Love and Other Demons, composed by Peter Eötvös; Laca in Jenufa at the English National Opera; Herodes in Salome at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona; and the Kaiser in Die Frau Ohne Schatten with Deutsche Oper Berlin.
Mr. Brubaker has also performed Dimitri in Boris Godunov at the Opéra National de Paris; Gherman in Pique Dame with Olga Guryakova as Lisa at Montpellier Opera; the same role at Teatro San Carlo in Napoli and the Hamburg Staatsoper; Siegmund in Die Walküre with Teatro Real in Madrid and also with Austin Lyric Opera; Jimmy Mahoney in The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny at Deutsche Oper Berlin; Edward Fairfax Vere in Billy Budd at Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa; Dick Johnson in Puccini's La fanciulla del West at Austin Lyric Opera and in concert with the Melbourne Symphony; Arbace in concert performances of Idomeneo with the Munich Philharmonic led by then-music director James Levine; Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos at the Teatro Real in Madrid; Erik in Der Fliegende Holländer at the Teatro Verdi in Trieste and at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona; and Chairman Mao in Nixon in China, Don José in Carmen, Jim Mahoney in The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, Filke in From the House of the Dead, and Sergei in an acclaimed revival of the David Poutney production of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk for English National Opera.
Mr. Brubaker appears on DVD, as Count Pierre Bezukhov in War and Peace with the Opéra National de Paris, directed by Francesca Zambello and directed by Gary Bertini available on TDK; and as Alviano Salvago in Franz Schreker's Die Gezeichneten from the Salzburg Festival, directed by Nikolaus Lehnhoff and conducted by Kent Nagano. Mr. Brubaker can be heard on audio recordings as the title role in Der König Kandaules from the Salzburg Festival conducted by Kent Nagano, available on Andante Records; Gregor in The Makropulos Case conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras and Boris in Katya Kabanova conducted by Carlo Rizzi (slated for future release) on Chandos Records ; and on Naxos American Classics' recording of Avodat Shabbat by Herman Berlinski, conducted by Gerard Schwartz.
Mr. Brubaker, a Mannheim, Pennsylvania native, received his degree from the Hartt College of Music in Hartford, where he studied with David Ray Smith. He and his wife now reside in New York City, where he studies with Bill Schuman.