About

Praised by Myscena for bringing 'restless intelligence and theatrical fluency' to his performances, tenor Brenton Ryan has carved a singular path through the operatic landscape — equally at home in the wit of Mozart and the fire of Wagner, and in demand on the stages of the Metropolitan Opera and the Bayerische Staatsoper as at the Osterfestspiele Salzburg with the Berliner Philharmoniker.

The 2026–2027 season sees Mr. Ryan make his house debut with Komische Oper Berlin as Edmund in Aribert Reimann's Lear, in a new production directed by Barrie Kosky and conducted by Nicholas Carter, in a production staged at Hangar 4 of Tempelhof Airport, as well as his house debut with Boston Lyric Opera as Mitch in André Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire, directed by Patricia Racette and conducted by Daniela Candillari. At the Bayerische Staatsoper, he sings Robert Wilson in a new production of John Adams' Doctor Atomic — the first staging of the opera in the company's history — directed by Claus Guth and conducted by Gemma New. He returns to the Metropolitan Opera as Valzacchi in Richard Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier under Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and concludes the season at San Francisco Opera as Loge in Wagner's Das Rheingold, conducted by Music Director Eun Sun Kim in Francesca Zambello's production — the first installment of the company's complete Ring of the Nibelung cycles planned for 2028.

The 2025–2026 season was marked by a series of major milestones. Mr. Ryan made his debut with the Osterfestspiele Salzburg as Loge in Kirill Serebrennikov’s new production of Das Rheingold with the Berliner Philharmoniker, conducted by Kirill Petrenko, subsequently performing the role in concert at the Philharmonie Berlin. At the Metropolitan Opera he sang L'Incredibile in Giordano's Andrea Chénier, conducted by Principal Guest Conductor Daniele Rustioni and broadcast as part of the Met's Live in HD series. He also returned to the Bayerische Staatsoper for Don Basilio in a concert of Le nozze di Figaro, conducted by Stefano Montanari, and Der Steuermann in Peter Konwitschny's Der fliegende Holländer on the company's tour to Shanghai. He also made his house debut at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées as Pedrillo in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, conducted by Laurence Equilbey and directed by Florent Siaud, and debuting the same role with the Ravinia Festival conducted by James Conlon with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Few tenors have built as wide-ranging a relationship with the major houses of Europe and North America as Mr. Ryan, whose career is defined by a rare combination of linguistic versatility, dramatic intelligence, and an affinity for both the standard repertoire and the new. His long association with the Bayerische Staatsoper has encompassed Steuermann in Der Fliegender Holländer, Pedrillo in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Missail in Boris Godunov, Second Jew in Salome, Tanzmeister in Ariadne auf Naxos, and role debuts as Der Schulmeister and Mücke in Barrie Kosky's production of The Cunning Little Vixen. At Royal Opera Covent Garden, he has appeared as Mime and covered Loge in Barrie Kosky's new production of Das Rheingold, and as Monostatos in David McVicar's production of Die Zauberflöte. His European footprint also includes his debut as Pedrillo in a new production of Die Entführung aus dem Serail with Opéra de Monte-Carlo.

On American stages, Mr. Ryan's relationship with the Metropolitan Opera has been a central thread of his career, where has been featured in over 100 performances. His house debut as Pedrillo in Die Entführung aus dem Serail was conducted by James Levine in his final appearance as Music Director, and subsequent appearances have included Missail and covering Shuisky in a new production of Boris Godunov, Monostatos in Simon McBurney's staging of Die Zauberflöte, Tanzmeister in Ariadne auf Naxos, Incredible in Andrea Chénier, Spoletta in David McVicar's new production of Tosca, Der Narr in William Kentridge's new production of Wozzeck, Basilio in Le nozze di Figaro, and Eros in John Adams' Antony and Cleopatra.

At San Francisco Opera, his house debut as Janek in Oliver Tambosi's production of The Makropulos Case was followed by appearances including Eros in the premiere of John Adams' Antony and Cleopatra, Triquet in Eugene Onegin, Chaplain in Dialogues de Carmélites, Novice in Billy Budd, Don Curzio in Le nozze di Figaro, and Nick in Poul Ruders' The Handmaid's Tale. At LA Opera, where Mr. Ryan spent formative years as a Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist, he has sung Pedrillo in James Robinson's production of Die Entführung aus dem Serail, John Wormley in concert performances of Matthew Aucoin's Crossing, Gastone in La traviata, Monostatos in Die Zauberflöte, Spirit/Sailor in Dido and Aeneas, Léon in The Ghosts of Versailles — which received a 2017 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording — and Beppe in Pagliacci. His Lyric Opera of Chicago debut was as Der Narr in Wozzeck conducted by Sir Andrew Davis, with subsequent appearances as Basilio in Le nozze di Figaro and Monostatos in Barrie Kosky's production of Die Zauberflöte. He made his house debut with Houston Grand Opera as Henrik in A Little Night Music, and has since returned for his role debut as Tony in Francesca Zambello's production of West Side Story.

Mr. Ryan's operatic relationships extend to a wide range of American companies. At Dallas Opera, his house debut encompassed both Gastone in La traviata and Florian in Der Ring des Polykrates, and he subsequently made his role debut as Loge in Das Rheingold. His house debut with San Diego Opera saw him sing Gastone in La traviata, and his debut with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis brought the roles of Titorelli, Flogger, and Student in the US premiere of Philip Glass' The Trial, later returning to sing Nero in Tim Albery's production of The Coronation of Poppea. He made his house debut with Opera Philadelphia as Monostatos in Barrie Kosky's production of Die Zauberflöte, and returned to sing Lysander in the US premiere of Robert Carsen's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. His house debut with Santa Fe Opera as Dancing Master in Ariadne auf Naxos was followed by appearances as Flute in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Don Basilio in Le nozze di Figaro, CM in the premiere of Gregory Spears' The Righteous, and his role debut as Peter Quint in Britten's The Turn of the Screw, conducted by Gemma New. Earlier in his career, Mr. Ryan was a Filene Young Artist at Wolf Trap Opera Company, where he sang Bardolfo in Verdi's Falstaff and The Male Chorus in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia, and appeared at the Aspen Music Festival and School in West Side Story and The Ghosts of Versailles. Additional operatic credits include Mosca in John Musto's Volpone, Captain Macheath in The Beggar's Opera, and the Prince in Susa's Transformations.

On the concert stage, Mr. Ryan's engagements reflect the same breadth. He has appeared with the American Symphony Orchestra in Schoenberg's Gurre-Lieder at Carnegie Hall, performed the world premiere of Matt Aucoin and Peter Sellars' Music for New Bodies with Dacamera in Houston, and sang in semi-staged performances of Wozzeck — which received a 2018 Grammy for Best Opera Recording — and Ravel's L'heure espagnole, both with the Houston Symphony under Hans Graf. Orchestral appearances include his Los Angeles Philharmonic debut in Beethoven's Choral Fantasy conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, his Virginia Symphony Orchestra debut in Orff's Carmina Burana, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Lexington Philharmonic and Rice University, Mozart's Requiem with the Omaha Symphony, and a semi-staged performance of Thomson's The Mother of Us All as Jo the Loiterer with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Ward Stare. Recital appearances include his debut at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and concerts with the New York Festival of Song at both Caramoor and Merkin Hall in New York City.

Mr. Ryan is a winner of the Birgit Nilsson prize at the 2016 Operalia competition, a graduate of Rice University's Shepherd School of Music, and also holds a Bachelor of Music degree from DePaul University. He is featured in the film In Our Nature, starring John Slattery, Zach Gilford, Gabrielle Union, and Jena Malone, singing a selection from Pagliacci.

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