Bass-Baritone Brian Banion’s combination of physical and vocal acting is quickly making him one of the more sought-after young American singers today. He recently made his debut with the Spoleto Festival USA as Leporello in the internationally acclaimed Gunter Kramer production of Don Giovanni.
Additional recent engagements include Verdi's Requiem on tour throughout France, Germany, Switzerland, and Spain with The Robert Page Festival Singers, a debut with The Lyric Opera of Kansas City as the title role in Le Nozze di Figaro, as well as returns to Opera Columbus in La Traviata, The Merry Widow, and as Leporello in Don Giovanni. Mr. Banion returned to kick off the finals of The 2007 Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic Bodybuilding Competition, singing the National Anthem.
Brian will make his Nashville Opera debut this fall in the world premiere of Robert Aldridge’s Elmer Gantry in the role of Reverend Baines – a role he will reprise in January 2008.
He has appeared frequently with the Michigan Opera Theatre, Columbus Opera, Kentucky Opera, Greensboro Opera, Nevada Opera, Berkshire Opera, Opera Roanoke, and Columbus Light Opera, in such roles as the title role and Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro, the title role in Eugene Onegin, Escamillo and Zuniga in Carmen, Baron Douphol and the Doctor in La Traviata, Doctor in Vanessa, Nick Shadow in The Rake's Progress, and Leporello in Don Giovanni.
Brian has been a featured soloist with the Cincinnati May Festival, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, the Carmel Symphony, and the Anderson Symphony. His concert performances include Mendelssohn's Elijah, Beethoven Ninth Symphony, Verdi Requiem, Mozart Requiem, Fauré Requiem, Bach Passions, and Schubert Mass in A-flat and G.
Brian has won awards in several important vocal competitions, including those of the Metropolitan Opera Auditions, the Fritz and Lavinia Jensen Foundation, Opera Index Grant, Opera Columbus Vocal Competition, and the Bel Canto Vocal Scholarship. The young singer performed graduate work at Indiana University, where he studied with the now-retired Metropolitan Opera bass-baritone, Giorgio Tozzi. He completed his undergraduate degree from Capital University, where he studied Trombone.