Biography
Currently on tour with Theatre latté da’s wildly successful international tour of Peter Rothstein's All is Calm, the new year sees several significant debuts for Cuban-American tenor Andres Acosta.
Biography
Currently on tour with Theatre latté da’s wildly successful international tour of Peter Rothstein's All is Calm, the new year sees several significant debuts for Cuban-American tenor Andres Acosta.
DER HOLLÄNDER
The Flying Dutchman
THE SANTA FE OPERA
Der Holländer
The Flying Dutchman
Condemned and sailing the stormy seas. Every seven years, a cursed and ghostly sea captain gets a chance at redemption. He needs a bride to break the curse. Can he find a woman pure of heart, or will he roam the seas eternally?
"The Flying Dutchman" has not been produced on the Santa Fe stage in more than 30 years. The new production is set during the Industrial Revolution. Former SFO apprentice singer Nicholas Brownlee will portray the Dutchman with Elza van den Heever as Senta.
July 1, 7, 12, & 31
August 5, 10, 15, & 25
2023
FORESTER
The Cunning Little Vixen
OPER FRANKFURT
Forester
The Cunning Little Vixen
An energetic adolescent fox cub and a forester come into contact in Leoš Janáček’s impressionistic, beautiful opera. Lively and sensitive, poetic and speckled with irony it tells the eternal cycle of life and death. Director Ute M. Engelhardt brought the animal and human worlds even closer together while still managing to make the fantastic moments in the work, the characters’ longings, nightmares, dreams and fears come alive. Mr. Brownlee appears as the Forester in the Götz Friedrich Prize-winning production at Oper Frankfurt.
June 4, 7, 10, 16 & 24
2023
LEPORELLO
Don Giovanni
OPER FRANKFURT
Leporello
Don Giovanni
Christof Loy places Mozart‘s opera in a baroque world, where terms like heaven, hell and God really meant something. Don Giovanni behaves like a blithe spirit who can’t be bothered with ethics or morals, whose anarchic lifestyle captivates, infects and changes the other characters forever. Mr. Brownlee appears as Leporello in Oper Frankfurt's production of Mozart's famous dramma giocoso, Don Giovanni.
May 12, 20, 25, & 29
June 3 & 9
2023
KASPAR
Der Freischütz
BAYERISCHE STAATSOPER
Kaspar
Der Freischütz
In a village community that holds firm to archaic customs, the young hunter Max must pass a marksmanship test so he may marry his sweetheart, Agathe. Of all times now when his shooting has been very much below par! Carl Maria von Weber and his librettist Friedrich Kind fluctuate between ghost story, fairy tale, fortune play and interplay between heaven and hell. Mr. Brownlee appears as Kaspar in Dmitri Tcherniakov's new production of Der Freischütz at the Bayerische Staatsoper.
April 16, 19, 22, & 25
2023
WOTAN
Das Rheingold
THE DALLAS OPERA
Wotan
Das Rheingold
From the primordial depths of the Rhine to the glittering turrets of Valhalla—the world of the Teutonic gods is in chaos. The evil Alberich steals the magic gold from errant water sprites and forges it into a ring that gives the wearer unfathomable power. Now, everyone wants it—but anyone who gets it is cursed! Betrayal, cheating, illicit love, and murder…it’s all here in this first opera of Wagner’s iconic Ring Cycle. Nicholas Brownlee leads this all-star cast in a role debut as the chief god, Wotan. Music Director Emmanuel Villaume conducts this new production from The Atlanta Opera.
February 10, 12, 15 & 18
2023
HANS SACHS
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
OPER FRANKFURT
Hans Sachs
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
On midsummer’s eve, the day before the competition, the goldsmith Veit Pogner offers his daughter Eva’s hand in marriage as the prize. The cobbler Hans Sachs, town clerk Sixtus Beckmesser and a newcomer, aristocratic Walther von Stolzing, compete for her. Each in his own way: Walther must overcome a few hurdles before being allowed to marry Eva and be accepted into the masters' guild. Between Sachs and Beckmesser it seems to be more about who’s allowed to marry the bride. Mr. Brownlee makes a milestone debut in the title role at Oper Frankfurt under the baton of Sebastian Weigle.
November 6, 11, 20, & 27
December 3, 9, & 17
2022
KURWENAL
Tristan und Isolde
THE SANTA FE OPERA
Kurwenal
Tristan und Isolde
Love potions, star-crossed lovers, and the betrayal of dear friends surround the world of Tristan and Isolde. Theirs is one of the most epic love stories ever told.
Directors Zack Winokur and Lisenka Heijboer Castañón conjure a mesmerizing production of eloquent simplicity that brings to the foreground the tale’s profound and timeless themes.
July 23 & 27
August 5, 11, 19, & 23
2022
BLUEBEARD
Bluebeard's Castle
OPER FRANKFURT
Bluebeard
Bluebeard's Castle
Problems between man and wife escalate into an insoluable conflict in Béla Bartók's only opera. His setting of the symbolist poem by Béla Balázs to music avoids the gruesome elements in the Bluebeard tale, reducing the plot to a drama of the soul. The title figure in Barrie Kosky's production is not a wife murderer. The castle is a metaphor for Bluebeard's body, through which can be seen what is hidden behind its doors: blood, gold, tears and flowers. The battle of love plays out on Katrin Lea Tag's set, a bare, revolving stage, like an enormous, empty slice of the world, a symbol for lost paradise. Mr. Brownlee appears in the title role of Bluebeard's Castle at Oper Frankfurt.
June 5, 11, 18, & 25
July 2
2022
KING ROGER
King Roger
OPER FRANKFURT
King Roger
King Roger
How could the powers of chaos and order, reason and desire be combined in a creative way? These questions dogged the Polish composer Karol Szymanowski's life and work. Although he is regarded as a key figure of 20th century music, his works are not often performed. In Król Roger, his only opera, Szymanowski used the times of the Norman King Roger II's reign as the framework for a symbolic story: Roger ruled over several, very different cultures. His authority is questioned by an unknown shepherd, a mixture of earth-spirit, wandering preacher and God. He seduces the people, and then Queen Roxana, with his talk of a young god. Opposites, contradictions and despair shape the King's inner journey. Mr. Brownlee appears as the title role in this revival of Król Roger at Oper Frankfurt.
April 30
May 8, 13, 21, & 28
2022
DE SIRIEX
Fedora
OPER FRANKFURT
De Siriex
Fedora
The title figure in Umberto Giordano's verismo thriller moves between extremes at breathtaking speed: this Russian princess is a spy, avenger, lover, martyr and betrayed woman all in one. After her fiancé is assassinated she decides to track down Loris Ipanow, his murderer, in Paris, working undercover for the police. They fall in love and decide to try and risk starting a new life in the Swiss alps. But their past catches up with them … Mr. Brownlee debuts the role of De Siriex in Oper Frankfurt's premiere of Fedora.
April 3, 8, 10, 16, 18, 21, 23, & 28
May 6 & 14
2022
GEISTERBOTE
Die Frau ohne Schatten
OPER FRANKFURT
Geisterbote
Die Frau ohne Schatten
Hugo von Hofmannsthal delved deep into the worlds of Arabian fairy tales, Norse and Christian mythology to create Richard Strauss' fantastic opera. Making final touches to Ariadne auf Naxos and World War I meant that finishing the work had to be delayed, but the resulting masterpiece, with its fairy tale structure and intoxicating music, was overwhelming. Christof Nel's 2003 production of this extraordinary work, with sometimes puzzling, enigmatic texts by Hofmannsthal, makes it seem to fly by, grabbing you with it. Mr. Brownlee appears as the Spirit Messenger in this revival of Die Frau ohne Schatten at Oper Frankfurt.
March 13, 18, 24, & 27
April 2
2022
COLLINE
La bohème
BAYERISCHE STAATSTHEATER
Colline
La bohème
Francesco Lanzillotta conducts a production by Otto Schenk, with set and costume design by Rudolf Heinrich. Nicholas Brownlee joins a cast that includes Svetlana Aksenova as Mimì, Emily Pogorelc as Musetta, Evan LeRoy Johnson as Rodolfo, Roman Burdenko as Marcello, Andrei Kymach as Schaunard.
January 5, 7, & 9
2022
COLLINE
La bohème
WIENER STAATSOPER
Colline
La bohème
With Armenian soprano Ruzan Mantashyan and Brazilian tenor Atalla Ayan, a new generation of singers has now entered the Vienna State Opera stage – and is a fresh take on Franco Zeffirelli's classic, image-packed production.
January 6, 9, 12, & 16
2022
COLLINE
La bohème
THE METROPOLITAN OPERA
Colline
La bohème
The Met celebrates the 40th anniversary of Franco Zeffirelli’s beloved staging with three exceptional casts appearing as Puccini’s young bohemians. Sopranos Anita Hartig, Maria Agresta, and Eleonora Buratto trade off as the ill-fated seamstress Mimì, alongside tenors Charles Castronovo and Yusif Eyvazov as her lover, the poet Rodolfo. Sopranos Federica Lombardi, Gabriella Reyes, and Aleksandra Kurzak and baritones Artur Ruciński, Lucas Meachem, and Quinn Kelsey are the on-again-off-again pair Musetta and Marcello, with Eun Sun Kim and Carlo Rizzi conducting.
November 9, 13, 17, 20, 26, & 29
January 9, 13, 18, & 22
May 16, 20, 24, & 27
2021
JOCHANAAN
Salome
OPER FRANKFURT
Jochanaan
Salome
The elementary force and sensuality of Strauss’ first great operatic success shook the world of music to its foundations. His source, the biblical tale of Salome. Oscar Wilde, whose play fascinated the composer and inspired him to radical stylistic innovation, was not the first to have helped himself to the story. With Wilde the myth becomes a confrontation between sensuality and religious aesceticism with a shocking climax. Mr. Brownlee appears as Jochanaan in Strauss’ hundred minute long one act opera about intoxication, asceticism, power and death.
October & November
2021
FIGARO
The Marriage of Figaro
THE SANTA FE OPERA
Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro
Mr. Brownlee steps into the role of Figaro in Laurent Pelly’s new production of The Marriage of Figaro at Santa Fe Opera.
July - August
2021
BOTTOM
A Midsummer Night's Dream
THE SANTA FE OPERA
Bottom
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Mr. Brownlee steps into the role of Bottom in Santa Fe Opera's premiere of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
July - August
2021
DER HOLLÄNDER
Der fliegende Holländer
OPER FRANKFURT
Der Holländer
Der fliegende Holländer
Set in a poor village by the sea, in an incestuous, claustrophobic, dead end world, where seamen and tradesmen sell their daughters, Daland’s daughter Senta, desperate to escape, is prepared to commit to the Flying Dutchman and redeem his soul. The Dutchman's a sort of Ghost Rider, driven, fleeing ideals and dreams with his comrades. Senta and the Dutchman: two who are fleeing but cannot escape their past nor their surroundings. Only death can release them. Mr. Brownlee appears in the title role of Wagner's thrilling drama.
June & July
2021
ANDREI SCHTSCHEKALOW
Boris Godunov
OPER FRANKFURT
Andrei Schtschekalow
Boris Godunov
A ruler consumed by guilt, schemers hungry for power, a fickle people and a monk who writes history: Pushkin wrote a play in Shakespearean style in 1825 based on works by the historian Nikolai Karamsin about political unrest in Russia before the first Romanow ascended the throne in 1613. Thanks to Mussorgsky’s opera, this episode in Russian history became known to the West. Mr. Brownlee appears as Andrei Schtschekalow in Mussorgsky's unmistakenly Russian work.
May & June
2021
ŠIŠKOV
From the House of the Dead
OPER FRANKFURT
Šiškov
From the House of the Dead
Dostoevsky described his life in a Siberian concentration camp in his Aufzeichnungen aus einem Totenhaus / Sketches from a House of the Dead. Leoš Janáček found a drastic, realistic-expressionistic sound language for it in his opera, completed in 1928. The shattering, sometimes brutal tales and fates of the inmates – thieves, murderers, political prisoners – tell of the hardships of daily life in the camp and life in general. Dostoevsky's omnipresent motto: "There's a flicker of God in every living creature." Mr. Brownlee appears as Šiškov in Janáček's lesser-known work.
February & March
2021
GEISTERBOTE
Die Frau ohne Schatten
STAATSOPER STUTTGART
Geisterbote
Die Frau ohne Schatten
Nicholas opens his 2020-2021 season as Geisterbote in Strauss and Hofmannsthal's Die Frau ohne Schatten with Oper Stuttgart.
Postponed due to COVID-19
2020
DER STIMME DES HERRN
Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln
HOUSTON SYMPHONY
Der Stimme des Herrn
Das Buch mit Sieben Siegeln
A spectacle to behold. A concert experience to leave you changed. Massive forces converge in a sonic lightning bolt of earth-shattering force in Franz Schmidt’s towering oratorio, which recounts the book of Revelation and its apocalyptic vision of the world’s final destruction. From vivid depictions of the breaking of the seals, the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and the seven trumpets to the final, exultant “Hallelujah,” to hear this work live is to feel its awe-inspiring power. Mr. Brownlee appears in concert as Der Stimme des Herrn alongside Andrés Orozco-Estrada at the podium.
Canceled due to COVID-19.
2020
PAOLO ALBIANI
Simon Boccanegra
OPERNHAUS ZÜRICH
Paolo Albiani
Simon Boccanegra
This event marks the final new production at the Opernhaus Zürich led by the duo of Fabio Luisi in his function as General Music Director and Andreas Homoki. The story of powerful and power-hungry men, and the women that fall victim to their familial dramas, closes out eight successful years of cultivating Verdi’s operatic repertoire. Mr. Brownlee appears as the scheming Paolo Albiani in the premiere of Giuseppe Verdi’s melodrama Simon Boccanegra which will be broadcast live on ARTE, the Franco-German TV channel, and will subsequently be available on demand at ARTE CONCERT, the channel’s media library, as a part of ARTE’s Opera Season.
Live Broadcast: December 6 | 5:00PM
2020
LEPORELLO
Don Giovanni
BADISCHES STAATSTHEATER KARLSRUHE
FOUR VILLAINS
The Tales of Hoffman
BADISCHES STAATSTHEATER KARLSRUHE
Four Villains
The Tales of Hoffman
Mr. Brownlee appears as the Four Villains (Lindorf, Coppelius, Mirakel, Dapertutto) in Offenbach's saga of love and art, The Tales of Hoffman. Directed by Floris Visser, conducted by Constantin Trinks.
October, November & December
2019
January & March
2020
SOLOIST
Beethoven Academie 1808
CINCINNATI SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Soloist
Beethoven Academie 1808
Louis Langrée leads the CSO in a recreation of Beethoven’s legendary 1808 Akademie concert, a once-in-a-lifetime Beethoven experience. Mr. Brownlee appears alongside Dorothea Röschmann, Janai Brugger, and Thomas Cooley as a featured soloist on the program.
February & March
2020
KASPAR
Der Freischütz
BADISCHES STAATSTHEATER KARLSRUHE
Kaspar
Der Freischütz
Mr. Brownlee appears as Kaspar in Carl Maria von Weber's romantic singspiel Der Freischütz. Conducted by Johannes Willig, directed by Verena Stoiber.
October & November
2019
COLLINE
La Bohème
LOS ANGELES OPERA
BASS SOLOIST
Verdi Requiem
MELBOURNE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Bass soloist
Verdi Requiem
Mr. Brownlee appears as the bass soloist in Verdi's Requiem, alongside Lawrence Ranes at the podium.
April
2019
FOUR VILLAINS
Les Contes d'Hoffmann
BADISCHES STAATSTHEATER KARLSRUHE
Four Villains
Les Contes d'Hoffmann
Mr. Brownlee appears as the four villains in Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann with the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe.
2019
ENRICO
Anna Bolena
BADISCHES STAATSTHEATER KARLSRUHE
Enrico
Anna Bolena
Mr. Brownlee appears as Enrico in Donizetti's Anna Bolena with the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe.
2018
KASPAR
Der Freischütz
BADISCHES STAATSTHEATER KARLSRUHE
BASS SOLOIST
Verdi Requiem
MONTREAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Bass soloist
Verdi Requiem
Mr. Brownlee appears as the bass soloist in Verdi's Requiem, alongside Kent Nagano at the podium.
2017
FIRST SOLDIER
Salome
THE METROPOLITAN OPERA
COLLINE
La Bohème
LOS ANGELES OPERA
Colline
La Bohème
Mr. Brownlee appeared as Colline in Puccini's La Bohème, led by Gustavo Dudamel at the podium.