Last season he made his role debuts as The Traveller in Benjamin Britten’s Death in Venice at the Theatre an der Wien and as Lescaut Manon at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, with whom he will tours the production in Japan. Other recent opera highlights include a return to the Salzburg Festival as Mercutio in the revival production of Romeo et Juliette, his role debut as Prince Andrei in the Canadian Opera Company’s production of War and Peace, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte with the Paris Opera, Valentin Faust for Covent Garden, Guglielmo in Cosi Fan Tutte on tour in Japan with the Salzburg Festival, and the title role of Eugene Onegin with the Opera Lyra Ottawa. He made his house debut at La Scala in the title role of Pelléas et Mélisande, and sang Orestes in the Paris Opera’s Iphegénie en Tauride, the title role in Eugene Onegin with the San Francisco Opera, the title role in Billy Budd and as Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor with the Canadian Opera Company. He has also appeared in I Pagliacci and Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Metropolitan Opera, New York, in Ariadne auf Naxos at the Salzburg Festival, in Roméo et Juliette, Die Zauberflöte, Ariadne auf Naxos, Die Fledermaus and Billy Budd at the Wiener Staatsoper, in Cosi fan tutte, Faust and Pelléas et Mélisande at Paris Opera.

Equally in much demand on concert platform, Russell recently sang with the New York Philharmonic in the World Premiere of The World in Flower a new work by Peter Lieberson, and made his appearances at the BBC Proms, the Salzburg Festival and the Tanglewood Festival. He has also performed with many of the world’s leading conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, David Robertson, Michael Tilson-Thomas, Claudio Abbado, Sylvain Cambreling, James Conlon, Bruno Campanella, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Richard Bradshaw and Bernard Labadie, appearing with major orchestras in Europe, Canada and the United States including the San Francisco Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the Dallas Symphony, the Toronto Symphony, l’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the Edmonton Symphony and the Calgary Philharmonic.

His extensive discography includes Schubert’s Winterreise with pianist Carolyn Maule and the 2007 JUNO-award-winning recording of Mozart arias with tenor Michael Schade and soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian, both on the CBC Records label. His highly acclaimed Salzburg Festival appearance as Mercutio in Romeo et Juliette was released on DVD.

Future engagements include returns to La Scala, the Metropolitan Opera, and the Canadian Opera Company.

Elijah / Washington National Symphony
“…Russell Braun’s crisp and authoritative baritone to carry, quite masterfully, the variety of characters and parts that Mendelssohn meticulously wove into his score. Mr. Braun, in particular, fielding the substantial role of Elijah, proved a standout during the performance.”
Terry Ponick, The Washington Times, April 2012

“Elijah is the baritone’s show, though, and special honors go to Russell Braun, in the title role, who worked hard all night… he had all the notes… and drew out each emotion with taste and skill. “Es ist genug!,” with Braun duetting with principal cellist David Hardy, was wonderfully anguished.”
Robert Battet, The Washington Post, April 2012

Valentin in Gounod Faust / The Metropolitan Opera
Cond. Yannick Nézet-Séguin / Prod. Des McAnuff
“The German baritone Russell Braun gave us a vocally strong Valentin and provided the right tension as he cursed his errant sister with his dying breath.”
Marlies Wolf, New Rochelle Patch, January 2012

“Russell Braun’s beautifully warm baritone is a stunning Valentine."
Jens Runnberg, Dalarnas Tidningar, December 2011

“Russell Braun was properly aggressive as Valentin; his baritone had a soldierly roughness rather than lyricism, and his duel to the death with Faust was elegantly executed.”
Heidi Waleson, The Wall Street Journal, December 2011

“Russell Braun is a winning, firm-voiced Valentin.”
Eric Myers, Variety, November 2011

“Russell Braun brought a smooth baritone to the role of Valentin.”
Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim, Classical Review, November 2011

“Pretty singing from baritone Russell Braun as Marguerite’s brother Valentin won a warm ovation.”
James Jorden, New York Post, November 2011

“Russell Braun sings with soldierly force.”
Howard Kissel, The Huffington Post, November 2011

“As the unforgiving Valentin, baritone Russell Braun sang with fervor (…)”
Mike Silverman, Daily Reporter, November 2011

Orestes / Gluck’s Iphigenia in Tauris /
Canadian Opera Company / Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
Cond. Pablo Heras-Casado / Dir. Robert Carsen
“Add to this the sublime Susan Graham as Iphigenia, with Russell Braun and Joseph Kaiser offering spectacular support and you have a night to remember.”
Richard Ouzounian, The star.com, October 2011

“Baritone Russell Braun (Oreste) and tenor Joseph Kaiser (Pylade) were both convincing as the castaway pals who would rather perish than see the other come to harm.”
Arthur Kaptainis, National Post, September 2011

“As the impassioned Orestes, Russell Braun throws himself emotionally and physically into the role. Joseph Kaiser’s and Russell Braun’s sequential arias in the first half – Orestes explosive, Pylades calming – are beautifully linked; the two characters end up back to back, two halves of a whole. We feel the powerful love in this relationship, though it has none of the homoeroticism captured in the Opera Atelier staging of the opera.”
Jon Kaplan, NOW, September 2011

“Russell Braun brings all the driven passion of Orestes to life.”
Richard Ouzounian, thestar.com, September 2011

Recital of Schubert Die Winterreise
University of Toronto
“Braun’s performance was beyond criticism. Singing from the score – although he didn’t seem to need it much – he delivered a heartfelt performance, glowing with the rich, velvety tone that he’s famous for.”
Colin Eatock, The Globe and Mail, April 2011

“Braun was a master at navigating the shifting moods on a larger scale, as well as in crafting each individual note, syllable and phrase. The singer made it sound easy, but, in fact, what Braun did would have demanded every ounce of breath, vocal and emotional control at his command.”
John Terrauds, Toronto.com, April 2011

Olivier in Strauss Capriccio
Metropolitan Opera / cond. Andrew Davis / dir. John Cox
"…baritone Russell Braun sings handsomely as Flamand’s more urbane rival Olivier."
Mike Silverman, Associated Press, March 2011

Chou-en Lai in John Adams’s Nixon in China
The Metropolitan Opera / cond. John Adams / dir. Peter Sellars
“The role is sung by the fine, sonorous, dignified baritone Russell Braun."
Smazey, Ottowa Citizen, February 2011

“The stentorian lines given to Russell Braun as Chou En-Lai and the way they were delivered, I considered the highlight of the opera”
Marlies Wolf, White Plain Patch, February 2011

“Baritone Russell Braun played his role with a good balance of stoicism and perspicacity, adding weight to his words of reflection at the end of the opera.”
David Abrams, www.musicalcriticism.com, February 2011

“Time, then, for the role to pass to a new baritone - and who better than Russell Braun, the one fresh revelation in the cast, catching all the dignity and honour of Chou En-lai in his big banquet speech and all the pathos of his final post-mortem…yielding to tentative hope as the exquisite solo strings of the superb Met Orchestra did the best of all possible jobs on their rising figures at the end.”
David Nice, www.theartsdesk.com, February 2011

“Russell Braun as the pensive Chou En-lai had the most beautiful voice and was particularly effective in ‘I am old and I cannot sleep’, the stirring and touching aria which concludes the opera.”
Susan Stempleski, www.classicalsource.com, February 2011

"Russell Braun makes Chou en Lai the soul of the opera. Chou en Lai is the only character who doesn’t come across as parody, and the one presented with the fiercest intellect. In the banquet scene, which takes place on February 22, he is the only one who gets Pat Nixon’s reference to Washington’s birthday."
Susan Hall, BerkshireFineArts.com, February 2011

"As Chou En-lai, who sings the final line about where in the balance their decisions will hang, among other cool-headed proclamations, Russell Braun was a strong grounding presence with a smooth baritone."
Ronnie Reich, nj.com, February 2011

"Janis Kelly complemented him as a sympathetic Pat Nixon. Robert Brubaker blustered heroically as Mao, Richard Paul Fink bumbled deftly as Kissinger and Russell Braun exuded mysterious dignity as Chou En-lai."
Martin Bernheimer, Financial Times, February 2011

"In "I am the wife of Mao Tse-tung," Kim brashly uses her coloratura to make Madame Mao the steamroller she evidently was; Robert Brubaker has a field day as an infirm Chairman Mao who turns red-hot on his third-act bed of lust; Fink not only offers a blustery Kissinger but does double-duty in Morris' brilliant ballet, where he even dances as a whip-cracking Chinese equivalent to Simon Legree; and Braun's ailing Chou En-lai is especially stentorian and sweet by turns."
David Finkle, TheaterMANIA, February 2011

"Robert Brubaker lends a wicked glint to the surprisingly mischievous Mao, and Russell Braun fully conveys the dark secrets and unspoken yearnings of the grave Chou."
David Sheward, Back Stage, February 2011

"When he gives us lyrical flights, he does it beautifully, as in the thoughts of Chou En-lai — as the opera renders the name, which is now usually transliterated as Zhou Enlai — during the opera’s deeply affecting final moments. The role is sung by the fine, sonorous, dignified baritone Russell Braun."
Anthony Thommasini, Hong Kong Economic Journal Blog, February 2011

"The most outstanding performance was that of Russell Braun’s Chou En-lai, his luminous baritone inflecting the figure of the Chinese premier with humanity and flashes of moral self-awareness. Braun has a way of digging for the emotional core of every phrase he sings, as well as the flexibility to move fluidly between different expressive registers."
Corinna da Fonseca-Wolheim, The Classic Review, February 2011

"Best of all the men was baritone Russell Braun as a soulful Premier Chou En-lai. He gets the opera's final words in a solo that asks, "How much of what we did was good?""
WWLTV (AP), February 2011

Mercutio in Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette
“Russell Braun is the feisty friend of Romeo, Mercutio, and he brings an excellent baritone into play”
Friedeon Rosén, Der Neue Merker, August 2010

Lescaut in Massenet’s Manon
Royal Opera House / cond. Antonio Pappano / dir. Laurent Pelly
“Russell Braun is superb as a creepily attractive Lescaut”
Tim Ashley, The Guardian, June 2010

“Russell Braun made his mark as Lescaut”
Richard Fairman, Financial Times, June 2010

Schubert’s Die Winterreise
Clarke Foundation Theatre, Mission, British Colombia
“With one of the world’s most beautiful voices, Canadian baritone Russell Braun is fast becoming a legend among opera singers. His dramatic performances have been described as thrilling, manic, glorious, superbly sung and malevolently acted, rich, powerful, elegant, soft-grained, and spine-tingling.”
Graham Yates, BC Local News, March 2010

Count Almaviva in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro
Canadian Opera Company / cond. Julia Jones / dir. Guillaume Bernardi
“This is a production that affords Toronto audiences a night with an established national treasure such as baritone Russell Braun … Braun, for his part, has all the makings of a wonderful Count Almaviva, the amoral villain of the piece, save for the fact that he simply can't disguise the fact he's a whole lot smarter than the conceited popinjay he's forced to play.”
John Coulbourn, Toronto Sun, October 2007

“Braun tends to dominate the action not just because of his strong baritone but because his Count is more than a simple tyrant or buffoon. He shows us a man who learns through experience that the world no longer runs the way he thinks it does.”
Christopher Hoile, Eye Weekly, October 2007

“Baritone Russell Braun (Count Almaviva) was almost the only one to find a sustained character arc, culminating in an Act 3 soliloquy in which the outwardly self-assured aristocrat revealed the lonely little man hiding inside.”
Robert Everett-Green, The Globe and Mail, October 2007

“Braun, the stage veteran of this cast, offered up a fine voice and an assured dramatic air as the philandering Count.”
John Terauds, Toronto Star, October 2007

Valentin in Gounod’s Faust
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden /cond. Anotnio Pappano / dir. David McVicar
"A tremendous debut from Canadian baritone Russell Braun as Valentin - a glorious performance in terms of vocal beauty and expressive intensity."
The Guardian, September 2006

"Russell Braun won special cheers for his poetic Valentin."
Evening Standard, September 2006

"Russell Braun, making an overdue Covent Garden debut, is a sterling Valentin."
Daily Telegraph, 18 September 2006

"Russell Braun was a noble Valentin."
Opera Magazine, November 2006

Orestes in Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride
L’ Opéra de Paris
"Russell Braun portrays an Oreste of great distinction."
Le Monde, June 2006

"Russell Braun, who portrayed Oreste...was also remarkable."
Le Figaro, June 2006

Schubert Winterreise  (CBC Records MVCD 1171)
"One is struck first by the sheer beauty of his voice; it has much the same warmth and honeyed sheen of Fischer-Dieskau's but with a darker and more burnished sound. He sings with a great suppleness and a gorgeous legato that produces a superb caressing of the words. Braun has glowing top notes and an even timbre across the two octaves of these songs. He employs a greater range of contrasting dynamics than any of the singers on the 18 recordings I compared."
American Record Guide, March/April 2006

"...a mellifluous, musical and strongly felt interpretation... His finely honed instrument is placed higher than his father's, with an almost tenorish ease on top, but the substantial low notes audible in "Gefror'ne Tränen" (for one) show that he, too, may eventually sing roles such as Golaud. ... Braun's unpretentiously moving singing is supported with articulate sensitivity and fine, clear tone by pianist Maule."
Opera News, January 2006

"Russell Braun may be better known as an opera singer, but over the last few years, he's blossomed into a great lieder and recital singer, too. Here, in Die Winterreise, he convincingly captures the despair, loneliness and frustration of the young, jilted lover, without ever over-sentimentalizing. Braun has a wide range of vocal colours from which to draw, and they're used beautifully depending on the circumstance and need. This is a classic and classical account of Die Winterreise."
CBC Sound Advice, 5 stars, December 2005

"This Canadian entry in a crowded Winterreise CD market was a brave undertaking, but the result is superb. The baritone's applications of rubato are sparing, and all the more effective for that reason. He is especially strong when Schubert's vocal line drives wildly over close to two octaves in a single phrase, as happens several times."
WholeNote, December 2005

"Russell Braun's eagerly awaited account is superb in every way, notable for its smooth legato, a consistent and ravishingly beautiful tone throughout the vocal range, clear enunciation and impeccable pitch."
Opera Canada, November/ December 2005

"This is a nicely nuanced interpretation. Braun's voice is richer than Fischer-Dieskau's."
Toronto Star, December, 2005