Baritone Bruce Brown joined the Simpson College Music Faculty in the Fall of 2003 following an eight year, full time engagement as a baritone soloist with the Vienna Volksoper and Staatsoper in Vienna, Austria where he sang over 500 performances. Prior to joining the Vienna soloist ensemble in the fall of 1995, he made guest appearances in Vienna from 1992 - 1995 as Marcello in La Boheme, Don Giovanni, Il Conte Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro and Graf Homonay in Die Zigeunerbaron. The 48 roles he has sung in Vienna to date range from the title role in Don Giovanni, Il Conte Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro, Valentin in Faust and Ford in Falstaff to German language repertoire such as Peter in Hänsel und Gretel, Graf Homonay in Die Zigeunerbaron, Prometheus in Die Vögel, Zar in Zar und Zimmermann and Herr Fluth in Die Lustigen Weiber von Windsor. While in Vienna, Mr. Brown maintained a private voice studio of select students.
Mr. Brown began his professional singing career as an apprentice artist with the Des Moines Metro Opera in the summers of 1986-87. He was engaged to be a member of Opera Iowa during the first two years of the that program's launch. Following the Opera Iowa tours, he made his debut as Papageno with the Des Moines Metro Opera's 1988 summer production of Mozart's The Magic Flute directed by Dr. Robert Larsen. Following his career start with the Des Moines Metro Opera, he spent two years as a member of the Houston Grand Opera Studio to complete his professional operatic training. As a member of the Houston Grand Opera Studio, Brown received the Richard F. Gold Career Grant from the Shoshana Foundation.
Mr. Brown has appeared under contract in America with Eugene Opera, Opera Festival of New Jersey, Sacramento Opera, Mississippi Opera, Knoxville Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Texas Opera Theatre, Houston Grand Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, The Bronx Opera, Diablo Valley Light Opera and in Europe with the Vienna Volksoper, Vienna Staatsoper, Vienna Kammeroper, Vienna Mozart in Schönbrunn Festival and the Innsbruck Landestheater. He has been featured in USA Today, Opera News, Bicycling Magazine, Opernwelt and has recorded under the Naxos and Centaur record labels.
Critical reviews from around the world have stated:
"The cast, too, was generally pleasant and respectable and, in Bruce Brown's suavely acted and sung Danilo, considerably more." - James Oestreich in The New York Times
"Baritone Bruce Brown was outstanding as Danilo, a tall, debonair figure who sang with warmth and conveyed the prince's playboy character and his reluctance to pursue Hanna's millions. He was especially fine in the climactic confrontation scene with Hanna in Act 2." - Lesley Valdes in The Philadelphia Inquirer
"In der Wiener Volksoper weht ein frischer Mozart-Wind: Junge Sänger gaben einen luftig-flotten Figaro. ....Ihrem Gemahl verlieh Bruce Brown eine kräftige, wandlungsfähige Stimme. -- Die Presse
"Ein Amerikaner in Wien. Bruce Brown kann in der Rolle des Don Giovanni mit markantem Spiel und Gesang überzeugen." -- Alles Kultur Spiegel
"An extra bonus was the debut of Houston Opera Studio baritone Bruce Brown as Achillas, the officer who was double-crossed by Ptolemy and, in revenge, provided Caesar with the men he needed to conquer the Egyptian. Brown sang richly and fervently." - Houston Chronicle
"Bruce Brown created a naive, beguiling Papageno, purposefully clumsy and witty." - Opera News
"Baritone Bruce Brown was most amusing as Ramiro's valet Dandini (who attempts to impersonate his master), and likewise handled the fioratura of his role with confidence." - New York Daily News
Brown is a member of the American Guild of Musical Artists as well as the National Association of Teachers of Singing. He resides in Indianola with his wife Tara Starr and their children Zachary and Alexa.